Proper setup.

[abefroeman]

I have had my speakers for about 6 months now and they primarily sit in one of two locations:

On either side of a ~5’ wide TV stand, against the wall and facing forward; or
Pulled out from the wall 3’, spread about 9’ apart and toe’d in at the listener.

The first position is the WAF position during the day and for general use of the TV. I use the latter setup for movies with good soundtracks or lots of action. But lately I have been using that setup on all movies. There IS a difference in dialogue. I didn’t think that such a small move (3’-4’ for each speaker) of the speakers would make such a big difference in sound but it does. This is in the main room of an apartment where the left side opens to the kitchen and 2 hallways. It also has lots of windows, so it’s not ideal for sound.
I can’t wait to own a home and find a nice spot in the basement with 4 walls and a closed door to place the speakers.

My whole point of this thread is that proper setup (or even close to proper setup) increases the clarity by a real amount. It could be measured in dollars. i.e. Take some $1,000/pair bookshelfs and bury them in a bookshelf (as their name suggests), then compare the sound to other speakers that are properly placed. They would probably sound like $600/pair speakers, possibly worse. That’s like a $400 difference in speaker quality, just in placement. Something to think about.

 

[agarwalro]

Good observation. Actually moving the speakers by as little as a foot and toe in by a few degrees should be noticable. It changes the position of the room interaction nodes.

Correct setup, calibration and room effects corretion are equally important as having good equipment and speakers. Folks usually get so caught up in getting the "best speaker" or "best receiver" or "audiophile grade cables" that they forget the room interaction effects which have a much bigger contribution to overall sound dynamics than apparent.

 

[Swerd]

Good observation

Placing the same speakers up against the wall or 3 feet away from that wall can make a big difference.

You said there is a difference in the dialog in movies, with better sound coming when the speakers are away from the wall. Are you saying that midrange sounds are more clear with the speakers further away from the wall? Do you hear something similar with music?

I like to think of this as caused by bass reinforcement, more if the speakers are closer to walls, and less if they are further away from the wall. Some speakers need that extra bass reinforcement from the reflections from the wall, and some speakers (like yours) already produce enough bass so that reflections from the wall make the midrange sound muddy - less clear.

In general, as you move speakers farther away from reflecting surfaces, the sound coming directly from the speakers becomes more prominent, and the sounds reflected off of walls becomes less prominent. That is something that speaker designers think about when they design cabinets and crossovers - how far away from a nearby wall should the speaker be placed.

Glad to hear how you're enjoying your speakers.

 

[abefroeman]

Yes the voices and midrange sound more clear. I haven't listened to music as critically as I watch movies but I should, if just to test out the difference here.

I would like to call what I am hearing 'depth' or increased soundstage. basically it sounds more real. These are my first real speakers so its like listening to your first soundstage and trying to descrbe it.

 

[Dolby CP-200]

Your whole concept is mismatched, hmm I would have expected better, matching loudspeakers placed at the same height, its not too difficult to do, matching LCR!

The tone, when you listen to pink noise from LCR, what happens is that it changes tone slightly. To EQ correctly takes days and a golden ear. If you where to placed LCR outputs into an audio mixer lines 1 2 and 3 and just use s single output to one loudspeaker and balance the level of the three channels with an SPL db metre. What you’d hear is an indistinguishable sound with the automatic pink noise cycling the fronts or LCR and surrounds.

If you don’t believe try it, it takes skill to get it done right!

My JBL Control 5 LCR each have there own amplifier for LF and HF which is controlled via a (loudspeaker management system) with there own EQ and it sounds better than most, now then.

 

[Starmax]

Dolby

Please speak English!

 

[Dolby CP-200]

Please speak English!

Well for starts I have been up for long hours, I was tired and oh never mind.

 

[Starmax]

Dolby, say no more...I understand. lol

 

[abefroeman]

Your whole concept is mismatched, hmm I would have expected better, matching loudspeakers placed at the same height, its not too difficult to do, matching LCR!

The tone, when you listen to pink noise from LCR, what happens is that it changes tone slightly. To EQ correctly takes days and a golden ear. If you where to placed LCR outputs into an audio mixer lines 1 2 and 3 and just use s single output to one loudspeaker and balance the level of the three channels with an SPL db metre. What you’d hear is an indistinguishable sound with the automatic pink noise cycling the fronts or LCR and surrounds.

If you don’t believe try it, it takes skill to get it done right!

My JBL Control 5 LCR each have there own amplifier for LF and HF which is controlled via a (loudspeaker management system) with there own EQ and it sounds better than most, now then.

LOL


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