Book Shelf Speakers Hight Placement.

[Pablo2k]

Hi guys, have a quick question.
I have a pair of Kef XQ10.
First time I tried them at home they were on their stands (about 27" from the floor I guess) and I was getting good bass.
Now that I move them to shelfs (which are about 48" from the floor) it sims like the bass is gone.
Does height affect bass in this case?
I can move them to the lower shelf which are about 30" from the floor.
Thank you!

 

[MidnightSensi2]

Hi guys, have a quick question.
I have a pair of Kef XQ10.
First time I tried them at home they were on their stands (about 27" from the floor I guess) and I was getting good bass.
Now that I move them to shelfs (which are about 48" from the floor) it sims like the bass is gone.
Does height affect bass in this case?
I can move them to the lower shelf which are about 30" from the floor.
Thank you!

Could be a number of things.

I'm assuming this is the same room and same equipment connected to them, correct?

Placement changes dramatically change how a speaker performs in a room. You're placement before could have been exciting a resonant frequency in the room, which bloomed the bass at that note. Now you could have cancellations causing a dip in bass response at this different placement.

You should play with moving the speakers, and your seating location. You could move back a few feet and all the sudden hear the bass return because the cancellation is gone.

It could also be your bookshelf is acting as a 'horn' of sorts, and boosting the treble, thereby making the bass sound less dramatic.

How else has the sound changed since you put them in the bookshelves? Is it just the bass, or anything else?

While they do call them 'bookshelf' speakers, most of the sound pretty bad when actually on a bookshelf unless it is a very well planned bookshelf.

 

[Pablo2k]

Thank you for this excellent response!
I believe the problem is that I have them on a shelf.
they look great and they are not on the way, but I guess I will have to sacrifice
space and have to put them back on their stands.
I will post what happens, Ill try a few things before I get to that.
I do believe that you are right when you say the shelf acts as a "horn" overtaking the bass.

Does cable length matter? I could move them to the side, one speaker will be be 4 feet farther from the amp than the other, should I make sure I have equal lengths of cable?
thanks again!

 

[MidnightSensi2]

Thank you for this excellent response!
I believe the problem is that I have them on a shelf.
they look great and they are not on the way, but I guess I will have to sacrifice
space and have to put them back on their stands.
I will post what happens, Ill try a few things before I get to that.
I do believe that you are right when you say the shelf acts as a "horn" overtaking the bass.

Does cable length matter? I could move them to the side, one speaker will be be 4 feet farther from the amp than the other, should I make sure I have equal lengths of cable?
thanks again!

Here is a picture of my (bookshelf style) desk, basically I pulled the monitors out as far as possible and then put traps in the corners. It looks really ugly in this picture, but actually without the spotlight on it for a photo showing the stuff, the directional lighting above mixed with black shelves really hides this. Also the panels are thick and heavy, very heavy. Mass helps keep resonances under control, so if your using particle board or light shelves, add some weight to them with books to keep them from resonating.

Those are ugly traps, but, you can get some nicer looking ones or be a bit more creative (I'm not married so I get away with the cheap but functional route haha)

Cable length differences won't matter. Nice thing with bookshelves is you can play with placement versus aesthetics pretty easy and come up with a happy medium.

Keep the speakers tweeters as close to ear level as possible.

 

[jostenmeat]

Thank you for this excellent response!

I agree that it's an excellent response.

Midnight, I count 17 little green lights in your picture.

 

[Pablo2k]

This is my set up as of now, I lowered the speakers to ear level and still sounds funny, highs and mids are over taking the bass.
I guess the shelve acts as a horn like you said.
Is there any material (foam, or books...) I should put next to them to help with tin like sound?
These speaker sound really good on the stands, but I really like to keep them where they are for when I use the computer.
Thanks again!

 

[just-some-guy]

Here is a picture of my (bookshelf style) desk, It looks really ugly in this picture,

Those are ugly traps.

i think that is a nice looking setup.
though the speakers look a bit close to the monitor.

 

[ski2xblack]

It's the shelves.

Nice, minimalist system, by the way.

I knew of someone with a similar problem. They installed some caster shelves, allowing them to simply pull the speakers out when listening. It made a huge difference in their system.

 

[Pablo2k]

Here is a picture of my (bookshelf style) desk, basically I pulled the monitors out as far as possible and then put traps in the corners. It looks really ugly in this picture, but actually without the spotlight on it for a photo showing the stuff, the directional lighting above mixed with black shelves really hides this. Also the panels are thick and heavy, very heavy. Mass helps keep resonances under control, so if your using particle board or light shelves, add some weight to them with books to keep them from resonating.

Those are ugly traps, but, you can get some nicer looking ones or be a bit more creative (I'm not married so I get away with the cheap but functional route haha)

Cable length differences won't matter. Nice thing with bookshelves is you can play with placement versus aesthetics pretty easy and come up with a happy medium.

Keep the speakers tweeters as close to ear level as possible.

That is great! how much do you think the traps helped? maybe I can fill in the area where my speakers are? anyway, what do you call this traps? where do I get them and about how much are they? thanks again.

 

[Pablo2k]

It's the shelves.

Nice, minimalist system, by the way.

I knew of someone with a similar problem. They installed some caster shelves, allowing them to simply pull the speakers out when listening. It made a huge difference in their system.

That sounds like a great idea too, but what about vibration? I wonder if with the weight of these speakers it wouldn't matter.

 

[ski2xblack]

That sounds like a great idea too, but what about vibration? I wonder if with the weight of these speakers it wouldn't matter.

The sliding shelves he made weigh several times what the speakers did, no vibration problems at all. (Yes, he's a professional cabinet builder...probably went further than most of us would. To contract to do what he did probably would have cost more than the speakers!) He used casters intended for an old school crt TV shelf, quite heavy duty, and recessed them into a solid 2" thick plank, stained to match the rest. When the speakers were pushed back, they were flush, and you'd never know the shelves moved. Fully extended, they stuck out about 18". He is using Monitor Audio speakers of similar size to yours.

You and Midnight are making me ashamed of how cluttered my office is. I think I need to go straighten it up now.

 

[Pablo2k]

Haha, believe me, my computer room never looked that nice. I had all this unmatching furniture and everything was a mess. I combined all of them, my wife gave some unused "pottery barn shelves and wow, I like the change. I hope stays like that. I got a little 10 dollar light in ace and put it behind the monitor; it made everything look so much better. Now I need to fix tue sound!

 

[ski2xblack]

Haha, believe me, my computer room never looked that nice. I had all this unmatching furniture and everything was a mess. I combined all of them, my wife gave some unused "pottery barn shelves and wow, I like the change. I hope stays like that. I got a little 10 dollar light in ace and put it behind the monitor; it made everything look so much better. Now I need to fix tue sound!

I noticed the backlighting. Cool touch.

 

[Pablo2k]

FIXED! ! Got acoustic wedge foam, wrapped it from left to back to right walls, and it sounds great. The foam is dark maroon color, so it actually looks good too! Thanks for all your help!