fronts: 22 to 30 degrees. but what's optimal for Axiom W22

[scott911]

I'm planning for an in-wall installation, so I don't have the benefit of experimenting too much, unless I want to invest in alot of plaster and flowers for my wife!

So, I'm obviously paying alot of attention to HT design articles in advance of wall cutting for my speakers. http://www.axiomaudio.com/wallspeakerw22_main.html

Generally speaking, everyone seems to advised to placing front speakers 22 to 30 degrees off of center listening position.

So is the "ideal" 26 degrees? I have an expansive wall, so I could place them 30 degrees with no problem, or obviously at 22 degrees as well.

One thing to consider that might be important is that because this not a deep room, I'll only have one row of seating - a couch, and chairs at side. In other words, I think I want a wider sweet spot... ?

And of course, these are in-wall, on wall type speakers - if that matters for the 22 to 30 degree placement question. System will be 5.1, and 2 channel music reproduction is a little more important to me than movie surround sound.

Thank you, as always, very kindly for the advice!

 

[Exit]

I think the recommended angle is for a typical setup and you have to make adjustments for your setup. What you are striving for is to have the tweeters aimed towards your seating position about ear height sitting down. That will probably be somewhere in the recommended range. The center channel also should be aimed up or down to be aimed at ear height sitting down, The surrounds are recommended to be a foot or two higher than ear height sitting down and not aimed directly at your ear but over your head a little. So the angle is not a measurement to used for aiming the speaker but a product of how you aimed your speaker. The speaker aim will be different for a seating position six feet away as opposed to 12 feet away. Its probably only a few degrees different though and if your speakers have a wide tweeter off-axis radiating pattern, then the aiming is more forgiving in reaching a good soundstage. The higher the frequency, the more is the tendency to radiate in a narrower pattern.

 

[j_garcia]

There is no magic angle, it depends on where you sit and your room. Reflections will play a part in what you hear, so the amount of toe will depend on what you hear, to achieve proper imaging.

 

[scott911]

Thanks guys, but the angle I'm referring to is not related to toe in, but is the angle off center from the reference position. You can see it illustrated here:
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/speaker-setup-guidelines/home-theater-speaker-layout-an-essential-guide/image/image_view_fullscreen

Ultimately, this defines how far apparent the speakers are...
and where I cut the holes in my walls.

 

[fredk]

Scott. I would email Axiom with the details of your room (dimensions, furnishings etc.) and ask them what the best would be for your situation. I bet they will have a very good idea of what would be ideal for your setup.

Fred

 

[jcPanny]

Seaker placement

Since the Axiom on-walls are a sealed design, you could try hanging then on the wall or setting them on stands to experiment with potitions before you install them. The stud locations in your wall might also dictate your possible mounting locations.

 

[Exit]

Without knowing the length of your front wall, I would think about five feet to either side of the center of the TV would be about the maximum where I would put the fronts. Too much more distance and I think you might have a hole in the soundstage. Closer together there might not be enough distance to separate the fronts and the centers. The fronts also need to have good placement for stereo music listening and you can set them up on boxes and try out the five foot locations to see if they stereo image properly.

I have my fronts on the sides of a 61" DLP and I wish I had the space to move them out further because I don't get much of a sound coming from the sides - It all seems to be coming from one speaker. Then again you get less separation from the stereo speakers in the TV.

 

[j_garcia]

I agree with jcPanny - try it out, because that is the only way you are going to find the right spot. Ideally, you don't want to be off axis from your speakers - the mains should be directed towards the listening area, which is why I don't recommend in-wall speakers for the front three.

 

[scott911]

thanks guys... I knew experimentation was likely needed, so I'll put away the saw and dedicate some listening time first.

Interesting comments j_garcia. I know my ear is pretty sensitive to toe in, at least in the low-mid priced speakers I have now, so that is a little bit of a concern.

I need in/on wall's due to the layout of my room: stage front is actually a walkway between areas of house so tv HAD to be flatscreen and speakers can't be sitting in pathway... I'm wondering if it's not possible to achieve some toe in with some creativity during installation...

 

[j_garcia]

That was what I was going to suggest too - creative mounting might be the answer. Or a speaker that allows at least some sort of aiming of the tweeter.

 

[Guiria]

Since the Axiom on-walls are a sealed design, you could try hanging then on the wall or setting them on stands to experiment with potitions before you install them. The stud locations in your wall might also dictate your possible mounting locations.

Minor detail about the axiom on-walls. They are ported on the bottom. Here is a quote from the Axiom website.

"The speaker ports are cleverly hidden at the base of the outer baffle." This holds true for the W2, W3, and W22.

You'd have to be careful with stands as blocking the ports would cause serious issues with how the speakers sound.