My room sounds better with odd placement

[ematthews]

I have a rectangle room. Its 10.5 feet by 15 feet long. I tried setting the system up on the 10.5 walls. Sitting on the short side of the room directly in front of the speakers, the sound really is great but the bass in lacking. The voice is so much better. It comes from all around and can not be detected directly from the speakers themselves.
Now set up long ways, the bass response is better but you get the voice separated into both speakers. You can really tell that it comes right out of a left and right box... I have always been told it's better to set it up long ways since the wall is further from the speakers. Any thoughts?

 

[rojo]

As long as the sound stage is represented well and it's not all ambiguous like a Bose Acoustimass system, then go for the short config. Use the subwoofer crawl to find the best spot for your sub, which isn't necessarily corner-loaded. Also, consider getting some sort of DSP for bass correction if your bass response sounds boomy in some frequencies and thin in others. If you think you might need a DSP, we can suggest some to consider.

You might also play with corner / diagonal orientation if your room allows it. Here's why.

As for why the long layout isn't working well for you, it could be that reflections are interfering with your nirvana. See the "Here's why" link above. Or it could be that your speaker timing is off -- maybe the speakers aren't equidistant and equal angles from your primary listening position. Since you don't have any way of measuring / setting speaker delays that I see, then you're extremely vulnerable to problems from inaccurate physical placement. These are all guesses, of course; but it's probably best just to trust your ear and go with what makes you happy.

 

[j_garcia]

I've always gone with the longer distance as well, BUT it depends and will vary with every room. My current room does not afford me too much distance, so I brought the speakers closer together and get great imaging from them. As long as you are pleased with the sound from the setup that you choose, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Do what works best for you.

 

[lsiberian]

It's your ears and your room do what sounds best to you.

 

[ematthews]

Thanks everyone.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

There are at least a few reasons to explain why you think the long-wall set-up sounds better.

The center of any rectangular or square room is a bass “dead zone,” with bass intensity increasing as you move from that point towards any boundary. So, with the short-room orientation you were probably sitting roughly in the middle of the room, which explains the weak bass you experienced.

With the system set up on the long wall, I imagine you’re sitting close to the back wall, which accounts for the improved bass. And as you noted, the speakers image better since they are further from the side walls. Win, win. Personally I prefer the front speakers a bit further apart than dictated by the standard “equidistant triangle” mantra, as this also gets a wider soundstage. Setting up on the long wall accommodates this better than on the short wall.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt