Plugging Ports?

[captain_tinker]

Folks,
I have done some reading on here about ports on speakers, and why they exist, etc. I have also read that speaker placement is very important. I have attached a pic to this post to show you how I have my speakers set up currently. I am assuming that having the speakers in the entertainment center on the shelves like this is probably not the best placement? There are ports on the backs of the speakers (Paradigm Titans) and the back of the entertainment center is about 8 to 10 inches behind it. Basically in a wooden box. There is a piece of wood that hangs down and covers a small part of the port. It is there to cover the light that is behind it. My question is, does any of this have an adverse affect on the sound from my speakers? Would plugging the ports help with that so that the sound doesn't bounce inside of the shelf? Or would that make it worse? Would placing the speakers on a stand on each side of the entertainment center be any better? The center channel has a port in it also. I can't really change where it is, unless I put it on top, which I don't know if that would work well, and I doubt the wife would like that. Suggestions appreciated.

-capT

 

[ht_addict]

Put them on stands at the sides of the unit. They are too high up. So is the center. Will the center sit on the shelf under the tv?

 

[Johnd]

ht is dead on with the mains. You may have to resort to angling the center down to the lp as you cannot physically lower the speaker (the tv is in the way). Remember that the recommended toe-in (mains) for most 'digms is just behind the lp (whereas it is just in front of the lp for most other speaker brands). Cheers.

 

[captain_tinker]

Folks,
Oh, I forgot, that's a sort of old pic, but I had lowered the center down to just on top of the tv. I don't know if that is quite low enough, it is just too big to fit in the spot under the tv. If I had gotten the smaller CC-170, it may have just fit, but the 270 is just too big. I may want to still angle it a little bit further down.

So the fact that the mains are in that little cubicle is ok for HT? ht_addict suggested to put them on stands. Eventually I think I will invest in some. I do think that would be a better way to go. So I guess plugs would be a dumb idea?

-capT

 

[brendy]

Do not plug the ports,you will only hurt the excellent sound of the Titans.I used to own them.

 

[j_garcia]

You are hurting the sound of them right now. What do you have them crossed over at? If you cross them at 100Hz, you may not have to plug them. Personally, I would pull them out and put them on stands.

 

[captain_tinker]

You are hurting the sound of them right now. What do you have them crossed over at? If you cross them at 100Hz, you may not have to plug them. Personally, I would pull them out and put them on stands.

J_garcia,
I agree with you that I need to get them on stands. That may be a bit of time before I can do that though. As for crossover, I looked through my receivers manual, (Marantz SR5600) and didn't find much info on crossovers except for the sub. The fronts are set to large however, if that helps. The center is also large, and the surrounds are set to none, as is the sub. The LPF/HPF is set I believe to 100Hz. I will have to check again later.

-capT

 

[jcPanny]

Crossover settings

If you have a sub, set all speakers to SMALL including the front and center channels. Your speakers are far from full range and bottom out in the 60-70 Hz range so you are losing a lot of LFE info with the current settings.

The autosetup on most receivers is great for distance and speaker levels but many set the SMALL/LARGE setting incorrectly.

 

[j_garcia]

With them set to large and sub=none, there is no crossover applied to them.

I think I mentioned it before, you can see how they sound just by rolling up a sock or something and sticking it in the port. In my old bedroom setup I had a pair on top of an armoire, and that put the ports right near the wall and within a few feet of the ceiling - not good for bass response; they became very muddy compared to when they were in the living room on stands. I felt they sounded better with the ports plugged in that case.

 

[captain_tinker]

j_garcia,
I guess it wouldn't hurt to try stuffing a sock in it and see how it sounds for now. If I don't like it, I will pull them out. Perhaps I could try setting the speakers to small, and see if Sub=none stays that way or if it goes to yes. Maybe the best way to handle this is to actually get a sub to begin with.

-capT