9
Room & Loudspeaker Integration
Note:
If your own set-up precludes any placement tailoring, you may
wish to skip this section.
Often times, a speaker’s interaction with nearby furnishings can create
slight imbalances. A “set-up” intended to pursue the “absolute” in
focus, imaging, and tonal balance might prove elusive, if these
“imbalances” are not dealt with individually. Therefore, we recommend
that the following “set-up” be performed
one speaker at a time.
Fine-tuning involves three basic areas. In sequence, they are 1) bass,
2) midrange and 3) treble. Following this sequence, one speaker at a
time, requires a bit of commitment and time, but is well worth the
effort.
Bass:
After having “placed” the speakers according to the guidelines in
the “Initial Placement” section, select a piece of music with an
abundant amount of low frequency information and energy. While the
selected music is playing, walk to the wall behind the loudspeakers.
Now face the backside of the loudspeaker and gradually walk away
from the wall. Near the back wall, the bass is woolly and muddy. As
you walk out into the room, muddiness, or “murkiness,” will fade while
the bass begins to open up. At this point, position the backside of the
loudspeaker to fall within the region where the greatest part of the
wooliness disappears. Once repositioned, you may wish to reconfirm
this placement by repeating the above procedure. Having decided on a
relative position, listen to the new placement, from the normal
listening seat. If the bass is still overly warm, or a bit murky, the
speakers may be too close to the wall behind them. If the bass seems
a bit thin, pinched, and lacking in power and “weight,” the speakers
may be too far out into the room.
When the room impedance is right and the speakers are at a correct
distance from the wall behind them, low-frequency “precision” and
overall dynamic bloom will open up tremendously.
Once the back wall distance is set, measure it for reference.
Rectangular rooms will often require that both speakers utilize this
same distance.
Midrange:
Mid and high frequency tuning, while similar to that of
bass, is a task of centimeters rather than meters; right to left
movement rather than front to back. Although midrange changes can
be heard
while
repositioning the speaker, it is helpful to have an
additional individual move the speakers while you listen from the
seated position. Recommended recordings for midrange and treble
tuning include female voice, guitar, harp, Baroque music, and
