SPEAKER PLACEMENT AND POSITIONING
THE MAGICO M
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LOUDSPEAKERS ARE PRECISION INSTRUMENTS FOR MUSIC
REPRODUCTION. AS SUCH, PROPER CARE AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL WHEN
SETTING UP THESE SPEAKERS WILL YIELD THE MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE,
REGARDLESS OF THE PARTICULAR ROOM. FOLLOWING THESE SET-UP GUIDELINES
WILL ENSURE THE SPEAKERS ARE PROPERLY POSITIONED TO DELIVER THE OPTIMUM
LISTENING EXPERIENCE. ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS A TAPE MEASURE, A PEN, A
CALCULATOR, A BALL OF STRING, A COUPLE OF DEMO CDS, AND SOME PATIENCE.
PLACEMENT—M
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s IN RELATION TO BACK AND SIDE WALLS
BEFORE YOU BEGIN: LOOK FOR OBVIOUS IMPEDIMENTS INCLUDING ANYTHING THAT
COULD IMPEDE OR DIMINISH THE SOUND—E.G., OTHER SPEAKERS, AMPLIFIERS,
EQUIPMENT RACKS, ANYTHING ON THE WALL THAT COULD CAUSE A REFLECTION, A
SEVERE MISMATCH IN QUALITY AMONG INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS, AND
UNNECESSARY OR POORLY RUN SPEAKER/INTERCONNECT CABLES.
BASS—DISTANCE FROM REAR WALL
THE INITIAL PLACEMENT SHOULD BE APPROXIMATELY 20 INCHES (1/2 M) FROM THE
BACK OF THE LOUDSPEAKER TO THE BACK WALL. SINCE WE HAVE SHORT AUDITORY
MEMORY, THE SELECTED DEMO MUSIC CUT SHOULD BE BRIEF—30 SECONDS – 1
MINUTE MAX. IT SHOULD BE A WELL RECORDED JAZZ CUT WITH GOOD BASS GUITAR
OR PERCUSSION. WHAT WE ARE LISTENING FOR AT THIS TIME IS THE DEFINITION OF
THE BASS AND THE RIGHT SENSE OF PROPORTION.
NEXT, MOVE THE SPEAKER 6 – 8 INCHES (15 – 20 CM) FORWARD AND REPEAT THE
LISTENING PROCESS. REPEAT THIS PROCESS, MOVING THE LOUDSPEAKER FORWARD
IN 6 – 8 INCH (15-20 CM) INCREMENTS. WHEN YOU REACH THE POINT FROM WHICH
MOVING THE SPEAKER FORWARD SOUNDS WORSE THAN THE PREVIOUS LISTENING
POINT, MOVE THE LOUDSPEAKER BACK TO THIS POSITION AND MARK THIS
DISTANCE FROM THE REAR WALL.
MIDRANGE—PLACEMENT IN RELATION TO SIDE WALLS FOR LATERAL PLACEMENT
BEGIN BY DIVIDING THE ROOM WIDTH BY 14. INITIAL PLACEMENT OF THE
LOUDSPEAKERS WILL BE AT 3 AND 11. THE DISTANCE FROM THE LOUDSPEAKER TO
THE EARS HAS TO BE PRECISELY EQUAL. THIS MEASUREMENT IS CRITICAL. THE
MUSIC FOR THIS PROCESS SHOULD BE A FEMALE VOICE AND PIANO. WE ARE
LISTENING FOR THE IMAGE OF HER VOICE TO BE FOCUSED. THE RULE FOR THE TOE-
IN IS TO PICK A POINT APPROXIMATELY 1 – 2 FEET (.
5
M) BEHIND THE LISTENER’S
HEAD. TOE THE
LOUDSPEAKERS IN TO INTERSECT AT THAT POINT.