MartinLogan Sequel II User Manual Download Page 19

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Page 19

Sequel II User's Manual

Experimentation

Toe-in

Toe-in. Now you can begin to experiment. First begin by

toeing your speakers in towards the listening area

and then toeing them straight into the room. You will
notice that the tonal balance changes ever so
slightly. You will also notice the imaging changing.
Generally it is found that the ideal listening position is
with the speakers slightly toed-in

slightly toed-in

slightly toed-in so that you are

listening to the inner third of the curved transducer
section.

Experimenting with the toe-in will help in terms of tonal
balance. You will notice that as the speakers are

toed-out, the system becomes slightly brighter than
when toed-in. This design gives you the flexibility to
modify a soft or bright room.

Tilting the Speakers Backwards and Forwards.

Tilting the Speakers Backwards and Forwards. As

can be seen from the diagrams in the Room Acous-

Room Acous-

tics

tics section of this manual, the vertical dispersion is
directional above and below the stator panel itself. In
some instances, if you are sitting close to the floor,
slight forward tilting of the speakers can enhance

clarity and precision.

Imaging.

Imaging. In their final location, your Sequel II's should

have a stage width somewhat wider than the
speakers themselves. On well recorded music, the

instruments should extend beyond the edges of each
speaker to the left and to the right, yet a vocalist
should appear directly in the middle. The size of the
instruments
should be neither too large nor too small. Additionally,

you should find good clues as to stage depth. Make
sure, when listening, that the vertical alignment,
distance from the front wall, and toe in is exactly the
same from one speaker to the other. This will greatly
enhance the quality of your imaging.

Bass Response.

Bass Response. Your bass response should neither be

one note nor should it be too heavy. It should extend
fairly deep to even the deepest organ passages, yet it
should be tight and well defined. Kick-drums should

be tight and percussive, string bass notes should be
uniform and consistent throughout the entirety of the
run without any booming or thudding.

Tonal Balance.

Tonal Balance. Voices should be natural and full,

cymbals should be detailed and articulate yet not
bright and piercing, pianos should have a nice
transient characteristic and deep tonal registers as

well. If you cannot attain these virtues, re-read the
section on Room Acoustics

Room Acoustics

Room Acoustics. This will give you clues

on how to get closer to those ideal virtues.

A F

A Final W

inal W

inal Word

ord

Final Placement.

Final Placement.
After obtaining good wall treatments and attaining
proper angle, begin to experiment with the distance from

the wall behind the speakers. Move your speaker slightly
forward into the room. What happened to the bass
response? What happened to the imaging? If the
imaging is more open and spacious and the bass
response tightened, that is a superior position. Move the

speakers back six inches from the initial set-up position.
Again, listen to the imaging and bass response. There
will be a position where you will have pin-point imaging
and good bass response. That position becomes the
point of the optimal placement from the front wall.

Now experiment with placing the speakers farther apart.
As the speakers are positioned farther apart, listen again,
not so much for bass response but for stage width and
good pin-point focusing.

Your ideal listening position and speaker position will be
determined by:

1) tightness and extension of bass response,

2) the width of the stage, and

2) the width of the stage, and
3) the pin-point focusing of imaging

3) the pin-point focusing of imaging

3) the pin-point focusing of imaging.

Once you have found the best of all three of those
considerations, you will have your best speaker location.