10 Placement
extend beyond the edges of each speaker (left and right),
yet a vocalist should appear directly in the middle. The
size of the instruments should be neither too large nor
too small, subject to the intent and results of each unique
audio recording.
Additionally, you should find good clues as to stage
depth. Make sure that the vertical alignment, distance from
the front wall, and toe-in is exactly the same for both
speakers. This will greatly enhance the quality of your
imaging.
Bass .Response—
Your bass response should neither be
one note nor should it be too heavy. It should extend
to the deepest organ passages and yet be tight and
well defined. Kick-drums should be tight and percus-
sive—string bass notes should be uniform and consistent
throughout the entirety of the run without booming or
thudding.
Tonal .Balance—
Voices should be natural and full and
cymbals should be detailed and articulate yet not bright
and piercing, pianos should have a nice transient char-
acteristic and deep tonal registers. If you cannot attain
these virtues, read the section on Room Acoustics (pages
12–13). This will give you clues on how to get closer to
these ideal virtues.
Final Placement
After the full break in period, obtaining good wall treat-
ments, and the proper toe-in 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 is tightened, that is a superior posi-
tion. Move the speakers back six inches from the initial
setup position and again listen to the imaging and bass
response. There will be a position where you will have
pinpoint imaging and good bass response. That position
is 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 pinpoint focusing.
Your .ideal .listening .position .
and .speaker .position .will .be .determined .by:
• Tightness and extension of bass response
• Width of the stage
• Pinpoint focusing of imaging
Once you have determined the best of all three of these
considerations, you will have your best speaker location.
The Extra “Tweak”
This extra “tweak” may be useful when your speakers
are placed in a dedicated listening room. Use the fol-
lowing procedure and measurements for your speakers
placement to see what can happen to your system’s per-
formance. These formulas will help determine optimum
placement of your speakers to minimize standing waves.
1
Distance from the front wall (in front of the listening
position) to the center of the curvilinear transducer:
To
determine distance from the front wall, measure the
ceiling height (inches) and multiply the figure by 0.618
Figure .2 .
Final placement.