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Side walls have a major impact on the sound you hear. Ideally, you should not place
your main speakers close to them. Remember that the “Rule of Thirds” gives you a good
starting position, but you should feel free to experiment. Ideally, try not to place
your main speakers so they’re exactly the same distance from the closest side walls. A
bit of asymmetry here is actually preferable. Symmetrical placement generally results in
larger standing waves
in the room that reinforce certain frequencies and diminish others.
When you take the time to place your speakers properly, you’ll realize better “imaging”
(the apparent lateral placement of individual instruments or voices), and more depth or
“layering”. You’ll hear those advantages because you’ll be avoiding the aural confusion
caused by so-called “first reflections” that confuse our perceptions when speakers are
too close to a wall’s large, flat, reflecting surface. If a centered singer’s voice sounds
bigger than life, try moving the speakers closer together. Conversely, if the sound stage
sounds too narrow or “piled up” (not to be judged with video dialog), move them farther
apart. Excellent lateral sound stage resolution is proven when a jazz grand piano has
the sound from its keys spread out evenly from left to right (Jazz piano is recorded
left-bass to right-treble. Classical is recorded back to front.) A small vocal chorus also
positions the voices evenly across the stage.
Should I “Toe In” the front speakers?
That’s a question many enthusiasts ask us at AV123. Some people like to “toe-in” their
main speakers to get better performance. This simply means aiming both Left and
Right speakers so that they point more towards the prime
listening/viewing position rather than straight ahead. “Toe-in”
can improve imaging and add a sense of spaciousness to the
sound. In a 2-channel system (with no discrete center channel
speaker), this is especially effective in creating a “phantom”
center channel effect. In addition to imaging improvements,
toe-in can also change your speaker’s tonal balance (or timbre).
For that reason, you may want to play with toe-in to get the
most out of your speakers. Some time spent experimenting
here can yield a better match to your room’s acoustic
properties, provide a clearer, more precise center channel
image, or just better suit your own listening preferences. If you
actually have a center speaker and are in a matrix mode like Dolby PLII, DTS Neo:6, or
Back Wall of Room
1/3
Primary Listening Position
Primary Listening Position
LEFT
RIGHT
Minimum of 3”
from Wall
2/3
Maintain the
same distance
to the listener
Back Wall of Room
1/3
Primary Listening Position
Primary Listening Position
LEFT
RIGHT
2/3
NOT
RECOMMENDED!
Placement in rooms with
odd shaped back walls
should still align the
speaker distances equally
to the listening position.
Don’t rely on electronic
time delay correction to fix
these problems whenever
possible as the difference
in room shape cannot
always be accounted for
with a straight time delay.
“Toe In” of Left and Right Speakers
Primary Listening Position
Primary Listening Position
LEFT
RIGHT
