Absolutely agree. The distance between speakers and the distance from a wall can make startling differences. Also, some speakers sound better toed in and some sound worse when this is done. Determining these things is free and they generally make bigger differences than those obtained from changing cables.
The room interaction with speakers cannot be overstated! I have tried my speakers in different rooms in my home and the sound is noticeably different. In the main living room where the main setup resides, if I cover with a blanket the large (55") TV screen on the wall, the sound also changes. Every bit counts! I've even tried setting it up 'east - west' instead of 'north - south' (width of the room v length of it) with dramatic changes in what I hear. I have finally come to appreciate 'near field' listening, which gives me a very wide and deep soundstage. The two Thiels face my listening chair directly, i.e. I cannot see the sides of the speakers. I've come to this after many months of experimentation. I often get tempted to alter their location but I don't fall for it as I know, _this is the optimal spot_ Thanks for all the thought provoking videos Steve!
Great vlog. This works. Tried it yesterday and toe'd mine in a bit. Does sound better. It's probably easier for us that have little opportunity to move the speakers much (because of room layout, fixed furniture, happy wife happy life stuff) than folks with massive opportunity to change everything in a room because it might seem overwhelming? Maybe. When I did Chemistry in school a long time ago you always had a 'control' and did one thing at a time to see what changed, if anything. If you move more than one thing at once with no control you lose track of what's doing what, and get nowhere quickly.
One of the most useful videos in a long time! I'd never heard of trying just one speaker, and didn't know that some experts like Steve didn't "believe" in the room correction process. I'm in a place now where I've owned the same pair of Monitor Audio Silver RX6's for about seven or eight years. I've lived in about half a dozen different apartments in that time, and the difference in quality from one apartment to the next is staggering. The last apartment I was in had the best sound - venturing on magical. I haven't achieved the same sound here, with some oddly shaped walls really screwing my options. Thanks for the ideas, Steve.
For me it's the RS6s and yep, bigger differences than changing the amp or dac. In fact, after i changed my amp out for a better 5 times the price one, the placement made it sound right. One amp to the other really required complete readjustment of the placement, even needed to angle them upwards. But now, natural sounding and no problems.
Spent a good part of a couple of weeks making tiny adjustments to the placement of my new floor standing speakers. In the end and only after I read several other owners suggest the same, mine are best relatively close to the wall but sitting straight forward as opposed to to being toed in. The most dramatic change I've recently experienced is covering the big screen TV behind the stereo with a blanket-I still can't get over the difference that made. Lots of experience is in order for sure. Good tip about one speaker at a time, I'll want to try that when I get back from RMAF.
Great subject, Steve. Our human sense of order really, really wants things even and symmetrical. Recently I had to set up a stereo with rather large floor standing speakers and video screen in a bedroom. Naturally, I set everything up to what I thought looked just right, nice and symmetrical. Well, after careful listening, one speaker is now in further than the other, and the other is out and toed in more. Visually not at all right but MUCH more pleasant to the ear. I made a two panel felt curtain to cover the large video screen that can be pulled back for watching movies, etc.
NICE VIDEO!!!!! in fact I've been moving my speakers around for about 2 day's they have gotten a little better....I'm gonna try some of the things your talking about in your video....I think speaker placement is one of the most important ways to getting your system to sound better thank you Steve!!!
Very informative video. Thank you. I'm limited on space. But after just about 20 minutes of moving the speakers. I can hear a world of difference. And I no longer have to adjust the balance control to make the sound equal from both channels.
Speaker placement and the listening position (speakers away from the walls, on stands and decoupled, placed in an equilateral triangle, normally with toe-in that points just directly behind the listeners head) are vital to optimizing listening experience. Room symmetry and dimensions are also important, followed by room dampening. Reflections can be a problem depending on the room size/surfaces, so having a thick carpet and/or dampening panels and bass traps could help if you like to play music at considerably loud levels.
When my dad was in the industry , he was HUGE on speaker placement. " the difference can be dramatic ..good or bad" he would say. I also used an adjustable office chair to help pinpoint the best height of my permanent chair. Room acoustics, speaker placement & height , chair placement ... the improvement can be dramatic. Adjust the location and height of speakers and your chair..take your time, and take notes.
Great info and good timing. I’m starting to build a listening room, so I’m doing lots of research to learn how to best set things up. Zu also mentions the one speaker at a time, and also comparing the two one at a time to make sure there aren’t anything glaring differences between them.
The room is one of the most important elements in your system so placement is VERY important. getting speaker placement (along with listener placement) is supremely important and it's all pretty much FREE.
5 лет назад
I spent a few days moving the speakers around the room and measuring them with REW in various listening positions. I ended up with asymmetrical speaker placement to get the flattest bass response. Only down side is that the stereo imaging isn't as good as it could be, even though I have tried to fiddle with some reflectors, diffusers and dampers.
Free advice is not worth nothing if it's good advice, and this is most definitely good advice. The only thing is that I would guess most people don't have all that much range of freedom in placing speakers, maybe a few feet at most. But then again, even a few feet can make a significant difference in sound, at least in my experience. But the key is to experiment and hear the differences for yourself, you might be surprised how moving speakers just a few inches or adjusting certain things can change the sound dramatically.
I found by taking most of the toe out of the speakers it increased the "sweet spot" to a larger area. I also keep the speakers against the wall to please the wife but pull them out 18" when I am home alone listening. There is always give and take in life.
An older house I lived in some years ago had the walls curve up to the ceiling about 4-6" in a quarter arc. Other rooms were normal 90 degree corners and when you clapped your hands there would be a sound delay (echo). In the curved to ceiling room this slap-back was eliminated. Something to consider although difficult to achieve. During a jam session the other musicians commented on the good acoustics.
Good advice i have placed mine with precision its fun. Its more work but more rewarding when Done and they sound better! If you use headphones you are already set.
The one speaker thing is also a great way to compare different speakers to each other, floyd toole recommends this and it’s also the the method used in the JBL blind test lab.
Imagine it as how you set up your binoculars, but looking for a clear image in your head and not in front of your eyes: look for the spot, when the music doesn't fall apart, I think a small band, with not too much instruments and a good singer is a brilliant choice to set up a stereo system. The set up is the best, when you can imagine the singer in front of you, almost you could touch it. I moved both speakers not just the one, it worked for me fine and settled for the sound quickly. Don't forget, that yes, you're moving them away from the wall in every direction, from left/right and from behind, but you should also adjust the elevation as well, try to make sure that the sound comes from the same plain where your ears are, it makes a huge difference!!! I have seen, Adele, Anastasia, Seal, Sting etc singing just for me in my own apartment... I could have touch them... Good room, good positioning can make a 700$ stereo pair to sound much better than a pair of 4000$! Personal experience!
My Infinity Kappa 8s are four feet tall and weigh about 90 lbs each. Good point the sound is coming from the same elevation as my ears. Rear facing tweeter along with front facing makes for an open high end with reflections bouncing off the walls and a cardboard wall I made to keep the sun from killing my polydome faster. There's a lot going on. But really, I seriously doubt that just about any speaker under about 7 grand for the pair (if that) other than used ones is going to come even close to these Infinities. Mostly what I see is tiny speakers in tiny cabinets trying to be full size in sound but lacking that sound. A subwoofer and even two will never bring a coherent bass like these big monitors will. Period.
Wow, I imagine, that they must sound really awesome! I've googled it and saved it for a time when I might be able to use speakers properly again. Haha, 90lbs is tricky to elevate but solid timber, or big pieces of timber in layers could do the job. I'm using these little beasts, who are punching above their weight: S-A4SPT-PM, and mine are frequency matched limited edition which eliminates many of the issues that can be read online. I don't use sub woofer with them as they don't need it, for gaming could do with it, but for anything else, not really. I've used them in a 18' x 14' room and I was about 11' away from them and decided that I don't need surround sound system... You can be right on the last one.;))
Nice, I checked out those speakers and didn't get the pure malt reference until I realized the cabinets were made out of old whiskey barrels. I bet they sound great especially the frequency matching. I just listened to King Crimson Lizard and yeah some of the bass stuff is amazing. These speakers have a unique mid bass called a polygraph that lets the 12" woofer try not to woof too high.
Little monsters they are, but they have to match the room, just like the other speakers do.;)) My first comment describe them somewhat. I've checked out the King Crimson Lizard music, but it's not for me, I'd go with Tubular Bells.;)) Haha, I think you're getting a bit too technical for me, as I'm mainly going by my ears, so I mainly care about the sound and not the tech that's behind it. What size of a room do you have your speakers in? It's hard to come by a decent sized room in the UK. You know, just to know, that if I could actually properly ever try anything of a speaker like yours.
It's a long room in my basement living quarters 10 ft (3 m lol) x 50 ft. I have them in one end maybe 14 ft apart and facing the near wall. I probably do need to try them on the far end and see what kind of cave effects can be accomplished.
In my case I use room correction with Audyseey with my Denon AVR 1611 just because is the only way to set the unit and get a better performance. Anyway I have seen that is great for very clear voices, is not the same result for bass sound. I am using the system with no sub woofer, but with same speaker I used with my old stereo integrated amplifier. The comparison in terms of bass is that the old stereo was better with the same speakers. One of my favorites CDs is a compilation of best music from Carlos Santana and I miss very much how the drums and bass are being listened, but also the complete feeling not only with your ears, but with your body too. Same CD tracks being played with the Denon results in a softer bass, and the feeling is not the same.
Thanks, Steve - I've never heard of the one-speaker-at-a-time approach . Presumably running a mono signal though each i.e. parallel the stereo output ?
Good advice, but why do you find bass obnoxious? All music has bass, especially vocals. I guess your not a subwoofer fan? I use a sub but it's barely on, you can't point to it when the system is playing however when I turn it off the music is lacking bottom end.
ALL of Paul McGowan's videos are SPAM in disguise. It's all about selling their garbage and ESPECIALLY their up coming overpriced speakers. Oh, and all those "questions" he reads and then replies to? Most of those are likely staged and not authentic.
I can't address "most of those," but Paul answered my question a few weeks ago (about 3 weeks after its submission). He read my question verbatim, and referred to me by name and city. His answer was a bit circuitous (he had no experience at what I asked about), but he did make an attempt. I have no doubt that at least some of his questioners are legitimate. I asked a similar question (about metered SPL's at the listener's location) within the comments section of one of Steve's recent videos, and received a succinct, precise answer that indicated Steve knew by experience exactly what I was asking about.
Oh man. I've been so far down this rabbit hole. I used to have a man cave. 26' x 26'. A bunch of office dividers and a comfy office chair on wheels. 8 or 10 sets of speakers and a couple subs. I'd play with placement, height, chair position, and make different size / shaped rooms with the office dividers. My ex thought i was nuts, but hey, she's my ex now. Being able to move speakers and the chair easily was amazing. 1 foot forward or back could make a world of difference. Fancy cables my ass. First try shuffling things around. Save the cable money for the divorce lawyer.
Very helpful. Question. When you have only 1 speaker playing, can that do any ohms related impedance signal stuff damage to your receiver? I recall coming across something like that in manuals and so forth but I can be wrong. This issue also related to speaker use vs ear phone use. Thanks.
What is your opinion on isoAcoustics and similar accessories to stabilize speakers and thus enhance the sound? (according to some reviewers, it is like going from category C to category B amplifier, or going from category B to A). these reviewers swear there i palpable improvement in sound and one of those reviewers was Paul CEO of PS Audio.
I presume when you do the single speaker setup you switch to mono ? My own tip is to mark out the floor with measured lines with masking tape and move the speakers along the lines. You can mark positions on the tape with a felt tip so you can go back to them if they sound better than the current spot.
I use a similar method since i have dogs i fear would tip a tower if i left them in the listening position. I spent a long time getting the sound dialed in and the improvement was incredible on my budget system. I marked the corners of each speaker location with a small bit of clear nail polish so i dont have to remeasure for distance from both walls and toe-in every time I want to listen. Really works very well and saves a lot of time measuring which means much more time for music!
I've done that already ... a lot of time ... in different set up and with good results ... But that's not the reason to skip Steve's video... because it's (always): good for audiophiles (and others in the bunch: professionals, musicians, music producers, producers of audio equipment etc.), informative and comprehensive in the field of reproduced music... ugh... if I didn't skip something?
I've got a slightly off-center imaging due to an absolutely unsymmetrical listening environment. However, I'm unable to move my speakers around like you suggested. Is it a viable option to tackle this problem by tweaking the ballance-settings, or can this only be fixed by rearranging my room and/or tearing down some walls? Thank you!
This is a timely video for me. I've been playing with speaker positions for a few weeks now. I have a large wall (about 20 feet) in a large room. I'm trying to figure out the max distance between the speakers. What should I listen for to determine if the speakers are to far apart? I have B&W 802d's.
In general, if the speakers are too far apart, either the strong center image disappears at your listening position (or any listening position), or you get bad interactions with the side walls which can bloat bass or smear the image. Google "Rule of Thirds" as a starting place for speaker placement if you haven't already.
True, imaging suffers if the speakers are too far apart, but there are tonal balances changes too. Use a well recorded male vocal, and listen for how the vocals tone changes with the speakers distance.
Place speakers as if around a circle not a triangle, that plus the correct rake angle and you're in the zone, and can tweak very tiny but awesome details. Geometry does NOT work. Dial in bass first with one speaker, then height of the singer, then go stereo. Correct height is very important, then tow in (circular), then move forward/ backwards for correct volume and adjust tow and rake angle. The summed audio should be LOUDER then the separate signals, and should form a nice sphere between the speakers.
That's great and all, but imaging and soundstage are the animals that get me going first, but if it sounds cold..... Aaahhhhhhh, it took such a long time to dial them in.
Here's an idea, wear headphones. So many of these 'Audiophile' how to vids on here and the simple answer is wear headphones. You're making a speaker set up that works for one person sat in exactly the right place who never moves their head, why? If you are this needy for thinking you're making a difference seriously just buy a decent pair of headphones and get over yourself. Or I guess you could invite some friends over and show them how they can't hear your music as well as you and how special you and the one seat this works in are.
Berringer Ultra Pro- There's only so much positioning can do. Box speakers have a 180° dispersion pattern. Good luck with Audessey when you can beat it with a six band eq and time alignment easily. Some rooms need alot of correction and who wants acoustic panels...you need band independant flattening capability and top and low end boost or cut. 218$
But my dear sir, surely, we are missing the grand design here, show us how about it, and rememeber not to discriminate against winners with Audiophile (A48 man myself) speakers, all the 10 steps in nine easy lessons are always catering to the low-lifes with the loser desktop-pc-speakers
![Summer Walker - Heart Of A Woman [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SFddctbZzw8/mqdefault.jpg)
Absolutely agree. The distance between speakers and the distance from a wall can make startling differences. Also, some speakers sound better toed in and some sound worse when this is done. Determining these things is free and they generally make bigger differences than those obtained from changing cables.
Great video. Now can you do one on convincing the wife that we need to rearrange the furniture?? Haha!
The room interaction with speakers cannot be overstated!
I have tried my speakers in different rooms in my home and the sound is noticeably different.
In the main living room where the main setup resides, if I cover with a blanket the large (55") TV screen on the wall, the sound also changes.
Every bit counts!
I've even tried setting it up 'east - west' instead of 'north - south' (width of the room v length of it) with dramatic changes in what I hear.
I have finally come to appreciate 'near field' listening, which gives me a very wide and deep soundstage.
The two Thiels face my listening chair directly, i.e. I cannot see the sides of the speakers.
I've come to this after many months of experimentation. I often get tempted to alter their location but I don't fall for it as I know, _this is the optimal spot_
Thanks for all the thought provoking videos Steve!
Great vlog. This works. Tried it yesterday and toe'd mine in a bit. Does sound better. It's probably easier for us that have little opportunity to move the speakers much (because of room layout, fixed furniture, happy wife happy life stuff) than folks with massive opportunity to change everything in a room because it might seem overwhelming? Maybe. When I did Chemistry in school a long time ago you always had a 'control' and did one thing at a time to see what changed, if anything. If you move more than one thing at once with no control you lose track of what's doing what, and get nowhere quickly.
One of the most useful videos in a long time! I'd never heard of trying just one speaker, and didn't know that some experts like Steve didn't "believe" in the room correction process. I'm in a place now where I've owned the same pair of Monitor Audio Silver RX6's for about seven or eight years. I've lived in about half a dozen different apartments in that time, and the difference in quality from one apartment to the next is staggering. The last apartment I was in had the best sound - venturing on magical. I haven't achieved the same sound here, with some oddly shaped walls really screwing my options. Thanks for the ideas, Steve.
For me it's the RS6s and yep, bigger differences than changing the amp or dac.
In fact, after i changed my amp out for a better 5 times the price one, the placement made it sound right. One amp to the other really required complete readjustment of the placement, even needed to angle them upwards. But now, natural sounding and no problems.
Spent a good part of a couple of weeks making tiny adjustments to the placement of my new floor standing speakers. In the end and only after I read several other owners suggest the same, mine are best relatively close to the wall but sitting straight forward as opposed to to being toed in. The most dramatic change I've recently experienced is covering the big screen TV behind the stereo with a blanket-I still can't get over the difference that made. Lots of experience is in order for sure. Good tip about one speaker at a time, I'll want to try that when I get back from RMAF.
Thanks, Steve, It all sounds so obvious on the surface, but I really appreciate you offering this excellent information. Very useful stuff.
Great subject, Steve. Our human sense of order really, really wants things even and symmetrical. Recently I had to set up a stereo with rather large floor standing speakers and video screen in a bedroom. Naturally, I set everything up to what I thought looked just right, nice and symmetrical. Well, after careful listening, one speaker is now in further than the other, and the other is out and toed in more. Visually not at all right but MUCH more pleasant to the ear. I made a two panel felt curtain to cover the large video screen that can be pulled back for watching movies, etc.
NICE VIDEO!!!!! in fact I've been moving my speakers around for about 2 day's they have gotten a little better....I'm gonna try some of the things your talking about in your video....I think speaker placement is one of the most important ways to getting your system to sound better thank you Steve!!!
Very informative video. Thank you. I'm limited on space. But after just about 20 minutes of moving the speakers. I can hear a world of difference. And I no longer have to adjust the balance control to make the sound equal from both channels.
2 DISLIKES?
W T F ?
WHY?
Thank you for this video. This is THE most important topic of them ALL!
There are ten dislikes now and I think I've had to work with all 10 of them over the years.
As always Sir , very useful and I am very grateful for your advice and musings. 👍🎶🎷
Speaker placement and the listening position (speakers away from the walls, on stands and decoupled, placed in an equilateral triangle, normally with toe-in that points just directly behind the listeners head) are vital to optimizing listening experience. Room symmetry and dimensions are also important, followed by room dampening. Reflections can be a problem depending on the room size/surfaces, so having a thick carpet and/or dampening panels and bass traps could help if you like to play music at considerably loud levels.
When my dad was in the industry , he was HUGE on speaker placement. " the difference can be dramatic ..good or bad" he would say.
I also used an adjustable office chair to help pinpoint the best height of my permanent chair. Room acoustics, speaker placement & height , chair placement ... the improvement can be dramatic.
Adjust the location and height of speakers and your chair..take your time, and take notes.
Great info and good timing. I’m starting to build a listening room, so I’m doing lots of research to learn how to best set things up. Zu also mentions the one speaker at a time, and also comparing the two one at a time to make sure there aren’t anything glaring differences between them.
The room is one of the most important elements in your system so placement is VERY important. getting speaker placement (along with listener placement) is supremely important and it's all pretty much FREE.
I spent a few days moving the speakers around the room and measuring them with REW in various listening positions. I ended up with asymmetrical speaker placement to get the flattest bass response.
Only down side is that the stereo imaging isn't as good as it could be, even though I have tried to fiddle with some reflectors, diffusers and dampers.
Free advice is not worth nothing if it's good advice, and this is most definitely good advice. The only thing is that I would guess most people don't have all that much range of freedom in placing speakers, maybe a few feet at most. But then again, even a few feet can make a significant difference in sound, at least in my experience. But the key is to experiment and hear the differences for yourself, you might be surprised how moving speakers just a few inches or adjusting certain things can change the sound dramatically.
Great advice, Steve!
I found by taking most of the toe out of the speakers it increased the "sweet spot" to a larger area. I also keep the speakers against the wall to please the wife but pull them out 18" when I am home alone listening. There is always give and take in life.
An older house I lived in some years ago had the walls curve up to the ceiling about 4-6" in a quarter arc. Other rooms were normal 90 degree corners and when you clapped your hands there would be a sound delay (echo). In the curved to ceiling room this slap-back was eliminated. Something to consider although difficult to achieve. During a jam session the other musicians commented on the good acoustics.
Acoustics is the most important part of you audio system.
Dave Truestory Are both sides of your room mirror images of each other?
Good advice i have placed mine with precision its fun. Its more work but more rewarding when Done and they sound better!
If you use headphones you are already set.
The one speaker thing is also a great way to compare different speakers to each other, floyd toole recommends this and it’s also the the method used in the JBL blind test lab.
Thanks Steve good insight.
Thanks for another very informative vid.
In short: mediocre speakers good placed can sound better than speakers twice as expensive positioned badly.
I used the sumiko master protocol.
Great advise Steve.
No toe-in for me, horn compression drivers used in my JBLs.
one word: practicality
Really enjoying it when you get straight to the point and don't say "Hey it's Steve Guttenberg and I am...the audiophiliac"
If you can't move them (like me, usually) tweak the EQ-levels, which can make a significant difference as well.
Imagine it as how you set up your binoculars, but looking for a clear image in your head and not in front of your eyes: look for the spot, when the music doesn't fall apart, I think a small band, with not too much instruments and a good singer is a brilliant choice to set up a stereo system. The set up is the best, when you can imagine the singer in front of you, almost you could touch it.
I moved both speakers not just the one, it worked for me fine and settled for the sound quickly. Don't forget, that yes, you're moving them away from the wall in every direction, from left/right and from behind, but you should also adjust the elevation as well, try to make sure that the sound comes from the same plain where your ears are, it makes a huge difference!!!
I have seen, Adele, Anastasia, Seal, Sting etc singing just for me in my own apartment... I could have touch them...
Good room, good positioning can make a 700$ stereo pair to sound much better than a pair of 4000$! Personal experience!
My Infinity Kappa 8s are four feet tall and weigh about 90 lbs each. Good point the sound is coming from the same elevation as my ears. Rear facing tweeter along with front facing makes for an open high end with reflections bouncing off the walls and a cardboard wall I made to keep the sun from killing my polydome faster. There's a lot going on. But really, I seriously doubt that just about any speaker under about 7 grand for the pair (if that) other than used ones is going to come even close to these Infinities. Mostly what I see is tiny speakers in tiny cabinets trying to be full size in sound but lacking that sound. A subwoofer and even two will never bring a coherent bass like these big monitors will. Period.
Wow, I imagine, that they must sound really awesome! I've googled it and saved it for a time when I might be able to use speakers properly again.
Haha, 90lbs is tricky to elevate but solid timber, or big pieces of timber in layers could do the job.
I'm using these little beasts, who are punching above their weight: S-A4SPT-PM, and mine are frequency matched limited edition which eliminates many of the issues that can be read online. I don't use sub woofer with them as they don't need it, for gaming could do with it, but for anything else, not really.
I've used them in a 18' x 14' room and I was about 11' away from them and decided that I don't need surround sound system...
You can be right on the last one.;))
Nice, I checked out those speakers and didn't get the pure malt reference until I realized the cabinets were made out of old whiskey barrels. I bet they sound great especially the frequency matching. I just listened to King Crimson Lizard and yeah some of the bass stuff is amazing. These speakers have a unique mid bass called a polygraph that lets the 12" woofer try not to woof too high.
Little monsters they are, but they have to match the room, just like the other speakers do.;))
My first comment describe them somewhat.
I've checked out the King Crimson Lizard music, but it's not for me, I'd go with Tubular Bells.;))
Haha, I think you're getting a bit too technical for me, as I'm mainly going by my ears, so I mainly care about the sound and not the tech that's behind it.
What size of a room do you have your speakers in? It's hard to come by a decent sized room in the UK. You know, just to know, that if I could actually properly ever try anything of a speaker like yours.
It's a long room in my basement living quarters 10 ft (3 m lol) x 50 ft. I have them in one end maybe 14 ft apart and facing the near wall. I probably do need to try them on the far end and see what kind of cave effects can be accomplished.
Good information....Thanks
In my case I use room correction with Audyseey with my Denon AVR 1611 just because is the only way to set the unit and get a better performance. Anyway I have seen that is great for very clear voices, is not the same result for bass sound. I am using the system with no sub woofer, but with same speaker I used with my old stereo integrated amplifier. The comparison in terms of bass is that the old stereo was better with the same speakers. One of my favorites CDs is a compilation of best music from Carlos Santana and I miss very much how the drums and bass are being listened, but also the complete feeling not only with your ears, but with your body too. Same CD tracks being played with the Denon results in a softer bass, and the feeling is not the same.
I’m single so my speakers are sitting smack-dab in the middle of my living room!
Thanks, Steve - I've never heard of the one-speaker-at-a-time approach . Presumably running a mono signal though each i.e. parallel the stereo output ?
Good advice, but why do you find bass obnoxious? All music has bass, especially vocals. I guess your not a subwoofer fan? I use a sub but it's barely on, you can't point to it when the system is playing however when I turn it off the music is lacking bottom end.
He said that room correction adds "a lot of bass". That translates to me as too much bass, which I would find obnoxious too.
4:14 Good to know about room correction
Steve,, Have I ever told you, your video's are better than Paul McGowan's, 😗
Thanks!
ALL of Paul McGowan's videos are SPAM in disguise. It's all about selling their garbage and ESPECIALLY their up coming overpriced speakers. Oh, and all those "questions" he reads and then replies to? Most of those are likely staged and not authentic.
I can't address "most of those," but Paul answered my question a few weeks ago (about 3 weeks after its submission). He read my question verbatim, and referred to me by name and city. His answer was a bit circuitous (he had no experience at what I asked about), but he did make an attempt. I have no doubt that at least some of his questioners are legitimate.
I asked a similar question (about metered SPL's at the listener's location) within the comments section of one of Steve's recent videos, and received a succinct, precise answer that indicated Steve knew by experience exactly what I was asking about.
@Larry Niles oh,, why ?
The comment sections on Paul's videos are more fun though, aren't they @Larry Niles? :D
I'll have to give the individual speaker set up a try. Just need to find time.
Oh man.
I've been so far down this rabbit hole.
I used to have a man cave.
26' x 26'. A bunch of office dividers and a comfy office chair on wheels. 8 or 10 sets of speakers and a couple subs.
I'd play with placement, height, chair position, and make different size / shaped rooms with the office dividers.
My ex thought i was nuts, but hey, she's my ex now.
Being able to move speakers and the chair easily was amazing.
1 foot forward or back could make a world of difference.
Fancy cables my ass. First try shuffling things around.
Save the cable money for the divorce lawyer.
Very helpful. Question.
When you have only 1 speaker playing, can that do any ohms related impedance signal stuff damage to your receiver? I recall coming across something like that in manuals and so forth but I can be wrong. This issue also related to speaker use vs ear phone use.
Thanks.
Not a problem, just don't play too loud.
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac
Thank you much..
Appreciate you.
What is your opinion on isoAcoustics and similar accessories to stabilize speakers and thus enhance the sound? (according to some reviewers, it is like going from category C to category B amplifier, or going from category B to A). these reviewers swear there i palpable improvement in sound and one of those reviewers was Paul CEO of PS Audio.
I presume when you do the single speaker setup you switch to mono ? My own tip is to mark out the floor with measured lines with masking tape and move the speakers along the lines. You can mark positions on the tape with a felt tip so you can go back to them if they sound better than the current spot.
John really good idea!
Painters tape might be a little better..?
Yes, depends on the surface. I use blue tape on wooden floors or masking tape on carpet as cheap.
I use a similar method since i have dogs i fear would tip a tower if i left them in the listening position. I spent a long time getting the sound dialed in and the improvement was incredible on my budget system. I marked the corners of each speaker location with a small bit of clear nail polish so i dont have to remeasure for distance from both walls and toe-in every time I want to listen. Really works very well and saves a lot of time measuring which means much more time for music!
“ free advice is worth exactly that, nothing “ 😊☺️✌🏼👍🏼
My speaker placement has been obsessed over down to the millimeter...
How about the position of your head?
I've done that already ... a lot of time ... in different set up and with good results ... But that's not the reason to skip Steve's video... because it's (always): good for audiophiles (and others in the bunch: professionals, musicians, music producers, producers of audio equipment etc.), informative and comprehensive in the field of reproduced music... ugh... if I didn't skip something?
The "sweet spot" is not all that it's cracked up to be. Just enjoy the MUSIC.
You need both. Good looks *and* personality. They are not mutually exclusive.
I've got a slightly off-center imaging due to an absolutely unsymmetrical listening environment. However, I'm unable to move my speakers around like you suggested. Is it a viable option to tackle this problem by tweaking the ballance-settings, or can this only be fixed by rearranging my room and/or tearing down some walls? Thank you!
So, using mono recordings would help here?
Sure, mono is helpful for fine-tuning the focus of the center image.
Hey Steve can you talk about the cab of speakers do they matter? Also what is you stand on cerwin vega?
Even CV speakers can sound much better with good placement, i know this since i have CV speakers. ;) Great for house and hiphop music.
This is a timely video for me. I've been playing with speaker positions for a few weeks now. I have a large wall (about 20 feet) in a large room. I'm trying to figure out the max distance between the speakers. What should I listen for to determine if the speakers are to far apart? I have B&W 802d's.
In general, if the speakers are too far apart, either the strong center image disappears at your listening position (or any listening position), or you get bad interactions with the side walls which can bloat bass or smear the image. Google "Rule of Thirds" as a starting place for speaker placement if you haven't already.
True, imaging suffers if the speakers are too far apart, but there are tonal balances changes too. Use a well recorded male vocal, and listen for how the vocals tone changes with the speakers distance.
Would this be recommendation for the s300mk2?
Did this and for the first time understood what '"imaging" means..
Place speakers as if around a circle not a triangle, that plus the correct rake angle and you're in the zone, and can tweak very tiny but awesome details. Geometry does NOT work. Dial in bass first with one speaker, then height of the singer, then go stereo. Correct height is very important, then tow in (circular), then move forward/ backwards for correct volume and adjust tow and rake angle. The summed audio should be LOUDER then the separate signals, and should form a nice sphere between the speakers.
That's great and all, but imaging and soundstage are the animals that get me going first, but if it sounds cold..... Aaahhhhhhh, it took such a long time to dial them in.
I know the feeling lol tow in a milimeter!
Steve: Do you still listen to your Koss Pro4As?
No
.... guess I needed to add what I thought was implied..
If not, why not?
Here's an idea, wear headphones. So many of these 'Audiophile' how to vids on here and the simple answer is wear headphones. You're making a speaker set up that works for one person sat in exactly the right place who never moves their head, why? If you are this needy for thinking you're making a difference seriously just buy a decent pair of headphones and get over yourself. Or I guess you could invite some friends over and show them how they can't hear your music as well as you and how special you and the one seat this works in are.
I eq but only below for room transition which is around 300hz
Listening room real estate: Location, location, location...
My Sony speakers, sound awesome one foot from the wall!
It's what I can afford!
I don't move the speakers, I move myself :)
My room almost has no echoi think . The only thing that resonates is my guitar haha 🤣 .
I’d really like to heed your advice but I can’t afford the divorce!
If you're really lucky your wife will be into quality audio like you.
I know. Pie in the sky but a man can fantasize....
If you’re moving your speakers around, at least try George Cardas’ method. I’ll be damned if that wasn’t where mine ended up sounding their best🤪
You take 5 random videos on speaker placement and you get 5 different methods and none of them end up in the same place. WTF.
I don't think I can fix 20 year old crossovers for free.
Berringer Ultra Pro- There's only so much positioning can do. Box speakers have a 180° dispersion pattern. Good luck with Audessey when you can beat it with a six band eq and time alignment easily. Some rooms need alot of correction and who wants acoustic panels...you need band independant flattening capability and top and low end boost or cut. 218$
Do NOT unplug your speakers if you are using a tube amp ....===== or you will seriously damage it ====
Mine sound better straight on vs Toed in.
I can skip this...
have someone move them for you, this move speaker, step back, listen,move speaker, step back, listen, no good
100.
Lacking of space. . .
Or just buy headphones.
But my dear sir, surely, we are missing the grand design here, show us how about it, and rememeber not to discriminate against winners with Audiophile (A48 man myself) speakers, all the 10 steps in nine easy lessons are always catering to the low-lifes with the loser desktop-pc-speakers