Speakers aren't too short, floors are too tall.

Come on now, slouch a bit in that listening chair of yours and everything will be just perfect. Speaker manufacturers can't help it if you're too tall.

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Why do manufacturers make speakers so short they put the tweeters/midranges 6" or below the average listening height?

Average ear height of a seated listener is 36". I am not aware of many designs that place the listening axis much lower than that. 6" lower, as you claim, is rare.

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People actually buy stands for the QUAD and Gallo. That is ridiculous and a rip off.

The Quad ESL-63 was originally designed as a standmount, but marketing concerns led the company to sell it as a floorstander. Don't know about the Gallo. But if you believe using a stand would subject you to being ripped-off (and how tired I am of that accusation), don't use a stand and slouch a little.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Greetings ,

Maybe I'm mising something here ...... but if you have to be in such a restricted listening position for the above speakers ....... why bother with them ? You have other choices.

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John

OK I am 6'7" tall. I just measured my sight line (a little above the ear) at 40" on several couches. I guess the average male is short enough to meet the 36" you mention. Seems like a low soundstage

wow

talk about a reason for people on forums not seeing eye to eye about gear.

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I am 6'7" tall. I just measured my sight line (a little above the ear) at 40" on several couches. I guess the average male is short enough to meet the 36" you mention. Seems like a low soundstage

I think you are a statistical outlier. Sorry, I know that hardly matters when you are 100% representative of the sample that matters to you personally, but speaker manufacturers have to optimize their designs for the statistical "center of gravity."

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile (5'10")

As a small time loudspeaker designer manufacter.I tend to build my floorstanders a bit higher arround 38in-42in acoustic center I to feel most designs are to low leading to shortened image height. I also do custom work so can build most anything to any size.Have built a few monster horn systems 19ft across and 8ft H.These have the best most real sound I have ever heard.So size matters well at least in loudspeakers it does.

Why blame the speaker mfgs? when it's obviously the couch mfgs fault!!!!! Simple Tweak....cut the legs shorter on your couches.....or...get a floor that's lower?

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Why blame the speaker mfgs? when it's obviously the couch mfgs fault!!!!! Simple Tweak....cut the legs shorter on your couches.....or...get a floor that's lower?

That would work, but a more practical idea would be to get adjustable spikes and tilt the speakers back a bit to the tweeters fire up toward your ears.

I believe that speakers such as the Watt/Puppy are designed to tilt the upper speaker down toward the ear.

I was thinking time alignment...I'm 6'2" but, average would probably be less.

Very interesting. I just googled "floor speakers too short" and found this (now old) thread. I'm a 5'2" female and my floor speakers are also too short. Also, I have a chaise in my stereo room, which is shorter than the average sofa, and still my ears are a good 6" above the tweeters.

Why not just lift them up on some wood or concrete block? You're 8 inches taller than the average person. That's life.