Anything I can do to help with this less than ideal speaker placement? | Stereophile.com

You are here

Log in or register to post comments

May 30, 2020 - 11:42am

#1

TheMattman

TheMattman's picture

Offline

Last seen: 1 year 11 months ago

Joined: May 30 2020 - 11:29am

Anything I can do to help with this less than ideal speaker placement?

Greetings fellow stereophiles.

Unfortunately due to my cramped studio apartment, this is the speaker placement I am forced to live with. There is no leeway:

PIC LINK
https://imgur.com/a/ansQdys

It's still the best sound I've ever had in my setup but I have to crank the balance knob about 25 - 30% right to get mono recordings to sound like they're coming from the phantom center.

I imagine this is because the wood of the dresser on the left is reflecting sound while the couch on the right is absorbing sound.

I also assume that the reflecting effects of the dresser are hurting my sound in other ways than balance but am unsure.

What say you acoustic experts? Will the sound I hear with this positioning be particularly compromised? Is there any very thin product I could put between the left speaker and the dresser that would ameliorate the reflections? Would anything that thin even help?

I welcome any and all thoughts!

Thanks in advance.

May 30, 2020 - 1:08pm

#2

Kal Rubinson

Kal Rubinson's picture

Offline

Last seen: 15 hours 40 min ago

Joined: Sep 1 2005 - 9:34am

Most unfortunate. All I can

Most unfortunate. All I can suggest is to pull the speakers forward enough so that their fronts are more forward than the front of the dresser. Also, perhaps, raise them both so that the right one is higher than the arm of the couch and both are close to ear height.

May 30, 2020 - 1:47pm

#3

TheMattman

TheMattman's picture

Offline

Last seen: 1 year 11 months ago

Joined: May 30 2020 - 11:29am

Thanks, Kal.

Thanks, Kal.

I cannot pull the right speaker forward as if I move the couch further back it will block the entry way to the room.

And despite how it looks in the picture, the speakers are currently 1 - 2 inches above ear height. The bottom edge of the woofer on the right speaker is also above the couch by 1 inch.

Two questions:

1. Would it be better to have the left speaker pulled up past the dresser and the right speaker remain where it is? Or would that asymmetry hurt my sound even more than the dresser?

2. Do you think raising the tweeters a few more inches above ear height will hurt my sound more than having the right speaker so close to the couch?

May 30, 2020 - 3:16pm

#4

Kal Rubinson

Kal Rubinson's picture

Offline

Last seen: 15 hours 40 min ago

Joined: Sep 1 2005 - 9:34am

If you are listening from the

If you are listening from the couch, none of this seems relevant since it enforces an extreme asymmetry.

If you are listening from where the picture was taken, you would benefit from getting both speakers up and forward.

All in all, don't obsess about what you cannot fix. Just enjoy the music.

June 2, 2020 - 11:45am

#5

Tim Link

Tim Link's picture

Offline

Last seen: 5 months 6 days ago

Joined: May 15 2019 - 2:09pm

How important is that couch

How important is that couch on the right? If it could go you could play out of the corner of the room

September 29, 2020 - 4:35am

#6

geoffkait

geoffkait's picture

Offline

Last seen: 6 days 23 hours ago

Joined: Apr 29 2008 - 5:10am

Agree, it doesn’t matter.

Agree, it doesn’t matter. Maybe get some headphones. Listening from the couch, that’s funny!

December 15, 2020 - 9:29am

#7

COmusicaddict

COmusicaddict's picture

Offline

Last seen: 2 years 2 months ago

Joined: Dec 13 2020 - 12:00pm

Ouch.

I'd sure be doing anything possible to raise the speakers (TV if needed) and shift it all right, possibly covering the dresser's side wall if still to close. There ought to be a safe way to tilt them back down a bit to the listening seat. Good luck and kudos for trying!

December 15, 2020 - 3:26pm

#8

geoffkait

geoffkait's picture

Offline

Last seen: 6 days 23 hours ago

Joined: Apr 29 2008 - 5:10am

Now the good news. Even if

Now the good news. Even if you had the capability to move your speakers around, unless you had a foolproof, analytical method for determining the ideal speaker locations in your particular room, your chances of success are like trying to solve x number of simultaneous equations in x + N unknowns. Move a little, listen a little is a very outdated and relatively ineffective method for speaker placement.

December 16, 2020 - 5:04pm

#9

ChrisS

ChrisS's picture

Offline

Last seen: 51 min 54 sec ago

Joined: Mar 6 2006 - 8:42pm

It may not sound...

...any good at all, but you might try wall-mounting the speakers.

December 17, 2020 - 1:00pm

#10

Old Audiophile

Old Audiophile's picture

Offline

Last seen: 2 months 1 week ago

Joined: Jun 15 2017 - 7:34pm

Hmmm...

Mattman, I'm sure you've deduced, by now, that Geoffkait is about as helpful as a skunk at a garden party.

It was difficult for me to make out what kind of speakers you have. They looked like stand-mounters, to me. Also, looks like you've got a center channel speaker? Regardless, the left and right channels are definitely too low relative to what I assume is your listening position. The couch obstruction is definitely not good either, as is having the speakers nestled in corners. Wall-mounting, as ChrisS suggests, might be a good idea as long as you can avoid having their backs up against the wall and get them between 35 to 40 inches off the floor, which is kinda' what Kal is getting at. Maybe taller stands? What about wall-mounting the TV?

December 18, 2020 - 6:49am

#11

geoffkait

geoffkait's picture

Offline

Last seen: 6 days 23 hours ago

Joined: Apr 29 2008 - 5:10am

Another low brow detractor,

Another low brow detractor, oh, well, I guess it comes with the territory.