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John
28-09-2009, 15:16
One of the themes running through the HiFi show is correct room set up It be interesting to know how much people pay attention to this and how much difference this has made
Speaker placement and position is something worth playing with I tend to perfer my speakersquite wide aart and usually have about 3 foot away from back walls and perhaps 2.5 foot from side walls but it is something I will play about with.Also I usually perfer my speakers slightly toe-in 15 -20% but again this will depend on the speaker at the moment I am seeing if I can get used to sound not toe-in I will give it a few weeks in a forward facing position and then see which i perfer next weekend.
I guess the other big one was to use felt to cover the speakers This help with room reflections and for helped the speaker to disappear more
I do not have any room treatments and I am not using room correction
Also its interesting that modern homes are probarly not great acoustically eg suspended wood flooring. Whilst a recording studio will usually put a lot of effort to get the right sound
Its a area that is rarely talked about but a bit of effort can bring good rewards

steve68
01-10-2009, 08:41
I totally agree with your comments John.
I have opted for digital room correction, since I moved my equipment in to my lounge, due to space and physical obstructions that are part n parcel with a lounge.
I will say that this has really worked for me, but i do undersatnd that this somewhat new technology is one that is always questioned.
rgds.......Steve68

aquapiranha
03-10-2009, 15:40
Hi John. I do agree with what you say, and often is the case where I hear of somebody trying many speakers to match the 'system' whereas in reality in all likelihood they are actually match the speakers to the room! Aside from other factors, I believe this is why changing speakers in general will bring about a bigger difference than say changing an amp. I do also think that not enough people look at the room acoustics when they have problems with the sound. I may have a look at DSP etc if I am not happy when I have finished my current project.

Clive
03-10-2009, 15:49
Hi John,

If your tweeters have sufficient dispersion try your OBs straight, not toe'ed in. If they behave like my Bastanis they will image better like this. If you think about the rear firing energy when they are toe'ed in you are directing mid-range into the room corners which can give a diffused central image.

DSJR
03-10-2009, 16:00
When we furnish our living rooms, the way it used to be done (before the fashionable bare walls/floors became fashionable) was to make speech (talking to one another in that room) as comfortable as possible. Modern trendy rooms sound like echo chambers (or the way kitchens and bathrooms do) and IMO would be useless for music listening.

Speakers have a difficult job. A tightly damped pair with little extension may work in a boomy environment, whereas a "loose" speaker like Spendor BC1's (and siblings/cousins) needs a well damped room and a good distance from walls and floor. This is one excuse for the views of the likes of Richard Dunn - choose the speaker to work in the room used.

I'm now very lucky, the sitting room has little difficulty in the bass, although it is well damped which doesn't help my ears as they are now at very low levels. Careful choice of cartridge (LP) and CD player and tuning the Croft preamp for a bright and breezy presentation (thank heavens for tube rolling) gives me a great and easy-to-hear-through sound.

Our dining room, where the system sulked for a few years, was a disaster for speakers, a horrid BOOOOOOOM from the flexible thin-joist ceiling and bad dimensions making anything other than miniature speakers a total no-no!

John
03-10-2009, 16:47
Hi Clive
Yes Vic got me to try the speakers straight and agree seems to work better that way with OB speakers

John
03-10-2009, 16:48
Steve
Tend to agree having speakers that work in your room seems to make the biggest difference

John
03-10-2009, 16:53
Dave some great points