Nearfield listening with full range floorstanders - bad idea?

[Gazjam]

Mulling over a few speaker and speaker placement options going forward...

Including having speakers further out from the wall then I've been used to, say 85cm - 1m, which obviously encroaches into the room more.

Room size is ok, even if speakers out a metre from the back wall, the space from speaker plane to listening position would still be greater than the distance between the speakers, so the "Triangle" setup would still be intact.

Speakers closer to my ears though so perhaps a bit more "nearfield" than before?
Any comments on this?

Assuming rear ported speakers:
Thinking in terms of reduced bass reflections from bigger back wall distance(good) vs. possibly worse bass reflections with reduced distance from speaker to wall behind the listening position. (bad)

My sofa is up against the back wall and cant be moved forward.

Thanks.

[Barry]

Why don't you "suck it and see"? Admittedly the Impulses are heavy speakers, but I'm sure you could manage.

[anthonyTD]

Nearfield listening can be very rewarding, with the right speakers, for eg, i sit about 7 feet away from my Tannoy's, and they work fine, although i know from experience that some speakers are more fussy as to their positioning, but as Barry said, just suck it and see, you may be surprised!
A...

[Gazjam]

I'll give it a whirl, thanks guys.

I know many Japanese Audiophile types they have crazy big speakers in tiny rooms, and sit feet away from them, they seem quite happy!

[Opti-cal]

In my short experience, near-field is more satisfying.

Big room, distant listening position, big speakers, powerful amp can make for a huge, impressive sound, but get near-field right and its just so much more intimate.
The 'triangle' rule is a good starting point but 5 inches forward or back can make a lot of difference. That includes speakers and listening position.

Always good to pull the speakers into the room a bit. Audio Note's and a few other 'corner designs' excepted.

DO IT!

[AJSki2fly]

Hi Gary

The Impulses are that much affected by being near a rear wall, or that's how I found them, I think this is due to them being bass downward firing. I would start with them very close, then sit in your listening position and listen then bring forward an inch or so and listen to the same track again, keep do so making a note of where you are when you like start to like it most, I suspect there will be a point when moving them to near to you will create secondary reflections and enhance to low end.

If you want to be more scientific, download REW and plug in a USB mic to the laptop, position this where you head would normally be when listening, and then take sweep measurements from 20 -20Khz. You will need a lead to take the sound from the Laptop to the auxiliary input of you amp. You can then measure at each position and compare the results and choose the best position. From my understanding ideally you want your head to be at the bottom of the equilateral triangle, so if your speakers are 10' apart, then from each speaker to your head should measure 10' as well. http://mh-audio.nl/Calculators/SpeakerPlacing.html this may help

However I have found that this is easily compromised by what else is in the room and how much reflective surfaces there are, such as large windows or patio doors. For instance our room is 22' by 11'6, a typical long lounge, I have found that by having the speakers 3' out, to the front of the speaker, from the front facing wall and slightly toed in and me sitting either at the equalateral triangle or at double that distance from the speakers I can get a good sound, however the bass definition is slightly compromised when further away, but is acceptable.

Have fun.

[Barry]

A friend of mine uses Impulse H2 speakers. They are about 2m from a rear wall, about 2m apart and very close to the wall at the sides. His listening position is about 3m away. The speakers are toed in so that the front face of each speaker is 'square on' to the listener.

There is no curtailment of bass or definition, but the stereo imaging could be better.

[Pigmy Pony]

My speakers are pretty large floorstanders, I have them about half a metre from their backs to the rear wall, and I have found they sound best to me when I'm about 1.5 metres from the plane of the speakers (they are about 2.4 metres apart). Does indeed sound intimate, with instruments well defined too. Unfortunately that listening position means my big fat head would block Mrs. P's view of the telly.

I have a recliner chair against the opposite wall, where the bass is much greater (boundary reinforcement?) This is great fun with some electronic music, but not really "correct" and ultimately tiring. I choose my seating position according to music choice, mood, and whether Mrs. Pony is in the house

Bottom line is try different positions till you find what YOU like. And if that means listening from outside in the garden, so be it

[Flo]

Try positioning using Cardas method, done using golden ratios. Speakers end up long way into room but gives a near field presentation, amazing soundstage. Like mega headphones.
Personally generally find most rooms will work dividing length by 3 or 5 and placing speakers and chair on these points, in my room 17ft by 12ft, room therefore= 200in” so speakers front baffle is 40in from back wall and 36 from side, chair is positioned so I’m 40in from rear wall. Has worked in most rooms, I’m lucky? I live alone so no spouse to please.

[Macca]

I'll give it a whirl, thanks guys.

I know many Japanese Audiophile types they have crazy big speakers in tiny rooms, and sit feet away from them, they seem quite happy!

They don't tend to be big three or four way speakers though. Usually Tannoys or single driver types. A Tannoy will work well in a box room and with you sat at any distance.

I think big multi-ways, that's the only type where near-field doesn't work very well. There's got to be a bit of distance for all the different sound sources to gel together. Say 6 foot minimum.