I currently have my family room stand mounted speakers in the corner of the room. After experimenting with several placements I like it the best. My speakers are wider spread and are about 2' from the walls (measured perpendicular to the walls). My chair is also closer, with a lot of space behind me. My speakers are rear ported. I am getting good bass and excellent imaging from this setup.
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Am I hurting sound quality a lot by placing my speakers like this in the corner ?
- Thread starter Seany
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The sloping ceiling is a good thing. It eliminates strong ceiling to floor room modes, which occur at 70/140/210 etc Hz for an 8' ceiling. An ideal listening room would have no parallel surfaces so as not to form a box resonator.
My living room is the best listening room in the house. It has a generous volume, a sloping cathedral ceiling, a irregular geometry with parallel surfaces broken up, some 45 degree angles, and multiple large openings to other rooms facilitating rapid decay of resonant energy. All this prevents strong room modes from forming. On the other hand, you can hear the music all over the house, which I like but has a low WAF.
That's because of interference between the two speakers because they're so close together and have wide dispersion. You could try toeing them out a little.
Also, they aren't really "in the corner", they're "near the corner" and as such probably won't have the huge bassy hump you get when you literally stick a speaker in the corner.
This type of placement isn't great for stereo, but it eliminates a lot of the room effects and you can always sit closer when you're listening seriously.
Good point.
Galliardist
Major Contributor
The reason for mentioning the sloping ceiling as a concern was that there was mention of moving the setup in front of the fireplace. I've not done much in rooms with sloping ceilings, but I've been told that having the speakers side on to the slope can sometimes cause imaging issues and to start with setup under the low end of the ceiling and if that doesn't work, try the high end. I don't have any proper reference to testing and measurements on this score though.
Zapper is right with his comment about the sloping ceiling being an advantage, we just need to work with them, and the ceiling height and angle comes into this.
ozzy9832001
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I feel like the cat has the best listening position. Too far to the right and everything will sound like it's coming from the left. It's hard to tell from the photo, but in the single chair, I'd think you'd be much closer to the left speaker than right causing some imaging issues. On another note: watching tv from that couch can't be all that comfortable either.
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- #27
Yeah it's correct
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- #28
Well I don't want to put anything in front of the window I'll have to keep the curtains closed the cats like to look outside I can do that to them.
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- #29
Well I haven't tried anything else yet that's why I have a commented on what I found so far, moving to speakers more forward further out in the room is this going to look awkward and I don't like that look. I could just test it just to see if it improves the sound but I'm not going to keep it that way even if it sounds a little bit better, I don't like it when the speakers sit further than the TV stand. I've always liked keeping that equal. Either I'm going to have to be satisfied with the quality I'm getting but I'm thinking about moving the whole thing in front of the fireplace. What minimum distance should I have between the speakers, cause right now it's 4feet. I'm think at least 5-6feet ?
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If the stereo separation is important, a minimum of 6'.
I'm not an equilateral kind of guy, so I would sit between 7-8' away. If you sit further than that, I would spread the Speakers more to at least match you distance from the screen.
YMMV as this becomes a preference kind of situation.
Galliardist
Major Contributor
Good point.
As far as the current setup goes, you could simply try moving the speakers forward by two or three inches. Having them in the same plane as the TV may be a problem.
And moving the seating so you are in the right place to listen is also an option (even if it looks odd). You can move it back when you have guests, of course.
Stereo (for me) requires my head be equidistant from each speaker, which isn't evident for any of the seatings in the photo.
Second, I've not had a setup so narrow and distant.
Nor arranged around a corner.
Compromised setup (or listening position) creates a compromised listening experience.
I'll listen off-center when sharing the couch, but it's not as good as sitting in the middle.
Such is life.
Second, I've not had a setup so narrow and distant.
Nor arranged around a corner.
Compromised setup (or listening position) creates a compromised listening experience.
I'll listen off-center when sharing the couch, but it's not as good as sitting in the middle.
Such is life.
There is no point in asking the question if you're unwilling to change anything. It doesn't matter if the sound is the best it could be - the speaker placement is set by the TV and the curtains and the cats, so it is what it is and you have to accept it. If it were really bad you would know already, so it's probably fine. Don't worry about it.
On the plus side your TV sound through those speakers is way better than the internal speakers and most soundbars.
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Soandso
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To me it seems you've the placement of items most logical for that room's lifestyle usage. And so what you might consider is how to modify the "room" influences on the sound you hear at the seating options.
With one speaker near lots of glass and the other speaker hugging a side wall their respective sound reflections are bound to vary. The simplest experiment to try would be adjusting left and right balance at your controls to see if you might like better some altered "room mode" influence (at your general preferred listening volume, not party loud).
With one speaker near lots of glass and the other speaker hugging a side wall their respective sound reflections are bound to vary. The simplest experiment to try would be adjusting left and right balance at your controls to see if you might like better some altered "room mode" influence (at your general preferred listening volume, not party loud).
Sound Quality and convenience don't necessarily go hand in hand. 
I suspect most of us (to the order of 75-80%) have to make some compromises in our setups. Even mine.
I usually bring this up when coaching friends on Subwoofers, but the value holds true for all aspects of our Audio lifestyles:
It is a personal values based decision.
You can design your room for comfort, for the Cats, for the SO if one is present, or for Audio. Very rarely in a primary living space does Acoustics and proper seating distance and Speaker placement match with other aesthetic or convenience concerns.
If willing, I think OP should absolutely try repositioning the Room. If nothing else, it will go back to the way it is now. A few hours of labor and perhaps a few days of adapting to it and exploring the new audio setup will tell the tale. Or another idea will come to mind and OP can try a third arrangement.
It's also a great opportunity to deep clean the room!
I suspect most of us (to the order of 75-80%) have to make some compromises in our setups. Even mine.I usually bring this up when coaching friends on Subwoofers, but the value holds true for all aspects of our Audio lifestyles:
It is a personal values based decision.
You can design your room for comfort, for the Cats, for the SO if one is present, or for Audio. Very rarely in a primary living space does Acoustics and proper seating distance and Speaker placement match with other aesthetic or convenience concerns.
If willing, I think OP should absolutely try repositioning the Room. If nothing else, it will go back to the way it is now. A few hours of labor and perhaps a few days of adapting to it and exploring the new audio setup will tell the tale. Or another idea will come to mind and OP can try a third arrangement.
It's also a great opportunity to deep clean the room!
- Thread Starter
- #36
UPDATE, I moved the living room around. I can definitely tell a diff when listening to music, I can tell better where the sounds are coming from either the left or right channel. I think my bass deepness is the same though. I know some of you will notice that the couch is touching the right speaker, the speaker is barely clearing the couch though. I'm not sure if this is affects the sound much though. I kind of like where the couch is still at. I may this weekend move it but how much more will it add to sq. Also I was thinking of toe-in the speakers just a little bit towards the brown chair but wouldn't this reduce the sound quality for people siting on the couch though ? and when I mean sitting on the couch I mean at the furthest position by the end table. Thanks
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Clearly, the stereo image is improved by using two cats.
Now that the speakers are further apart, you can gain a more precise stereo imaging illusion by toeing the speakers in towards the listening position. However! If you feel there is already sufficient treble, you may decide not to do this as it will probably add brightness.
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned Decware's testing on there listening room setup, but it was some great information about, "Kitty corner set up".
They found that there were fewer acoustical issues setting up in the corner than any other way. Almost to the point of no acoustic treatment at all.
If a person can sell a source, amplifier, speakers, cables and a way to set up his gear with less acoustic treatment, it's a pretty good deal I thought.
https://www.decware.com/paper14.htm. Just a thought from 2000. 23 years ago.
Regards
They found that there were fewer acoustical issues setting up in the corner than any other way. Almost to the point of no acoustic treatment at all.
If a person can sell a source, amplifier, speakers, cables and a way to set up his gear with less acoustic treatment, it's a pretty good deal I thought.
https://www.decware.com/paper14.htm. Just a thought from 2000. 23 years ago.
Regards
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