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Floorstanding speakers placement in book case (bibliotheque behind the speakers)

Smislov

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Hi, I need help in positioning the speakers. We're redecorating the flat and of course the living room and I need help and suggestions how to position the speakers. The plan is to have a floor to ceiling bookcase like in the image no. 1. The idea is to position the speakers as shown on image no. 2 (bad photomontage :) with niches in the book case to store them if and when necessary ( when children are running around or when vacuuming).
Another thing that seriously bothers me is whether there will be a difference in the sound as half the wall is brick and the other half is MDF ( the MDF will also cover the brick wall as it will be the back of the bookcase) The last image is the plan of the room.
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Image No.1 Image No.2


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abdo123

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That’s a pretty good idea.

Just focus on maximising the ratio of direct to reflected sound by sitting as close as you possibly can to the speakers. Almost everything else is irrelevant.
 
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Smislov

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That’s a pretty good idea.

Just focus on maximising the ratio of direct to reflected sound by sitting as close as you possibly can to the speakers. Almost everything else is irrelevant.
Thanks for your replies. I talked to a friend of mine he said that he had hear speakers inserted in the bookcase (book-shelf speakers) and the whole bookcase vibrated. In my case the speakers will be outside the bookcase they will only be stored in the bookcase when needed. Another thing that sort of bothers me and I'm not certain about is how much space I should leave behind the speakers.
What do you think, how much space I should leave behind the speakers?
Thanks again
 

abdo123

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Thanks for your replies. I talked to a friend of mine he said that he had hear speakers inserted in the bookcase (book-shelf speakers) and the whole bookcase vibrated. In my case the speakers will be outside the bookcase they will only be stored in the bookcase when needed. Another thing that sort of bothers me and I'm not certain about is how much space I should leave behind the speakers.
What do you think, how much space I should leave behind the speakers?
Thanks again

As much as you possibly can. A speaker only measures similarly to free field anechoic measurements when it’s in the center of the room.

The bookshelf could resonate if it was placed in it, specially if there are rear ports in the speaker.
 

youngho

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Thanks for your replies. I talked to a friend of mine he said that he had hear speakers inserted in the bookcase (book-shelf speakers) and the whole bookcase vibrated.
It's worse than that, as there can also be significant cavity resonances around the speaker, as well as effects of diffraction from the shelf edges around the speaker.
In my case the speakers will be outside the bookcase they will only be stored in the bookcase when needed. Another thing that sort of bothers me and I'm not certain about is how much space I should leave behind the speakers. What do you think, how much space I should leave behind the speakers?
Most conventional speakers are designed to be be placed at least 3+' from the nearest boundaries. However, the farther the speaker is from the wall behind it, the lower the frequency of cancellation from the wall due to SBIR, and the harder it becomes to absorb conventionally. You may be able to ameliorate this significantly by crossing over to a subwoofer.
 
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Smislov

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I have subwoofer and i plan to bay minidsd in near future:)
 

youngho

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I have subwoofer and i plan to bay minidsd in near future:)
Oh, great. Subwoofers are typically crossed over about 80 Hz, so if you can pull the speakers >3.5' from the wall behind them, then that pushes the SBIR frequency bellow that. Probably still beneficial to have some absorption placed behind them.
 

Webninja

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Depending on the size of the towers, the might be too heavy or awkward to move back in their cubbies. I can’t budge my towers alone, so that might be something to consider.
 
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