Placing speakers next to each other - will it hurt the soundstage or holographic sound?

[coonmanx]

You guys might want to read the very first post in this thread...

Focal Kanta 2 towers or Sopra 1 bookshelves with pair of subs?

I am having a hard time deciding. This is for a room at 300 sq feet. I do not use room correction and I also do not treat my room (I choose not to and there is no changing that). I have narrowed my choices between Focal Kanta 2 towers or Focal Sopra 1 with 2 REL 510 subs (or maybe just one). A...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[beagleman]

You guys might want to read the very first post in this thread...

Focal Kanta 2 towers or Sopra 1 bookshelves with pair of subs?

I am having a hard time deciding. This is for a room at 300 sq feet. I do not use room correction and I also do not treat my room (I choose not to and there is no changing that). I have narrowed my choices between Focal Kanta 2 towers or Focal Sopra 1 with 2 REL 510 subs (or maybe just one). A...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I do not use room correction and I also do not treat my room (I choose not to and there is no changing that).

uhm........feel like this pretty much ends any chance of even decent sound, huh?

 

[kemmler3D]

I do not use room correction and I also do not treat my room (I choose not to and there is no changing that).

uhm........feel like this pretty much ends any chance of even decent sound, huh?

Not necessarily.

I read "Not treating the room" as not wanting to hang up panels, bass traps, etc.

However, a rug and some drapes (maybe an ottoman or two) will still help a lot. That's not really "room treatment", it's just décor.

 

[Duke]

Not necessarily.

I agree.

Speaker advice was not requested, but I see the room as-is as an interesting speaker radiation-pattern challenge, rather than as an insurmountable acoustic obstacle.

 

[krabapple]

If he won't do *any* treatment -- including a simple throw rug, or curtains, or a bit more furniture -- then he'll want speakers with narrow disepersion and (or course) excellent on-axis performance, and he'll want to be sitting in the best MLP he can conjure. Best subwoofer(s) placement would depend entirely on his room modes as experienced at that MLP. Which is where measurments and/or DSP and/or the good old 'sub crawl' could be handy. He seems to be under some 'constraints' though.

 

[Sal1950]

If he won't do *any* treatment -- including a simple throw rug, or curtains, or a bit more furniture -- then he'll want speakers with narrow disepersion and (or course) excellent on-axis performance, and he'll want to be sitting in the best MLP he can conjure.

And sitting very close in a desktop playback listening style will help.

It's either that or headphones.

 

[krabapple]

I am periodically mind-boggled by how many users here seem to be primarily listening to 'desktop' systems, for real.

 

[Sal1950]

I am periodically mind-boggled by how many users here seem to be primarily listening to 'desktop' systems, for real.

Taking the room out of the listening equation as much as possible does have it's strengths and weaknesses.
When done well it can offer amazing soundstaging, requires less of everything for X spl and all the rest.
I'm a multich person so it's obviously it's not my thing, but some love it.
YMMV

 

[krabapple]

Taking the room out of the listening equation as much as possible does have it's strengths and weaknesses.
When done well it can offer amazing soundstaging, requires less of everything for X spl and all the rest.
I'm a multich person so it's obviously it's not my thing, but some love it.
YMMV

How do you take the desk out of the equation? I mean, jeez.

 

[bumblebee657]

I am periodically mind-boggled by how many users here seem to be primarily listening to 'desktop' systems, for real.

And I am periodically mind-boggled by how many users here seem to be primarily listening at distances between 3 and 5 meters to their speakers. The best systems I have ever listened to were nearfield. Typical HiFi distances are just a very bad compromise.

 

[bachatero]

How do you take the desk out of the equation? I mean, jeez.

I use this mega mousepad which acts a little like an acoustic absorber: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08RY7FQR1

 

[krabapple]

And I am periodically mind-boggled by how many users here seem to be primarily listening at distances between 3 and 5 meters to their speakers. The best systems I have ever listened to were nearfield. Typical HiFi distances are just a very bad compromise.

3 meters was the furthest I've ever set up an MLP. I wouldn't do that today unless the room was big and acoustically well controlled (and I'd be using a surround system too so it'd have to be damn big)

So I prefer nearfield too. But not speakers on a desk.

I accept that people gotta go with what they got, room-wise. Me too (12x13 room currently, acoustically not ideal).

Even so, the thought of Genelecs being used as desktop 'computer speakers' gives me a sad.

 

[Sal1950]

My L & R front speakers are approx 9' apart to driver centers and 11' from my head to the speakers front.
With my 5.2.4 system it works out fairly well but I do have a very heavily damped room.
Audyssey DSP also helps a lot.

 

[kemmler3D]

the thought of Genelecs being used as desktop 'computer speakers' gives me a sad.

I mean, I do this, but I have them on stands at ear level, at least...

 

[AnalogSteph]

Indeed, desktop stands of some description are very much advised, or else you are likely to get a phasey mess IME. These days they have become fairly cheap and plentiful thankfully, back in 2007 we still had to DIY some (which I am still using to this day, nothing much to go wrong with some oiled wood and tubular steel feet after all). The biggest disturbance in my setups tends to be that flat thing in the middle that is kind of hard to dispense with, not helped by my myopia-fueled viewing distances. (I'd need something like twin vertical 24-27" 16:9s on the wall, and boy would that ever be annoying if I ever had to go into the BIOS setup, not to mention automatic brightness would be a mess. So 19" S-IPS 5:4 it is.)

The Sopras are not specifically designed as a nearfield speaker (no surprises there) but I imagine they'd integrate fine around 1.2-1.5 m (4-5')... their driver spacing doesn't look any bigger than say the Kali LP6's. Definitely worth trying. If this works out the biggest challenge will be keeping the cables from being a trip hazard without drawing complaints re: looks.