Poll: Speakers closer to which wall(s)?

[Duke]

Are your speakers positioned closer to the "front" wall (the wall behind them), or closer to either one or both of the side walls? Or something else?

Also, you are all invited to post the actual distances.

My speakers are up against the long wall of a room that is more that twice as wide as it is deep. The left speaker is 7 feet from its side wall, and the right speaker is 12 feet from its side wall.

 

[SteveC]

Closer to the side walls, but not by a lot. It's a rectangular, completely rectangular room, with the speakers facing the long way down the room.

 

[Steve Dallas]

Mine are very close to the front wall (2x port diameter) because that pushes the SBIR frequency range up high enough to be aided by 5" thick broadband absorbers behind them. The side walls are 26" away. I get more lower mids this way, but sacrifice soundstage depth as a trade-off. Also, my room is small, so I can't have them 24"+ from the front wall, making the room functionally smaller.

 

[Tassin]

Next poll about actual distances?

 

[Duke]

Next poll about actual distances?

I edited the opening post to invite people to post their actual distances. THANKS!!

 

[valerianf]

My front tower speakers are close to the wall.
That is why the BR vent is located at the front of the speaker, facing the sofa.
SQ is good without any subwoofer.

 

[Berlin]

The front (center) of my speakers is approx. 140 cm (55 in) from the front wall and 130 cm (51 in) from the side walls...

 

[Flaesh]

Speakers [usually] in corners at short wall [usually] toed in 45º, + *BA [usually DBA] subs.

 

[sigbergaudio]

Setup #1: ~15cm from front wall. Left speaker around 40cm from side wall, the Right speaker 150cm from side wall.

Setup #2: ~15cm from front wall, and this front wall don't have side walls, it opens up on both sides, so there are several meters to the nearest "side wall" in adjacent rooms.

Setup #3: ~30-40cm from front wall, and both speakers are equally distant (~50cm) from side walls.

 

[Flaesh]

As an experiment, I placed sperakers near the side walls\relatively far from front wall for a short time; something like semi-beveridge. This adds spaciousness, but is overall less convenient for me. I almost don't care where and where )) the Chesky Samba Band goes; but I highly appreciate every increase in articulation and melodisity in ⍢χ͔Ω ΣằğΩþ χ͔åᵲằǻϻ e. g.
I can't vote a second time for the #2 item .

ps: Also I had in-wall (absolutely #1) speakers in front wall 10+\- years ago.

pps: In a past life I had different setups according item #3; nothing special\interesting.

 

[boxerfan88]

0.6m to front wall.
0.9m to side wall.

 

[Duke]

As an experiment, I placed sperakers near the side walls\relatively far from front wall for a short time; something like semi-beveridge. This adds spaciousness, but is overall less convenient for me.

[hijacking my own thread] Harold Beveridge's former assistant, Sean McCaughan of ESP Speakers, designed an imo magnificent cone-n-dome adaptation of the Beveridge concept:

Sean McCaughan of ESP's killer new design

The best speakers I heard at RMAF 2015 were ESP's new "Double-Bass" speakers in Room 510. Sean McCaughan is the designer and this just might be the most intelligent speaker design I've ever seen, a statement that I will try to explain shortly. Here's what one looks like: It's not as big...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[kemmler3D]

Very close to the back wall and one of the sidewalls. Basically shoved in a corner.

 

[Duke]

[still more thread hijack] @Kal Rubinson , I see you "liked" my post #12 above about Sean McCaughan's speakers. Did you hear them? If so I would be very interested in your impressions, as when it comes to high-end speakers you're a subject matter expert.

 

[Ken1951]

Speakers are about a foot from the wall behind them and 4 or so feet from the sides. Room is about 18 feet high and somewhere around that wide.

 

[ryanosaur]

I’m speccing “something else:”
The back of my speakers with MLTL terminus/port exiting top back is about 12” from the front wall. The on-center measurement of the baffle is about 3’ from the front wall and side walls on both sides. (Speakers are slightly toed in, and slightly asymmetrical in the room.)
Yes, my Speaker cabinets are 2’ deep (front to back).

Edit: FWIW, I would prefer to have more space from back-of-speaker (rear port, or in this case TL Terminus) to front wall than I do. 18" is my preferred minimum distance there. Room size and Speaker shape demand a compromise.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

[still more thread hijack] @Kal Rubinson , I see you "liked" my post #12 above about Sean McCaughan's speakers. Did you hear them? If so I would be very interested in your impressions, as when it comes to high-end speakers you're a subject matter expert.

I greatly anticipated them from my experiences with his earlier speakers and desperately wanted these. They were out of my reach then. I cannot recall specifics but remember they had a huge but highly detailed soundstage.

 

[Duke]

I greatly anticipated them from my experiences with his earlier speakers and desperately wanted these. They were out of my reach then. I cannot recall specifics but remember they had a huge but highly detailed soundstage. [emphasis Duke's]

Wow. This is the most intriguing post I've read all year.

Yes they did have a huge, magnificent, immersive, AND highly detailed soundstage. It was like music was simply materializing in the air in this modest and untreated hotel room whose walls seemed to disappear when I closed my eyes. And when I opened them again, there just so happened to be a triangular-shaped box up against each side wall. Harold Beveridge would have been proud.

I would have loved to become a dealer for them, to complement my SoundLabs. Alas, they were outside of my reach too.

Of course I thought about using the same basic configuration in one of my own designs, and eventually tried to track down Sean to ask his permission. Maybe getting his permission wasn't really necessary, but it seemed like the right thing to do. I found an e-mail address online but never heard back, and by then ESP no longer had an online presence as far as I could tell.

Having read your post here, I am renewing my search for Sean. Evidently his "Double Bass" speakers were not a commercial success, but I'd like to give his basic concept another chance to find its niche.

 

[StigErik]

My front L / R speakers are about 2 meters from the front wall, and as close to each side wall as possible without touching it. With proper toe-in this setup effectively eliminates the first reflection off the nearest wall. The center channel is of course in the center of the room, and 1 meter from the front wall. The surrounds are very close to each side wall as well.

 

[Duke]

My front L / R speakers are about 2 meters from the front wall, and as close to each side wall as possible without touching it. With proper toe-in this setup effectively eliminates the first reflection off the nearest wall.

When I had my speakers on the short wall of my long-and-skinny room, that's what I did too. I design for and use such toe-in routinely.