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Speaker Placement - Close to the Wall, or out in the Room?

HairyEars

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Jan 26, 2019
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The Genelec Monitor Placement guide highlights those two options for the best results (either 60cm or less from the wall, or 1.1m and over away).

The question is my mind is which of the two yields better results. The near-the-wall option seems to offer better control over back wall reflections, but suffers from space radiations—the low-end frequencies are augmented.

My Genlecs are currently placed 1.35m away from the wall with good results. However, my acoustic-room-builder friends claims that moving them close the wall will improve the sound (on an angle of course, where the long side is 30cm away from the wall and the short side nearly touches the wall). It’s an MDF box with no bass-reflex ports at the back.

Unfortunately, it’s hard for me the experiment, as I need to make some extensive changes to my sound system topology to clear the front wall. But will embark on it if it’s worth it.

Care to weigh in? Would love to hear some opinions.
 

Tangband

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The Genelec Monitor Placement guide highlights those two options for the best results (either 60cm or less from the wall, or 1.1m and over away).

The question is my mind is which of the two yields better results. The near-the-wall option seems to offer better control over back wall reflections, but suffers from space radiations—the low-end frequencies are augmented.

My Genlecs are currently placed 1.35m away from the wall with good results. However, my acoustic-room-builder friends claims that moving them close the wall will improve the sound (on an angle of course, where the long side is 30cm away from the wall and the short side nearly touches the wall). It’s an MDF box with no bass-reflex ports at the back.

Unfortunately, it’s hard for me the experiment, as I need to make some extensive changes to my sound system topology to clear the front wall. But will embark on it if it’s worth it.

Care to weigh in? Would love to hear some opinions.
Is this a ”live end, dead end ” studio- room you have your speaker in ? Or is it a normal livingroom without much damping ? This will matter enormously. If the frontwall are heavily damped, like in a studio, then you are more free to put the speakers near the frontwall.

In a livingroom, putting the speakers near the frontwall will color the sound and muddy the sound because of early reflextions coming to near in time vs the direct sound from the speaker.

In my experience in this case, you need at least 2-5 ms delay ( more than 70 cm ) for the early reflections from the side or frontwall so that your brain can separate the direct sound coming from the speaker from the early reflections. Putting your Genelec on a 60 cm stand will also help.

In a living room, you can do the Hum experiment. Sing in a deep voice and get near or far from the frontwall - Your friend will hear a clear coloration of your voice when you go really near the frontwall.

For clearest bass pitch, there is a method for loudspeaker installation developed by Linn products when installing loudspeakers, its called ” tunemethod” . Read more here :
 
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Cote Dazur

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Would love to hear some opinions.
Speaker placement is what will affect and impact what you hear in any given room from any given seating position more than anything else.
Spending time experimenting is very wise.
Advice from Genelecs or any other credible source will, at best, offer some guide lines. see also here and here
As with so many aspect of listening to music, at best, you will end up with the best, for you, compromise.
Far away from any boundaries for speakers and seat with an equilateral triangle between 6 to 8 feet is my favorite compromise.
However impractical and weird looking it end up to be, a good looking listening room or a good sounding listening room is just an other compromise we are all facing.
 
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