Finally took the plunge & speaker distance

You'll probably receive a lot of conflicting advice, but I've always found the speakers I've used to work best 'on axis', set slightly further apart than they are to me (nearfield, I guess), with the HF units roughly at the same height as my ear. Either speaker is about three foot into the room and from the side walls. Very intrusive, but this is where the system performs at its best.

Other speakers vary; I'm not using SBLs - I'm currently using Audio Physic Virgos, which live by their own set of rules. Some speakers, e.g. Kans and 'Briks, are reknowned for working best up against a wall. Others, such as the Virgos, need plenty of free space. FWIW, the Virgos sit almost in the middle of the room, 10' apart, 3' in and 3' from either side wall, and around 7.5' from the listening position. Imaging and detail are best like this, although at the expense of the living room (this setup looks quite ridiculous, really).

For SBLs? Don't know, although I'm sure others will fill you in...

John

...I meant Intros...

John,

You seem to have hit the spot with your setup of the Virgos: Audio Physic recently demonstrated their new Avanti speakers in my dealer’s store, and the guy set them up just as you described, wide apart and toed in. That’s apparently how their speakers are designed to work best (assuming nothing else gets in the way of this design). However, for …

Tim,

The 'ideal distance' is a rather elusive concept. I have a pair of Credos and I’ve experimented quite a lot with the positioning. If you position them straight (not toed in, recommended by Naim) I don’t think you should have a greater distance between each speaker than between you and the speakers – this will leave a gaping hole in the middle. The distance that works best (within those limitations) will depend on your room. I’ve found that if you start with the speakers fairly close together and move them apart in small increments you will find that the sound gets better or worse and then worse or better again respectively (er … don’t know how to put it any better right now). In my case, the sound was best at intervals of 8-10 inches. If, from a ‘good’ position, I moved the speakers only 4-5 inches apart, the sound would deteriorate, when I moved them another 4-5 inches apart, it was fine again. You should also experiment with the distance they have from the wall.

And welcome to the “club”!

Thomas

I found the WASP method as described at:

http://www.tnt-audio.com/casse/waspe.html

very helpful in "voicing" my room. Neither the comments about toe-in nor the distance from the back wall etc. may apply to your speakers. However, for finding the neutral zones in the room it works a treat. It resulted in my speakers about 12 feet (centre to centre) across a 17" wall.

What is interesting is that, once you've got the hang of it it is quite quick to re-voice the room when you introduce new furniture, wall hangings etc..

regards,

Mark

Tim

Try the intros about 7 feet apart, close to the back wall and pointing straight out (no toe in). Make sure you get all 4 spikes in good contact with the floor, and try not to be fooled by the leaf spring whilst doing this.

Kevin.