Speakers closer to sidewall?

[tboooe]

My room is rather narrow at only 9" so my speakers are 1.5" from the sidewalls measured from the tweeter. I was wondering if I treat the first reflection points can I then move the speakers closer to the sidewalls? In my narrow room I am always looking for ways to widen the soundstage.

Thank you

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

So you're talking 6' from tweeter to tweeter, right? How about trying a toe-OUT position for them. You'd have to change the treatment placement, but could that be a possible solution?

 

[dallasjustice]

For sure, you'll have a null either way. The closer, the higher frequency the null will be. I would get get a mic and measure it in different positions with and without treatments. You may not want to be treating the point of first reflection per se. You may be better off attempting to mitigate the sidewall null. Depending on the frequency, you may need to treat a wider sidewall area to reduce the null. Also, it might be easier to deal with the null at higher frequencies. However, the null amplitude will likely be lower, the closer you get to sidewall. You also may not "hear" the null in exactly the same way it measures. It will take some work on your part to figure out what sounds best and gives the best results. IMO, you will save yourself much time and pain if you work through this with a mic.
Michael.

 

[DaveyF]

Hello Tboooe and welcome. Since you are using SF GE's, I do believe that bringing the speaker's closer to the side wall may in fact have the opposite result to what you are looking for. The SF G's really like to have some space around them to perform their best, at least IME.
OTOH, what you may consider, and I think I have discussed this before with you, is to consider some bass trapping and other acoustical treatments in the room.

I just saw what Michael posted above...he just beat me to post, LOL....and his advice is also very good.

 

[tboooe]

Thanks for the reply guys.

Johnny, I tried toe out but feel that I lose too much dynamics. It seems the Evolutions like to have the tweeters pointed just outside the ears.

Michael, to be totally honest I have no idea what you are taking about! . I will need a translation for dummies!

Daveyf, yes I have been adding room treatments. I have absorption in the front wall and now debating if I should add bass traps or address the first reflection points on the sidewalls first. Any thoughts?

 

[DaveyF]

tboooe, since your room is very small....like mine, I would try some bass traps on the front wall first and then perhaps another trap behind the seating position...at ear level. Addressing the first reflection points on the sidewalls would be good...But that would depend on the amount of wall space you have available.

 

[mep]

My room is rather narrow at only 9" so my speakers are 1.5" from the sidewalls measured from the tweeter. I was wondering if I treat the first reflection points can I then move the speakers closer to the sidewalls? In my narrow room I am always looking for ways to widen the soundstage.

Thank you

Wow! Your room really is narrow at 9"!

 

[LL21]

My room is rather narrow at only 9" so my speakers are 1.5" from the sidewalls measured from the tweeter...

Wow! Your room really is narrow at 9"!

yes, but since his speakers are only 1.5" from each wall...he has a full 6" in between the speakers, so he's all set! sorry...couldn't help myself. Its Saturday nite.

 

[tboooe]

Wow! Your room really is narrow at 9"!

Dammit! Can't we just move to metric!

yes, but since his speakers are only 1.5" from each wall...he has a full 6" in between the speakers, so he's all set! sorry...couldn't help myself. Its Saturday nite.

Well, 6" is all I can handle. Like my room I am fairly small too.

 

[LL21]

Dammit! Can't we just move to metric!

Well, 6" is all I can handle. Like my room I am fairly small too.

sorry, man, sorry...I just could NOT resist! I just have images of you as a leprechaun in a shoebox listening to these just MASSIVE speakers...

 

[LL21]

...which by the way probably describes half of us on this forum by any 'normal person's' definition. boxes of equipment, strings of cable everywhere, odd reflector things on the wall, headphones, tube dampers, all jammed into a room P-I-L-E-D with LPs and CDs...

 

[LL21]

on a more serious note...I cannot speak to room diffusors or otherwise, as I have never used them. BUT...I did own the SF Guarneris and also lived in shoeboxes narrower than what you describe when I was out of college.

If you are looking for soundstage, I think you might find that pulling the speakers forward towards you (up to a limit) might get you there along with tilting them OUT (as is lesser toe-in). The key is that as you do move the speakers forward...you may also find you lose bass power. With your amp, I am going to [blindly] guess it has some pretty good current...so should be able to drive whatever bass/depth/soundstage out of them that is possible from a power perspective (I find that weak amps make the soundstage and bass both collapse on Guarneris)...thus, this is my best personal advice. Good luck.

 

[LL21]

One other comment...the Guarneri's can sound surprisingly 'whole' in 'free space'...but you're gonna need serious current to pull this off. If your amp is up to the task, you may find that as you pull the speakers out, you don't lose 'much' bass...and in fact you begin to find the music spreads out into space which it sounds like you are looking for. But your amp does have to be up for driving the Guarneris in this way. Despite the fact that they are smaller speakers and do not 'need' high current, serious power...they DO respond to high-quality, high power amps (like all of the Homage series imho...I also owned the Strads at one point and have auditioned the SF Amatis a few times as well). Hope that helps. Good luck.

 

[DaveyF]

I think what Lloyd has said is very good. In my room, I actually have pulled the GH's about as forward as possible and I listen with zero toe-in. Obviously, this is essentially a near-field listening experience, BUT I believe I get a great soundstage and the speakers really disappear well into that stage. As to bass response, well that is why I incorporated a sub into the system. I believe that the G's ( including the GE's ) all benefit from a sub.

 

[tboooe]

Daveyf, how far from the front wall are your speakers, as measured from the tweeter?

 

[DaveyF]

Daveyf, how far from the front wall are your speakers, as measured from the tweeter?

Tboooe, my speakers are 53" from the front wall to the tweeter.

 

[tboooe]

Tboooe, my speakers are 53" from the front wall to the tweeter.

And how far away do you sit as measured along the side of the triangle?

 

[DaveyF]

And how far away do you sit as measured along the side of the triangle?

Exactly 6' as measured along the side of the triangle. BTW, I set up everything with a laser, which I highly recommend.

 

[tboooe]

Ok so I messed around a bit with my speaker position by pulling them further away from the front wall. They are now 36" away measured from the tweeter, 5'6" apart, and 6' away from the listening position. My head is a little over 1' away from the short wall behind me above which opens up to my large family room and kitchen. There was a definite improvement in clarity. I didn't realize how bloated my system was. The soundstage also improved a bit, spreading out behind the speakers. All in all I am pleased with the results. I didn't sense any loss of bass. Thank you guys for the advice.

I need to rest now. Moving these heavy speakers around is hernia inducing!

 

[LL21]

Ok so I messed around a bit with my speaker position by pulling them further away from the front wall. They are now 36" away measured from the tweeter, 5'6" apart, and 6' away from the listening position. My head is a little over 1' away from the short wall behind me above which opens up to my large family room and kitchen. There was a definite improvement in clarity. I didn't realize how bloated my system was. The soundstage also improved a bit, spreading out behind the speakers. All in all I am pleased with the results. I didn't sense any loss of bass. Thank you guys for the advice.

I need to rest now. Moving these heavy speakers around is hernia inducing!

Congrats...sounds like a very nice improvement. And (other than the hernia), it was free. enjoy.