"Sweet spot"

[Flavius]

Can this be calculated? I read that the 2 speakers and the listener should form a perfect triangle (equal distances and 60 degree angles)
Is this always correct ?

[phase_accurate]

Hi Flavius

This is in fact not always correct. It depends on room acoustics and the speakers used. so be prepared to play around.
To my experience it even depends on the recording itself sometimes (i.e. i have to leave my usual listening spot to have an optimal result).

Regards

Charles

[phase_accurate]

BTW forgot to mention that there is software avilable that allows you to model your room acoustics and speaker setup. Look at

www.cara.de

Regards

Charles

[Flavius]

I just finished measurings; the room is roughly 4x5 meters with the couch on the middle of a long side. After i found the largest triangle that would fit, it turned out to be very close to where i had them anyway placed considering furniture limitations, just that they would come a bit further from the wall.

The big problem is with the too small of a room. I feel they sound so much better when I go on the balcony, that would make for a 5x6 meteter space with the speakers on the narrow side. They are "monster" speakers made with Eminence drivers. Bass seems to stand out more at a longer distance.

Edit: thanks for the cara hint.

[7V]

Originally posted by Flavius
Can this be calculated? I read that the 2 speakers and the listener should form a perfect triangle (equal distances and 60 degree angles)
Is this always correct ?

No, that's not always correct, although it's a good starting guide when it come to setting up your speakers.

You can determine the best position for your speakers in your room by listening. I don't know of a way to calculate this (although you might want to use the off-axis response of your tweeter to determine the angle at which they 'come at you'). Also, I haven't used the software that phase_accurate recommends but you could probably learn a lot by playing with it.

Still, listening is ultimately the best way to position your speakers. As phase_accurate says: " be prepared to play around"...
- treble too sharp? - point the speakers so that they're a little off-axis relative to the listener
- hole in the middle of the sound-stage? - toe the speakers in more
... and so on. Keep experimenting until you reach the best compromise for your particular room and speakers.

Steve

[hurdy_gurdyman]

>I feel they sound so much better when I go on the balcony<


Perhaps they sound better on the balcony because there is no walls around you to reflect the sound and mess up things.
Dave

[Da5id4Vz]

So there is this program published RPG acoustics.

http://www.rpginc.com/products/roomoptimizer/index.htm

The sales literature is very interesting. The have a downloadable demonstration version of the $99 software. To activate the demo software requires a serial number from a sales person. Looks like it can be obtained by email.

I haven’t talked with anyone who has tried the software. Ive used RPG products, and spoken with acousticians and people at the factory about other products. I expect that they have there has been some serious diligence invested in producing this thing.

If anybody has used or does try the product, Id be interested in there comments.

For someone like myself this is likely a better solution than listening to my own placement choice.

Hurdy Gurdy? Your not the same DL I knew in Virginia are you?

[Kanga]

Flavius et al

I have CARA, and I'm planning to write a little review of it for this site soon. In summary though, I highly recommend it, and its not expensive.

As for the stereo angle - 60 degrees is the normal recommendation, however it's not required to be exact. I find with my speakers that less than 60 degrees can sound better. If the angle is too large you tend to lose the imaging, however this may partly be that you are usually then further away from the speakers, and the ratio of direct to reflected sound decreases, which works against precise imaging.

Mick

[Gregm]

here's the address to few links on the subject: links

It's good for a start, but your ears will be the best (and most frustrating ) guide.

For example, my dipoles sound better withOUT toe-in in my room!!

For a pair of A Physics (Avanti), the best toe-in was 70 degrees...

Go figure...


BTW, the cara s/ware is very good in taking into account real room paramtres

[hurdy_gurdyman]

>Hurdy Gurdy? Your not the same DL I knew in Virginia are you?<

I've been through Virginia a few times but never lived there.
Dave