Why do my speakers sound better when I stand up?

[nigelwright7557]

I always jack up my speakers to head height so I get the full sound of the speaker.

 

[scottjoplin]

Yes, I have them at ear level. Just as a quick experiment I've placed them on top of the subs so, at the moment they are over 2' above ear level and nearer the ceiling than the floor. There is not such a large change when I stand now. Bare in mind they are dipoles

 

[awkwardbydesign]

Do you have a laptop?* Last year I posted measurements showing how well the Mac laptop mic matches my calibrated mic. REW is honourware.

Granted, some folks may not be bright enough to learn to use REW. But certainly the honourable posters on this thread would not fall into that category.

B.
* Or any mic since all you need to do here is compare two listening positions.

Assumptions again. I have REW, a USB mic, laptop, etc. And I find using computer based measurements hard. So it would seem I am NOT bright enough.
However I can do many other things, such as build a motorbike, or a kitchen, or a stained glass window. Not everyone finds computers easy.

 

[Pano]

Altitude. The thinner air when you stand up changes the speed of sound, and the lower oxygen muddles your brain's critical abilities. This results in a better, more spacious, sound.

That's my hypothesis - until we see some measurements.

 

[scottjoplin]

I've given you some measurements. Can you be more specific?

 

[twinter]

Scottjoplin, your crossover phasing between your midrange and tweeter could be off. Sitting and standing results in different relative travel distances from the midrange and tweeter to your ears. Acoustic measurements from both positions would be helpful.

Without acoustic measurements, you could try swapping the phase of either the tweeter or midrange for a 180 degree shift, and see if the sound in the setting position has improved. If that doesn't work, try moving the tweeter back about 1" to 1 1/2" backwards for a approximate 90 degree shift in the crossover frequencies. If your active crossover allows easier phase adjustments then use that.

 

[scottjoplin]

Hi twinter, thanks for your thoughts. It's a wideband driver (Jordan Eikona) crossed at 125Hz to the subs using a LR4 active xover. As such phase anomalies are not an issue

 

[DonVK]

Scott, you look different now. More of a Janis Joplin than a Scott Joplin, different era too.

I'm up for a thought experiment. Is the room like this.

 

[scottjoplin]

Hi Don. Haha, you got the sex right (it's Kate Bush) someone earlier though it was Boy George

Wow, not bad, the peaks and dips are about in the right place. The subs are U frames and against the side walls, though I doubt that would make much difference to the simulation. The Jordans are usually beside the subs and toed in. At the moment they are sitting on top

 

[DonVK]

OK, subs against the wall, that's a better placement for them.

How about how? Pic#1 is sitting and Pic#2 is standing.

 

[scottjoplin]

That's good conformation that subs to the side wall is smoother, I noticed an improvement in bass extension and they needed less eq when I moved them a while back, they were initially roughly where you had them in the first simulation. Also I've been sitting and standing and can confirm the difference above, only using my ears and an online tone generator I'm afraid

 

[DonVK]

How high above the ground are the center of your wide bands and subs?

 

[scottjoplin]

The subs are 2 each side centred at 8" and 21". The Jordan is at 31" normally, but sitting on top of subs at 60" at the moment! My ear height is about 36"

 

[wesayso]

So they currently are at wuthering heights!

Did you like it better that way? Is it easy to tilt them backwards?

 

[DonVK]

The simulator likes more subs. I entered each driver as a separate unit. When you're sitting, it seems to eliminate many room modes.

I put the widebands beside the subs, I'm assuming that's where they would normally be.

 

[Pano]

I've given you some measurements. Can you be more specific?

I can't see them in the thread, where are they?

 

[scottjoplin]

Hehe. The change is definitely less but they are too high at the moment, tilting back is not
easy actually, will have to make up some kind of adjustable device so I can do it safely

 

[scottjoplin]

I can't see them in the thread, where are they?

They are in feet and inches

 

[scottjoplin]

The simulator likes more subs. I entered each driver as a separate unit. When you're sitting, it seems to eliminate many room modes.

Yes, when I stand and move about it's all over the place, if I go behind the speakers (that's where the equipment is) it's bloody awful

I put the widebands beside the subs, I'm assuming that's where they would normally be.

Yes Don, that's exactly right, the subs help with baffle width for the wideband and help me just about get away with the low xover (it's too low really)

 

[graaf]

diffraction pattern changes