Speaker/stand height

[N. Abstentia]

Just wanted to hear from some more experienced ears than mine on this :)

I've always setup my speakers to where the tweeter level is around ear level. But has anyone noticed a huge difference if the tweeters are a little higher than that? My current setup has the tweeters about 4" above ear level and the upper mid driver is around ear level. I don't hear a difference if I raise up a little bit and make myself even with the tweeter, but I'm just curious if anyone thinks that having the tweeters higher is a bad thing.

[kexodusc]

Just wanted to hear from some more experienced ears than mine on this :)

I've always setup my speakers to where the tweeter level is around ear level. But has anyone noticed a huge difference if the tweeters are a little higher than that? My current setup has the tweeters about 4" above ear level and the upper mid driver is around ear level. I don't hear a difference if I raise up a little bit and make myself even with the tweeter, but I'm just curious if anyone thinks that having the tweeters higher is a bad thing.

Nope, not a bad thing at all...my back surrounds are setup to handle the SACD/DVD-A's, but as a compromise, they're also up higher, I'd say a good foot or more above my ear level. When you consider that almost all speakers these days worth having have decent and similar respone from the tweeter when 30 degrees of axis (and some 60 degrees of axis), that few inches won't make much difference. Personally, when I had my Studio 20's as surrounds I found it helped tame the slight brightness they have. The area of the spectrum that gets most affected by off-axis deviation is above 15 KHz, which you probably can't hear all that well anyway.

For front mains, if you're far enough back it shouldn't matter, for nearfield listening it might. If you've already determined you can't hear much (or any) difference, then you're probably in the clear....if it bothers you, buy some felt pads and place them underneath the speakers to tilt them, or adjust the spikes/feet on your stands if possible.

[N. Abstentia]

Nah it's doesn't bother me. I was just wondering if there was some 'theory' I didn't know about :)

But the more I thought about it, the more I figured that being higher wasn't a bad thing. I could see where being lower would hurt though.

Don't think I'm anal or anything, the reason I asked is because I'm getting ready to buy some 24" stands for my rear speakers and since my front speakers already have 24" stands I was just going to buy some 20" stands for the front and move the 24's to the rear..IF it would have been better for the fronts. But I'm just gonna stick with the 24" stands in the front.

[kexodusc]

Buy some 36 or 40" or something for the rears...Just make sure they're heavy.
Might be easier to buy wall mounts and use a stud finder to help find a beam to anchor them to?

[E-Stat]

But the more I thought about it, the more I figured that being higher wasn't a bad thing. I could see where being lower would hurt though.
Higher also helps creating a more lifelike image size. As one accustomed to 7 foot tall electrostats for twenty plus years, I find the presentation more realistic. I also elevate the Double New Advents in my vintage system about a foot or so to minimize booming and optimize the image.

I bought 24" stands for the small Polk mains in my HT system and ended up putting them on top of the subwoofers in a rather limited space. While that wasn't my original intention, it has worked out well.

rw

[RGA]

Depends on the speakers -- i also doubt within a few inches either way you'll notice much. Some designers do have a specific height requirements. I had my speakers about 5 inches higher than recommended when I first bought them because the matching Stands were sold out and there was lengthy back-log. Good stands and the right stands for my speakers matter a LOT. Slightly lower is probably better -- so you can always raise them with some sort of platform -- too high and you're pretty much stuck.

[N. Abstentia]

Buy some 36 or 40" or something for the rears...Just make sure they're heavy.
Might be easier to buy wall mounts and use a stud finder to help find a beam to anchor them to?

Nah I want stands. Don't forget my rear speakers are going to be Paradigm Reference 40's (or something with similar dimensions and drivers) so wall mounting is not a good idea. I might however kick around the idea of the 28" Skylan stands since they are the same price as the 24 inchers. I just wonder if the dual pillars will be stable enough with such a big speaker on them....

[RGA]

Ask Noel at Skylan -- they will custom build the plates for larger speakers -- They can support the Reference 3a MM De Capo -- a bigger beast than the 40.

[N. Abstentia]

RGA, I knew he would cut the plates the same size as the speakers going on them, I've just had back luck with tall stands that sway back & fourth. I'm sure the 4 pillars wouldn't be a problem, but I'm not sure about the 2 pillars. Do you have the 2's or the 4's?