So, what does this mean??? Collapsed sound stage.

[manlystanley]

I found that my sound stage is collapsed to the right. In other words: The sound stage does not run speaker to speaker, but runs about 2 feet short of the left speaker to the right speaker. I can fix it by pigion toeing in the left speaker a 1/4 of inch more then the right speaker (I'm making a triangle as was recommended on this forum.

I have very long wire runs, probably about 30 ft. I have the receiver in the back of the room and the speakers inthe front. Then the wire runs behind the walls. Finally, I have plug ins for the jacks upfront. The total impedance is about .15 ohms (10 gauge speaker wire).

Is this slight shifted/collapsed sound stage caused by differrent lengths of wire? Or what else might cause it.

Thanks for your help.

Best Regards,
Stan

[Kevio]

You've got a good start on diagnosing it. You haven't found it yet. Next thing to do is check that you have equal gain in both channels. The best way is to use a test disc and a sound level meter.

If that checks out, it is more likely an acoustical effect than an electrical one. What does the room look like? Where are the speakers? What else is in the room?

[mlsstl]

Please clarify something. When you say you've "found" this collapse, do you mean it was OK before and has recently changed? Or do you mean its been this way all along and you've just recently identified the issue?

If it went from OK to collapsed, you need to start looking for changes in the room's furnishings and finishes that may have affected acoustics. Look for changes in speaker position. Check all drivers in each speaker to make sure you don't have a blown or faulty driver (particularly tweeters).

I wouldn't suspect the speaker wires as a cause unless there is just an incredible disparity between lengths.

If the soundstage collapse has been with you for a while, I'd suspect some combination of room acoustics and speaker positioning. Experimentation is probably the best way to address this. However, you may be on to something with the toe-in. Many speakers lose power in the higher frequencies as you move off-axis. Some models are designed to be toed-in so as to point at the prime listening position.

[Auricauricle]

What about turning the chair 1/4 inch to the left?

[manlystanley]

Great help... Thanks.

Let me clarify my question:

-- By toeing in the left speaker 1/4 inch more, it "fixed" the problem. I do get more of a direct speaker effect from the left one though..but not much.

-- Great idea to check the power of each speaker. What do you all think of this device:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?CAWELAID=107599065&productId=2103668&tab=summary

-- Instead of a test disk, can I just us the loudness test tones produced by my Denon receiver?


Thanks again!

Best Regards,
Stan

[Auricauricle]

Just havin' fun! Couldn't resist, ya know!

[manlystanley]

[QUOTE=Kevio]You've got a good start on diagnosing it. You haven't found it yet. Next thing to do is check that you have equal gain in both channels. The best way is to use a test disc and a sound level meter.


You solved the problem. I had changed the speakers positioning and brought in new furniture and had not re-calibrated my Denon receiver. So, I found out that I needed to crank up the left front speaker by 1 DB. Problem solved. Both speakers are now back in the same toed-in configuration and sound great!

Best Regards,
Stan

[yogo]

Swap the left and right speaker wires to determine if the problem is in the speakers or previous to speakers. If the problem does not move you have a speaker problem, possibly a tweeter problem.

Or,
tell your Russian Wolfhound not to crash in front of your left speaker...

[Auricauricle]

He's just a gein' a good sub woof...er...er...