need placement/setup help

[f0rge]

i recently picked up a new pair of speakers and i cant seem to get them to sound "right", if they sound good with one type of music, they're terrible with another it seems.

my system:
yamaha rx-v630 receiver/pre-amp
adcom gfa-555 amp
def tech BP2002TL speakers as mains

i've tried a couple of cd players and that doesnt seem to make a difference, the music they seem to have the most trouble with is rock music (what i listen to most), it seems harsh and sometimes lacking in bass, but if i turn the bass up rap/hip rattles my teeth with way too much bass. the speakers are well broken with all types of music. right now i'm having to run them with one of the subs turned off, but its still not right.

now to the room, i tried to include a picture, but here's a link in case it didnt work: (i suck at drawing sorry)

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=88445

the back wall is almost completely a floor to ceiling window (its and apparment) and it has hard plastic blinds hanging down, behind the couch is a pass through counter thing that goes into the kitchen, and its open from the ceiling to the countertop. the room is carpeted with 8 foot ceilings. the beer fridge can go, the stereo rack is somewhat limited by the cable lengths but could be moved to the other side (if that matters). the tv kinda has to be on that wall cause its big

i just dont know what to do, they sound worse than my POS sub/sat combo and cost alot more.

for those that dont know, they are bipolar speakers with a 12" 250 watt sub in each

please help, any suggestions are welcome

[Woochifer]

Def Techs in general have a very aggressive sound, but it also sounds like you could have some room-induced issues in the deep bass. I suggest you get a SPL meter, a test DVD, and a test CD with test tones. First thing to do is to get the level matched up between the subwoofer section and main speaker, assuming that you have the subwoofer out from the preamp going into the LFE input on your speakers. Then you should map out the frequency response and see if you have a large peak or two (10+ db).

If you have severe peaking, that's your room acoustics causing the problems. Those peaks are what cause your bass to alternately sound weak one moment, and then excessively boomy the next. The ways to deal with this are bass traps or a parametric equalizer. Since you have the built-in sub, you should use the EQ for the subwoofer output from your preamp. You use that to dial down the peaks. Once you've done that, then you can set the bass level correctly without the peaks dominating what you hear. The result will be much fuller and even sounding bass.

[chimera128]

Try moving your beer fridge out of the room completely (porch maybe?) and your stereo rack in between the speakers. You will want to have the speakers at least 12 or so inches out from the wall and aimed at your primary listening position. DefTechs are BIPOLAR and need the room for the reflective part of their sound. If you bought them brand new it will take about two weeks or so for the speakers to break in fully if you listen to them a lot. That's a tough room to work with. Good luck..

[92135011]

Try moving your beer fridge out of the room completely (porch maybe?) and your stereo rack in between the speakers. You will want to have the speakers at least 12 or so inches out from the wall and aimed at your primary listening position. DefTechs are BIPOLAR and need the room for the reflective part of their sound. If you bought them brand new it will take about two weeks or so for the speakers to break in fully if you listen to them a lot. That's a tough room to work with. Good luck..

HEW NO! thats part of the enjoyment of music! A good drink seems to make the music all that much more enjoyable! Relaxing after a long day :) ahhhh sounds good. See if the fridge can go beside the couch or something. Out to the porch is just way too far!

[f0rge]

ok in the meantime i've angled the speakers more towards the listening area instead of straight on like they were before and the sound has improved dramatically with just that single step.

looks like once monday rolls around its off to radio shack to an SPL meter (something i've been meaning to do anyway)

thanks for the help

[chimera128]

hahaha..true about the beer fridge.. dont' know what I was thinking ;)

[skeptic]

These speakers will not work well in this room. Bipolar speakers are intended to have considerable space between the back of the speaker and the wall and plenty of free wall space for the rear radiating sound to bounce off of. Because the manufacturer knows they won't have the benefit of bass reinforcement from the back wall when properly installed, the design of the bass response compensates for it. When you place it in the wrong room against a wall as you did, it will have a huge peak in the mid bass. But the small dimensions of your room will not support truely deep bass. As I see it, there are no options for this room except to get different speakers. The Deftechs may have sounded good in another room but they won't give you what they've got there.

If you can't fix your problem that way, you have two other options. First drink a lot more beer and then you won't care. Second, get an education in music and change your musical tastes to something your speakers can do right in that room. This is what happens when too much money meets too little planning and knowledge.

[brigrizzme]

Do a search for "Allison Effect" to find out how this works and how it can be corrected.