Speaker Set Up

[Bigmoney]

Are there any speaker set up routines, methods, calculators, or guides anyone here has had success with? I have fallen into the routine of rearranging my speakers everyday and I just want to find a good spot and leave them. I have a rectangular room 14.25, 11.75, 8
Thanks to all.

[basite]

if you like reading:

http://www.cardas.com/pdf/roomsetup.pdf



Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[JohnMichael]

Are there any speaker set up routines, methods, calculators, or guides anyone here has had success with? I have fallen into the routine of rearranging my speakers everyday and I just want to find a good spot and leave them. I have a rectangular room 14.25, 11.75, 8
Thanks to all.

I have new speakers and I finally nailed their placement yesterday. It is so much trial and error. Which wall will the speakers be against and how far will you be from the speakers? I own three brands of speakers and one suggests that you should be 1.5 times away from the speakers as they are from each other. Another brand stated that the speakers should be seperated .73 of the distance you are away from the speakers.

I have found in my listening space that speakers sound better with a foot and a half from the rear wall. If not the midbass is congested. Toe-in is another thing to get right. Toe-in until the center image is solid. I use a recording of a violinist with orchestra. Too little toe-in and the soloist is diffuse and too much and the soundstage compresses.

My new speakers sit on stands on a cement slab floor covered by carpet. I always thought that both speakers were level but when I used a level I found that the left was level but the right was tilted back more than it should be. I adjusted the rear spike until it was level. Imaging improved and since the front baffles are tilted back for time aligning having both speakers level made a difference.

To begin I would suggest that the speakers are 1 - 2 feet from the rear wall. Start with the speakers as far apart as you are from them. Use toe-in for good centerfill. Make sure speakers are level and the same height.

Good luck.

[Bigmoney]

I have my b and w's set up in a fairly large bedroom. I would like to have the sweet spot as they say, where I would be laying in bed however the bed is pushed against the wall therefore my head would be almost agains the rear wall. I know this is obivously not optimal for sound but is there a way to do this set up with it sounding fairly good. Thanks.

[Bigmoney]

The cardas method is intriguing to me but I keep hearing about the golden rectangle. I am not lucky enough to have those room dimensions ( 20,15, 10 i think). Will the formula work for any rectangular room?

[bobsticks]

Try moving your speakers 12 feet apart on the 14 foot wall and placing your seating as far to rear of the room as possible. This will work unless your speakers were produced after 1975.

[Bigmoney]

Thanks bobsticks, I will try that. However, my question still hasn't been answered. Does the cardas formula apply to all rectangles or just the golden rectangle?

[basite]

Thanks bobsticks, I will try that. However, my question still hasn't been answered. Does the cardas formula apply to all rectangles or just the golden rectangle?

if you hadn't noticed, bobs was joking there...
(do a search for Melvin Walker, you'll get a few threads in which he (MW) is crappin about this 'speakers must be 12 feet away from each other)...

the cardas formula is an Ideal guideline rule I think. So it applies on other rooms too, but you might get better results trying around and doing something slightly different. but use it as a guideline.

I would use the golden triangle rule though, distance between speakers (middle of speaker) should be the same as distance to ears...)

The cardas guide is a very good guide, just remember it's a guide, it's not a strict rule or so...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.