New room, new speaker placement.

[BWLover]

Hello, I need some advice on speaker placement. In my last room I just played around and didn't really put that much thought into speaker placement. While I did take the time to measure and align and all that. I was told in respect to toe in that the speakers should point to about 1-2 feet behind your head. So I got out a "t" square and a lazer and toed the speakers in to the "top" of the triangle, being 2 feet behind my head. But with regards to distance from the back/side walls, I just made sure they were evenly placed left and right. Is there any math formulas used to figure this out? I've seen this before...1:1.1 to 1:1.25 ratio of listener distance from the speakers vs. Speaker-to-Speaker distance. I could upload a photo and measure my room if that could help

[stuofsci02]

Not that it is necessary to follow, but the Golden ratio of 1.68:1 is a good starting point. That is your speakers are 1.68 ft from the back wall for every foot they are from the side walls. A 1:1 ratio is the worst for sound IMO...

[BWLover]

This was the battle I was working with last time. I played around with speaker placement on the longest wall I had in my room. This was impractical for everything else in the room. But I had one HELL of a wide soundstage. Now how close to the side walls can I get? I want a large stage but don't know how close is to close. Note that I have first reflection points acoustically treated. Thanks

[stuofsci02]

Well.. I have found the more the better to a point..

I currently have the tweeter of my speaker 42" from the backwall and 30" from the side wall. Not quite the golden ratio, but that is where I have found them to sound the best.

For most this is probably to much for the room to still be functional.. My room is dedicated however, and I built it specifically for the task (24' long x 18' wide). I would recommend a minimum of 24" from the backwall and 18" from the sidewall..

Cheers.

[John22614]

Stu,

Just to clarify, I assume you are measuring from the face of the tweeter, correct?

John

[stuofsci02]

John,

Yes, thats right.

[BWLover]

So what's everyone elses opinion on 18 inches from the side wall? I'd like to go with this as it gives me the biggest/widest stage. And with the golden ratio that would make it 30 inches from the back wall? And these measeurements are from the tweeter correct? Note I do have side wall reflections taken care of with acoustic paneling

[BWLover]

anything?

[grit]

I really think every room is different and you just have to play with it. I prefer my speakers as far from the walls as I can get them, but there's also a practical point to consider too. Thus, I rarely get them farther than 2'-3' from the rear wall or side wall.

[BWLover]

my restrictions kind of suck. if i get the speakers away from the back/side walls then there to close together and the soundstage is small

[Audio_ElF]

My experience has always been that:
A) having space to back wall is more important (and practical) than distance to side wall and
B) the most important thing is thing is to move the speakers from corners and try to avoid being equidistance from both walls.

It's also with experimenting with the bungs which can improve sound if placement is not ideal. B&W are well used to building speakers for small/compromised rooms (they are English after all - should see the sizes of our houses). Placement compromises are less important with the 600 (and other consumer lines) compared with CM and especially the 800 series.

It sounds like you are achieving this...