[Dan Millheim]

I think I have stumbled onto something amazing regarding an audiophile set up but I need to know if anyone else has experience with this...

Is there anyone using near-field speakers/ sub toed in 3 feet on either side of a listening chair to create a kind of mega headphone... extreme near-field sound stage experience?

Let's not get derailed on volume issues and ear damage as we can all kill our ears with headphones if not responsible as well. I am very careful about my hearing.

I keep telling myself that this crazy set up should not sound so good but it is amazing!

You can check out my equipment I am currently using in my signature.The reflection from speaker placement, wall tweaking and chair in the corner of the room with sub and equipment used are creating a sound stage that is HUGE, holographic and much more enjoyable to listen to then any headphone I've tried, including my much loved heavily modded Ed9's that go largely unused of late.

Any comments?

 

[Dan Millheim]

Sorry, I'm "posting pictures on Head-fi" challenged. I'm working on it.

 

[Dan Millheim]

Attachment 26391

Attachment 26392

 

[DaveBSC]

I tried something fairly similar to that with my old Dahlquist DQ-20s. They sounded much better on either side of my couch than they did in the traditional position at the front of the room, facing the listening position. With *most* speakers though, I prefer the usual triangle arrangement.

 

[brat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Millheim /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think I have stumbled onto something amazing regarding an audiophile set up but I need to know if anyone else has experience with this... Is there anyone using near-field speakers/ sub toed in 3 feet on either side of a listening chair to create a kind of mega headphone... extreme near-field sound stage experience? Let's not get derailed on volume issues and ear damage as we can all kill our ears with headphones if not responsible as well. I am very careful about my hearing. I keep telling myself that this crazy set up should not sound so good but it is amazing! You can check out my equipment I am currently using in my signature.The reflection from speaker placement, wall tweaking and chair in the corner of the room with sub and equipment used are creating a sound stage that is HUGE, holographic and much more enjoyable to listen to then any headphone I've tried, including my much loved heavily modded Ed9's that go largely unused of late. Any comments?

I've listened to some custom made fullrange near-field monitors in Stockfisch Records' showroom at the Munich High End Show 2009. They have been situated in front of a chair at about 1 meter. I definitely don't like this type of listening. The soundstage was unnatural, many sounds were focused somewhere in my vestibularis. brrr.... Obviously the guys from Stockfisch regords intended to give us a stunning experience with a perfect soundstage and totally eliminated room acoustics but...

I hope your system is better

 

[Steve Eddy]

I've done this, though didn't care for the speakers being on either side of me. Much preferred them out front.

One suggestion I would make though is to avoid using speakers with offset drivers. They suck in the nearfield and I've always wondered why people sell such things as nearfield monitors.

Try a good single broadrange driver or coaxial.

se

 

[arnesto]

I used to have a home theatre set up with 2 speakers in the front for left and right channel.
And 2 speakers in the back for surrounds.

But like you, I found that having the left and right speaker set directly to the left and right side of my head sounded much better.

I ended up getting rid of my set of home theater speakers and placed 2 mini monitors near my head in sitting position.

It make sense, it's like using headphones, and the drivers on those speakers are better than most headphone drivers. Of course I play it in low volume and the sound is so clear.

 

[GuyDebord]

Compared to a typical near-field setup they are badly placed, they should be more towards the front. Near-field positioning is critical for accurate soundstaging, Im not saying that your setting doesnt sound good, but i think the soundstage you have may be unnatural....

 

[OneMalt]

What about bass response in near-field listening? It would seem that the long waves wouldn't have the time or distance to form properly.

 

[bizkid]

Never tried what the OP suggested but nearfield monitors in a extreme nearfield setup loose much of their attractive soundstage. Atleast that was the case with the ones i have experience with in my own place (genelec, adam, k+h, focal, krk and event). Setting speakers/nearflields too close together results in everything in the soundstage becoming small and stuffed together so that it looses a big appeal of speaker listening in the first place. I personally wouldnt use nearfields closer than 1.40m apart. If i had no option to do that i'd highly prefer my headphone setup.

 

[The-One]

I fail to see how even near field monitors positioned at 180 on either side of your head could possible give a stereo image.

I have a near field monitor with sub setup in my signature, but positioning them like headphones is something I would never want to try.

 

[brat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Millheim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Attachment 26391 Attachment 26392

It may sound pleasant but I see an unpredictable mess of direct sound+wall reflections+corner effect.'

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The-One /img/forum/go_quote.gif I fail to see how even near field monitors positioned at 180 on either side of your head could possible give a stereo image. I have a near field monitor with sub setup in my signature, but positioning them like headphones is something I would never want to try.

You'd be surprised. My Dahlquists had an open baffle midrange and tweeter arrangement, and it's possible that they were simply too finicky about being close to the front wall to work properly in the traditional arrangement. When I placed them on either side of the couch pointing directly at the listening position, I found that the stereo image was still very convincing. My brain would still "see" the vocalist at the front of the room, and the sound stage was considerably deeper and wider in this setup than it was with the speakers at the front of the room, where the stage was a completely flat 2D space between the speakers.

 

[9pintube]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brat /img/forum/go_quote.gif It may sound pleasant but I see an unpredictable mess of direct sound+wall reflections+corner effect.'

I would have to agree with this Quote........This not for me, but I'm glad you enjoy your set up!!! Watch out for ear damage from DBs on your ears....

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The-One /img/forum/go_quote.gif I fail to see how even near field monitors positioned at 180 on either side of your head could possible give a stereo image. I have a near field monitor with sub setup in my signature, but positioning them like headphones is something I would never want to try.

haha i like the SVS sub right next to you too