[ilikemonkeys]

New house, new setup. Largest room I"ve setup in. NAD Reciever, Mission Bookshelves, I sit about 12 feet from the speakers, and they're about ten feet apart. THe stands are about 10 inches from the back wall.

My questions is why the sweet spot is so small? If I move my head 2-3 inches to either side, there's a very noticeable change in soundstage.

It's kind of disconcerting. I almost feel as if I've got the R&L channels mixed up.

I"d have taken a better picture, but I"m too lazy and warm to get up.

What's wrong with this setup? It's driving me nuts!

 

[zx10guy]

Well, if you want the honest truth....

First, you don't have the proper symmetry to the side walls between the left and right speakers. The right speaker has a wall closer than the left.

Second, the screen of the TV can and does act as a reflective surface causing issues with locking in the center image.

Third, your speakers are too close to the rear walls. But this impacts bass response.

Fourth, too many reflective surfaces. I can't see in the picture what's in the middle of the room with the laptop screen blocking the view. So I'm not sure if there is a coffee table and/or a rug there. Having a hardwood floor causes issues with reflections which should be controlled with the use of area rug(s). Something you might not be able to add is acoustical treatments on the walls. But those should be considered if possible.

ETA: You also might want to consider toeing in the speakers a little.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

^ Wow, nice evaluation.

 

[JadeEast]

As mentioned pull them away from the wall and toe them in.
Try so you just see the outside of the speaker from your sitting spot.
What's behind you when you sit in your listening position?

 

[Duggeh]

That sure doesn't look like 10 feet apart to me.

 

[BadassBob]

If you have a bigger wall in the house, you should consider moving your gear there. It looks to me your speakers are maybe 5ft to 6ft apart. For a bigger sweet spot you should move them further apart and toe them in a little. I would put them maybe 2ft from the wall.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Thank you everyone for your input.

The speakers are 8' apart from center. The TV is a 37". My head is 12' from the center of the enclosure.

I was not aware that the acoustics of the room effected the Sweet Spot. THe room is 24' long by 12' wide. It's really a box and mostly empty. I"ll get a big rug and see what that does.

Thanks again for the input.

 

[883dave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you everyone for your input. The speakers are 8' apart from center. The TV is a 37". My head is 12' from the center of the enclosure. I was not aware that the acoustics of the room effected the Sweet Spot. THe room is 24' long by 12' wide. It's really a box and mostly empty. I"ll get a big rug and see what that does. Thanks again for the input.

With speakers 8' feet apart, your ears should be 9' to 9.5' +/- from the speakers. Move your chair closer and let us know if it makes a difference.

 

[That dude]

You can also try angling the speaker inwards, it helped my sweet spot become more centered and focused.

*edit, whoops, someone mentioned it already.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Thanks everyone, but it appears that I've got a lot working against me right now. I'll work on getting my paintings back on the walls and then an area rug.

Toeing in the speakers will be something else I"ll play with.

 

[Kraps]

Are the speakers also new or you had them before in a different set up? I subscribe to every comment you got sofar as regards the room and placement, but may be it is also about the speakers.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Speakers are mid 1970's missions and they get a lot of use....especially since I got a house and am trying to ruin my hearing.

They've been hooked up to a new NAD receiver for a couple months. They were hooked up to either an old HK or Rotel. The sweet spot wasn't nearly as tiny with the HK or the Rotel.

 

[Kraps]

If the speakers were ok in another place and nothing happened to them during transfer, than its most probably the room and the placement. As unpleasant as it might be, you will have to move them around.

 

[883dave]

Have you tried sitting closer than 12' from the speakers?

 

[cwell2112]

Do a quick search for tutorials on speaker placement. There is a lot of good material out there on the topic. For the most part these tutorials give the same sort of advice, but it's all worthwhile stuff to try out.

I ran into the same "what the heck happened to my speakers!?" problem when I moved into my new apartment a couple of months ago. Guided by said tutorials, I spent a fair amount of time tweaking the placement. That, combined with the fact that one's brain becomes accustomed to a new sound over time, resulted in me really liking the way they sound now.

One other thing: if you have this luxury, it's really helpful to have a second person help you with speaker placement. It's significantly harder to notice and keep track of differences in sound when you need to get up and move the speakers yourself. So, if you can, grab a helper.