[Neccros]

OK I finally got around to bolting my bookshelf speakers to my Jerker desk.  Now I wanted to know at what level of my ears should these be??  should they be level with the woofer, the tweeter or in between or none of the above???
 

 
 
Thanks!!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  OK I finally got around to bolting my bookshelf speakers to my Jerker desk.  Now I wanted to know at what level of my ears should these be??  should they be level with the woofer, the tweeter or in between or none of the above???
 

 
Generally, your ear should align somewhere between the tweeter and woofer, but there are a lot of factors involved in room acoustics which may or may not be present in your case. You should listen and see for yourself - if there is a disparity in instrument separation along the Y-axis (height), for example the vocals and cymbals are higher than the other instruments, then try moving it up (and down) a little bit at a time. If nothing works, that just means you are sitting too close to the speakers that there is a timing misalignment  on each driver (take measuring tape, and measure distance from your ears to each driver; then do that again after moving your seat 1m then 2m away, you'll see what I mean).

 

[Neccros]

I'm sitting maybe 2-3 feet from each speaker, possibly a little less, the Jerker from IKEA is a pretty wide/deep desk.  I initially had the height where my ears were the level on the bottom edge of the speaker (basically the top of the shelf) and It felt like the sound was coming from above me.  I went ahead and dropped them in height to where my ear is approx center with the cone of the woofer. and it seems better but since I'm not THAT knowledgeable about speakers and acoustics, I just wanted to see what a good general target is and go from there. 
 
Should I definitely drop it more so my ears are between the woofer and tweeter or will that little bit not make that huge of a difference?  Right now the audio wraps around my head pretty nice, but If I can make it better, I'm all ears! (no pun intended)
 
Thanks!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I'm sitting maybe 2-3 feet from each speaker, possibly a little less, the Jerker from IKEA is a pretty wide/deep desk.

 
That's the proper distance for nearfield monitors. Most non-NF speakers are tested around that distance too (1meter), however that's where you get problems with some standmounts for example measured for bass -3db point at say 50hz, but if the listener needs to sit farther back (if not because of the speakers, the room acoustics), that -3db point might get moved up to around 70hz.
 

Originally Posted by Neccros /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Should I definitely drop it more so my ears are between the woofer and tweeter or will that little bit not make that huge of a difference?  Right now the audio wraps around my head pretty nice, but If I can make it better, I'm all ears! (no pun intended)

 
If you can't hear any of that problem I described above, no need. It might actually be there and you just don't notice it, but imaging is the last people get to appreciate (unless one's audio hymen was broken by really good, and unfortunately expensive, speakers with a huge soundstage image). So while you might not notice it now, don't sweat it until you do. In any case you'll be able to adjust that.
 
 
 

 

[Neccros]

I think I am going to leave it how it is for now... and just go through my music collection and try and listen to as much as I can...
 
Thanks!

 

[PleasantSounds]

Actually it's the tweeters that you're supposed to align with your ears.
Turn the speakers upside down to check if it makes any difference. If it does, you may decide to adjust the shelves.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Actually it's the tweeters that you're supposed to align with your ears.

 
Generally that's the recommendation, but I've found on most NF speakers (and especially one that isn't designed as one) it's usually better to align the ears to some point between the tweeter and midwoofer, otherwise the cymbals and vocals can be imaged higher than the other instruments. In any case, it all still comes down to how they'll do as used by a particular listener, and luckily height is adjustable in this case.

 

[cel4145]

Actually it's the tweeters that you're supposed to align with your ears.
Turn the speakers upside down to check if it makes any difference. If it does, you may decide to adjust the shelves.

Yep. I would experiment some more. Also, judging by the angle I see in your photo, toeing your speakers in a little more may help as well.

 

[Neccros]

Hmmm I didnt even think about flipping them over to "lower" the tweeter... I'll have to try that!
 
BTW, is it the speaker itself that makes it "near field" or is it more the distance that makes them near field???

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
BTW, is it the speaker itself that makes it "near field" or is it more the distance that makes them near field???

 
If it was designed for one to listen at that close distance, that's near field - usually comes from how they pick the drivers and also the enclosure for their dispersion pattern (as well as the tweeters' wave guide) and response at 1m or less. Note that nearly all other speakers are tested and measured at 1m for efficiency and response, and again the problem then is that the dispersion pattern isn't necessarily conducive for NF listening (not in all cases, of course) and also that when one sits in a non-NF set-up whatever was measured at 1m will not necessarily translate to identical figures at 2m away (which is why some standmounts can be rated at 50hz -3db, but sound like it almost has no bass at 2m; at the same time many can do with 5in NF monitors, since the bass at less than 1m is a lot and deep enough).
 
Quote:

  Hmmm I didnt even think about flipping them over to "lower" the tweeter... I'll have to try that!

 
Some manufacturers like Mission build their speakers that way, including the towers. Others like Dyn's Contour series do that with the S1.4 standmounts....
 

 
 
...and then go as far as reversing the entire driver positions at the expense of a taller and heavier speaker (from the size as well as to better manage a bass driver pounding up top) as on the S5.4 towers...
 
Here's the S5.4 next to some regular size Mission tower speakers

 
 
...then go for a mirrored set-up on the C4 Platinum.
 

 

[Neccros]

Yep. I would experiment some more. Also, judging by the angle I see in your photo, toeing your speakers in a little more may help as well.

Yeah I had just gotten done mounting the shelves and threw the speakers up there with no angle set... LOL
 
I wanted to just test the height before completely bolting them to the desk (Its a pain to move!)
 
Thanks for the advice all!!!

 

[Neccros]

   
If it was designed for one to listen at that close distance, that's near field - usually comes from how they pick the drivers and also the enclosure for their dispersion pattern (as well as the tweeters' wave guide) and response at 1m or less. Note that nearly all other speakers are tested and measured at 1m for efficiency and response, and again the problem then is that the dispersion pattern isn't necessarily conducive for NF listening (not in all cases, of course) and also that when one sits in a non-NF set-up whatever was measured at 1m will not necessarily translate to identical figures at 2m away (which is why some standmounts can be rated at 50hz -3db, but sound like it almost has no bass at 2m; at the same time many can do with 5in NF monitors, since the bass at less than 1m is a lot and deep enough).

 
Hmmm  Well these are just regular Andrew Jones designed Pioneers.  Since I have a Fiio A1 amp attached to my PC I decided to get passive book shelf's since studio monitors are all active these days, plus I was on a strict budget, still am (no job).
 
So for the price, these to me had the best bang for my buck. 

 

[cel4145]

Hmmm  Well these are just regular Andrew Jones designed Pioneers.  Since I have a Fiio A1 amp attached to my PC I decided to get passive book shelf's since studio monitors are all active these days, plus I was on a strict budget, still am (no job).

So for the price, these to me had the best bang for my buck. 

They are definitely a primo choice for the money

 

[Neccros]

They are definitely a primo choice for the money

Yup... I agree.  I did the usual A/B test with a few bookshelfs and the only speakers I felt sounded better where like $300+ a pair where these were on sale for $100...

 

[ProtegeManiac]

   
Hmmm  Well these are just regular Andrew Jones designed Pioneers.  Since I have a Fiio A1 amp attached to my PC I decided to get passive book shelf's since studio monitors are all active these days, plus I was on a strict budget, still am (no job).
 
So for the price, these to me had the best bang for my buck. 

 
For nearfield use the 4.5in (?) drivers would be enough. As for imaging and response, just experiment with the height - no need to expect phenomenal imaging at that price range at any distance from them, but simply avoid any really abnormal imaging problems.