Pundit
Post by peter0c on Sept 13, 2022 11:30:58 GMT 12
I came across this dated advice from John Atkinson in the recent edition of Stereophile. The most important tip is probably the suggestion for a slightly asymmetric placement of your speakers. Just as well some things don't change!
Another handy calculator can be found here. Of marginal interest, this calculator doesn't take into account room length or therefore, room volume. Should it? An earlier Cardas article discussing optimising for different room shapes can be found here.
One of these refers to putting speakers against the long axis (which I think works best for open baffle speakers including Quad and Maggies) and provides a golden ration calculator to achieve the best result.
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Post by foveaux on Sept 13, 2022 16:44:07 GMT 12
Good stuff Peter, thanks. I have Jim Smiths 'Get Better Sound" and his vast experience is insightful and very useful for setting up speakers for optimal performance. (Actually his book a valuable resource and recommended. Catchy cover quips: "Did you know that your audio components only provide about half of your system's full potential? Get Better Sound shows you how to get the crucial other half, and how to do it without spending a fortune." and, "The Reference Set-up Manual that guarantees better sound from any home audio system!"  )  www.tnt-audio.com/books/get_better_sound_e.html
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
850 posts
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Pundit
Post by harvey on Sept 14, 2022 21:55:40 GMT 12
I've set my speakers up according to the Cardas method recently. Didn't have to move them too far from their original positioning but it's made a vast improvement, widening up the soundstage with more depth and focus Sorry for the cliche but its true, the speakers just disappeared into the room. Can't say it made a huge difference to the bass responce. I do have some bass absorbtion in the room but for me the biggest factor here is positioning of the listening chair. Equidistant from the speakers (which Cardas recommend) is not an option as I'd be nearfield listening which my speakers are not designed for but moving the chair foward or back can help alleviate any room modes by correct positioning.
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Pundit
Post by peter0c on Sept 15, 2022 10:27:36 GMT 12
I might have said it before but I think that we get too over-excited about room nodes and that sort of thing. I don't mean that we shouldn't try and correct it, rather having done our best lie back and enjoy the music. Our ears and brains have perhaps a million years of evolution to help us avoid tigers and other trouble. Part of this involves detecting ambient sounds, that is sound that is changed because of the environment that it is generated in. The most simple is of course echo and the more complex in hifi, the 'sound' generated by the recording or playback venue. Historically this has helped us localise the source of the threatening sound, whether it is moving closer or further away and whether there is anything between us and it. We can easily detect this and just as easily cognitively turn it off, just like we do when listening to a friend talk above the babble in for example a restaurant. Forget dsp, let our brain sort it out and enjoy the music.
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Pundit
Post by Dom on Sept 15, 2022 13:58:29 GMT 12
Most of our ground floor is the listening area although I can find a very sweet spot when I want to. I'll move a chair there and sit a while. The fact that there's an upright piano between my speakers precludes me ever getting the best out of my audio but I'm fine with that.
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Post by michaelw on Sept 15, 2022 16:03:18 GMT 12
When you play piano music does it sound real ? 
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Post by RdM on Sept 15, 2022 20:40:05 GMT 12
When you play piano music does it sound real ?
"Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?"
"What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
I think upright pianos tend to - may be designed to ? - be positioned up against a wall. And no worse, maybe better, being sculptured, than a flat panel TV on the wall behind and between the speakers. Discussion before about that. Reflectivity I guess, vs some sound absorbance on that rear wall between, but maybe much ado about little import too.
I've known two piano teacher friends around my age - their upright pianos against a wall.
Grand pianos I imagine like a little space around them;- I've only seen videos.
Meanwhile I've been looking through multiple bookmarks for what I'd saved re speaker positioning ... catch up later!
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Pundit
Post by Dom on Sept 16, 2022 10:11:22 GMT 12
When you play piano music does it sound real ? Yep, and when I'm playing along, I'm in the sweet-spot, for sure!
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Pundit
Post by Dom on Sept 16, 2022 10:18:22 GMT 12
When you play piano music does it sound real ?
I think upright pianos tend to - may be designed to ? - be positioned up against a wall. And no worse, maybe better, being sculptured, than a flat panel TV on the wall behind and between the speakers. Discussion before about that. Reflectivity I guess, vs some sound absorbance on that rear wall between, but maybe much ado about little import too.
I've known two piano teacher friends around my age - their upright pianos against a wall.
Grand pianos I imagine like a little space around them;- I've only seen videos.
Yes, definitely against a wall but out a coupla inches.
A flat-panel TV doesn't have any resonance so 88 strings, a soundboard and a large wooden box all joining probably does play havoc with bat-eared listeners. I suppose I could damp the strings but yeah, nah. Maybe one day I'll chuck a rolled-up blanket in there for giggles?
I've certainly read on some forums that having an acoustic guitar in the same room as your hifi can have detrimental effects on resonance. But yeah, nah. I have one of those in there, too. 
DD
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Post by michaelw on Sept 16, 2022 15:27:49 GMT 12
^ been there with a grand piano ! It was next door but singing along with the main system. Plus it was the only time I ever heard Shahinians sounding good too !
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Post by RdM on Sept 16, 2022 19:32:41 GMT 12
I think upright pianos tend to - may be designed to ? - be positioned up against a wall. And no worse, maybe better, being sculptured, than a flat panel TV on the wall behind and between the speakers. Discussion before about that. Reflectivity I guess, vs some sound absorbance on that rear wall between, but maybe much ado about little import too.
I've known two piano teacher friends around my age - their upright pianos against a wall.
Grand pianos I imagine like a little space around them;- I've only seen videos.
Yes, definitely against a wall but out a coupla inches.
A flat-panel TV doesn't have any resonance so 88 strings, a soundboard and a large wooden box all joining probably does play havoc with bat-eared listeners. I suppose I could damp the strings but yeah, nah. Maybe one day I'll chuck a rolled-up blanket in there for giggles?
I've certainly read on some forums that having an acoustic guitar in the same room as your hifi can have detrimental effects on resonance. But yeah, nah. I have one of those in there, too.
DD
Ah, I'd forgotten about that sympathetic vibrating response. And can imagine similar with a grand piano.
Now I'm reminded of reading that for perfectionists, in reviewing speakers, that one shouldn't even have unpowered other ones nearby, in case of their sympathetic resonances!
Well, at least if exciting piano strings they'll be harmonious, I'd assume. A little jazzy reverb? What's not to like? ;=}))
And yes, out from the wall 2-3" or so.
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Post by michaelw on Sept 16, 2022 20:08:43 GMT 12
The old Linn credo from the 80s - Single Speaker Demos.
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Post by RdM on Sept 17, 2022 18:05:43 GMT 12
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