this is known as midfield placement. What is really cool is if you happen to have a long narrow room, and place speakers in this fashion close to the side walls, you get a soundstage at both sides of the room. :^)
Planar speaker placement
Hi again. I just came across this, being new to the hobby, but would like to put it forth for those few who might not know it yet, and to get feedback from those that do and have experience with it. It being hk/limage theory speaker placement. I tried this with my Maggies and, holy cow. What a difference it made in my room! The speakers disapear from the room and the soundstage is amazing. The speakers are brought out about 40%of the room size from the wall, instead of the usual 2-4 ft, set very close to the sidewall, amd tweeters on inside. I'm sure the regulars here have heard about it, and would like to hear your thoughts. Thanks for your time.
Showing 5 responses by ct0517
@MGM I placed the quads on the inside of where i have my king Sound King speakers . Multiple speakers (even idle) in the room affect the sound in a couple of ways. If large enough based on the room size, they will affect the acoustics just by placing them in the room. An idle (not connected) cone speaker driver will resonate from the sound waves from another speaker playing the room. It will affect the sound. ^^^^^ What does this tell you about dealers that have 6 speakers set up in a listening room ? couple questions. Is your phenomena being observed when the Quads are plugged in and when they are not? What happens when the positions are reversed. Quads on the outside. I can take a guess but this info would help. |
sbank +1 Imagine playing a poker game with the guys; some decide to show their cards, some don’t. What’s the point ? With that .....I’d just like to comment that if Kalali can do that with a watermelon, imagine what he can do with a sound room :^) *************************** sbank From point number 4 in my post here. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/solid-state-amps-for-quad-esl-57/post?postid=1385630#1385630 Direct from the Quad ESL owners manual. "As a general rule radiation of sound waves from the front and rear of the speaker should be restricted as little as possible. While corners and positions closer to the wall should be avoided. A corner position is often necessary for other types of loudspeakers because it accentuates the low frequencies, but such a position for the Quad will both reduce the bass seriously and cause deterioration of middle frequencies due to standing waves." It is my opinion if Planar/ESL companies advertise openly to place speakers well out from the front walls, their sales would drop. So if you place them up close to the front wall you better have something dealing with the back wave. This will vary by room. |
Hi sbank the Quad 57 manual can be downloaded from here. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/407327/Quad-Esl-57.html?page=2#manual The 57 is unique and is a different speaker from the 63 both in the way it sounds and the way it is constructed. As far as construction, the way it was explained to me by Kent at Electrostatic Solutions years ago, and also a local fellow here in Canada that repairs ESL's The 57 is durable and tolerant of humidity changes - dry to humid conditions. The '63 with its different build, is not, and if subjected to continued high humidity will break down. Actually come apart. ************************** So that part of the 57 manual says. The radiation of the sound waves from both the front and back of the speaker should be restricted as little as possible. It goes on to say. If the speaker needs to be close to a wall it should be angled so that reflections are not returned trapped. For example one end of the speaker could almost touch wall provided the other end was say two feet away.The above assumes a wider room imo, where the speakers are angled in quite a bit at the listener. I Interpret this paragraph as - you can make it work - if you do this, but , for it to work good and really good means, putting them out there - don't be shy - 8^) away from the front wall. This is how I interpret "the back wave being restricted as little as possible " Now in actual listening where it counts; I have always listened since the late 70's when I was in my teens, to 2 channel in near field with cone speakers well out from the front wall. I have owned 7 ? different Planars/ESL's , still own 3 ESL's and all have benefited from being well out in the room if possible. Cheers Chris |