Speaker positioning?

Start by bringing the speakers about one third of the way into the room with your seating position about the same distance in as well. Move the speakers about 8 feet apart and adjust from there.

What speakers and associated equipment do you have? What surfaces are in the room? Glass?

Hi Ehart, drag this link into your browser. Cardas Audio Insights - Room SetupAddress:http://www.cardas.com/insights/roomsetup.html Changed:1:05 PM on Monday, February 19, 2001 --- You can try this position as starters but may also need some treatment. Good Luck

I have a room of similiar size

cardas' rules don't exactly apply
but you can reinforce frequencies by using the odd divisions of the room placement (see fac listed below)

place the speakers along the long wall
equal distance apart as there are from your listening vantage point. You need to bring the speakers away from the wall, experiment with distance by every two inches. Listen for good stereo seperation but a good pinpoint central image with things like a female singer on a recording where she is located on a central track. Speakers too far apart, you will hear a lack of focusing in the center. My setup gives great focusing and nice separation well beyond the edges of the speakers.

see the audioasylum fac on speaker placement or do a search at audiogon on speaker placement

http://www.AudioAsylum.com/audio/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq.html
the audiophysics method is fairly sound

best of luck finding sonic nirvana

Audiotomb has it right on suggesting the 2 inch change then do a sound check process. When the speakers were along the long wall you probably were at a reinforcining node (the bass is a wave function that adds at subtracts). Putting the speakers in, or near the corners usually increases bass. With the speakers 4 to 5 feet out like you have them you have avoided this reinforcement. The same thing will happen if you experiment with the long wall placement. Since the short wall placement puts the speakers closer to the side walls you are probably getting more first reflections reaching the listening position within the time frame where the brain hears them as coherant parts of the music. that could be causing the brightness/harshness. On the long wall the first reflections reach the listening position much later. I have my speakers on the long wall. There is a glass door on one side about 5 ft from the speaker and a glass bay window on the other about 8 ft from the speaker, both without treatments, and the first reflections are not unbearable. Treatments would be better but there is the WAF.good luck

You may want to try tweeter rings. They are felt rings that you adhere to the tweeter flange. they really help.

also you may want to experiment more with cables. Select a slightly warmer sounding cable such as Cardas.

Hope this helps,

Johnny

Hmmm....
I too have a 14x25 room, but it's a bit asymmetric, and because there's a 7' grand in the front, I've been forced to set up a 7.5' triangle about 10 feet out from the front wall. Sidewall splatter is tamed by stuffed furniture with throw pillows propped on top to stifle window and fireplace reflections. Wall-to-wall with a pad is absolutely CRITICAL
(train the damned puppy and get one of those child barriers for the doorways in the meantime if you have to!).
I like the short wall placement, as with a nearfield setup the room is less involved, and the stage is incredibly deep!
You may be able to get away with a throw-rug in front of and between the speakers if you set up in the nearfield, too. I just think your room is WAY to live for any other placement. The brightness is due to all those reflections and resonances. A warm cable won't help much, although it's not a bad idea.
Alhough I don't fully ascibe to the acousticians' "deader is better" rule fully, I find it's a better starting point then a "shouty" box! Good luck.

If you use the short wall, find the area on the side walls where the sound is reflected from. This is the spot on the wall that you would be able to see the speaker on that side in a mirror from your listening position. Place a large plant or some kind of furniture that will diffuse the sound instead of room treatments.
If you cant use a rug or carpet, you might not be able to tame the brightness caused by floor reflections. Maybe something you could roll out when you want to listen?
Good Luck

Thank you for your comments. To start, I tried sitting about 6 feet closer (about 8 feet from speakers that are 8 feet apart). An amazing difference, I can hear all sorts of detail that was lost further back. Still bright, but bright isn't as annoying when it gets you detail...

My wife and I argued today about the new CD player I want; maybe she'll give me some flexibility in the room if it means putting off the purchase...

Thanks again...

- Eric

Erick hi.I read your question about speaker positioning.Did you get some good advice?If you don't mind I am inerested in the Speaker positioning also.Could you share some advice with me? I think that you know me,because you wanted to buy my accuphase dp 75 if I am not mistaken.I thank you in advance.Leon.

Nabatov,

I don't think I'm the same guy. In my dreams I would be buying your Accuphase CD player!

But yes, I did get good advice (see the thread above).

In the end, I got a *large* decent carpet for free (someone in the neighborhood moving), and have convinced my wife that it will be suitable! It's rolled up ready to put in place (the puppy threw up on it already, and it's not even in place yet, but I guess you probably didn't want to know that; in any case the carpet's free!) I expect we'll have it in place in the next week, and will let you know how it goes.

So I'm going with the "room treatment" theory for now.

- Eric