The space between the speakers


I would like to invest in a high end stereo system. Something like the Wilson Audio Sophias driven by Audio Research electronics. I need to share the space though with our home theater which means that there will be a cabinet that holds the 52 inch tv with a pop up lift in back and electronics in front between the speakers. The cabinet is 5.5 ft wide by 3 ft deep by 45 inchs tall. I can position the front of the speakers a little in front of the cabinet (6 to 12 inches). My question is: Is it likely that I will be able to get good enough sound out of the speakers in this situation to warrant the investment or is the cabinet a deal breaker?
mmaslow

Showing 2 responses by shadorne

All great comments above. Compromises are a fact of life.

If you can get the speakers at least 12 inches forward and a couple of feet between the edge of the TV and the side of the speaker then it will be negligible and if you throw a thick blanket over the TV likely close to inaudible.

Alternatively you can build speakers into a custom wall so everything is as flush as practically possible - like this. Worth it IMHO if you are serious about "high-end" and want the most out of it. (However this will give you more bass response - extremely useful because reasonable bass SPL is ultra-expensive to generate with less than 1% audiophile distortion levels - but will give you stronger room modal issues and may require EQ on the speaker and some rear wall behind listener treatments)

If you are unwilling to position the speakers a small distance away from the TV (at least two feet) or build a custom in-wall setup (talk to Rives or others) then I think your proposed investment in "high-end" will be disproportionate to your needs. However, this is no different to most audiophiles ...many people enjoy owning a SOTA sports car with no place to drive it at 180 MPH, likewise many have amazing systems with speakers stuffed into a cluttered corner in an inappropriate room. The pride of ownership rather than than ride is a often the biggest part of a hobby.
Here is a good example of what to do: Eric's System In this case the speakers are slightly in front of the edges of the screen - this means there is no edge diffraction from a sharp edge, as the TV vertical edges are in the acoustic shadow of the speaker.