What Could Cause Center Image To Present Lower than Expected


I will preface with admitting, that I am not an audiophile, but a hobbyist at best. Purchased Totem Acoustic Forest Sig. I am powering them with a ModWright  KWH 225I with Morrow Audio Sp7 speaker cables. My primary source is an Ayon S10 MKII network player/DAC feed by Small Green Computer (ROON) with Snake River Audio Mumushi Sig XLR interconects.

Integrated/Player feed with Morrow Audio Elite Power cords from a Shunyata PS8 w/Defender. PS8 connected with Shunyata Alpha v2 NR power cord.

Room is 13x19. Speakers 7' apart and 4" from front wall and 2.5' from side wall. No toe-in.  Audio equipment behind speakers along short wall with TV above mounted to wall. There is an 8x10 decorative rug hung on wall behind tv/equipment.

From the get-go, I have been very happy with sound and center image / soundstage present without fiddling with anything. Better than my ATC SCM19 v2.

My issue is with how low the center image presents.  Not sure how to proceed. Where to start. Is it most likely a speaker adjustment or component issue? I know my room is not properly treated.

Scott

amboguzzi

I think the totems like to be ~4 feet out from the wall.  You can also move them a little closer together as Soix suggested, but  I’m not sure if the-in will be good, not that close together. Totem recommends no toe-in.

Maybe try blankets and pillows on floor to lesson low reflections. If that works then replace with a rug with a thick pad.

Room tuning or speaker repositioning would help but I would suggest a different approach to try first. Swap cabling, both interconnects and power cables (if not the same). Most likely is the TV screen behind the speakers and any other big reflective area between them. Sometimes a cable swap can alter things.

Play with speaker positioning. Moving the speakers closer together will usually make the center image more pronounced but will sacrifice on soundstage width.

Spreading the speakers further apart will widen the center image and soundstage but at the expense of losing some of the focus.

And definitely move them out into the room about at least a foot away from the wall behind them. You can also experiment with raising the speakers off the floor slightly. You can use platforms or nobsound springs from Amazon to experiment on the cheap.

Create an equilateral triangle between your listening chair and speakers. It’s all room/component dependent.

Find placement that strikes a good balance. And if the problem persists, then you need to continue working on room acoustics and potentially revisit your components. 

If the 4" distance to rear wall is not a typo I'd yank them out several feet for starters and experiment with distance, width, toe-in, and rake. Slightly angling speakers upwards, even a few degrees, will change the image height in my experience.

You have nice equipment so work with the positioning. Others have offered good insights as well. I like an equilateral triangle with speakers aimed behind my head.

Good luck; something will make it come together. Keep experimenting.