1. Home
  2. speakers
  3. 196133-3603

Speaker height...should known better

The other day I was listening to my system sitting down on my chair on my computer when all of sudden I had lower my head to glimpse a song on my screen when I realize, wait this sound much better. I have only lowered my head a few inches or 3 and all of sudden the music sounded way better. So much better to a point where it sounded coherent, phase timed and much more dynamic. I thought for a long time I have placed my Triangle BR03 tweeter at ear level. From the perception view from the listening position I would if thought it was at ear level. I was wrong. Currently my ears level is 3 inches above the tweeter(about the top of the cabinet). When I bought the speakers stands a few years ago, I got them new for my other speakers that were smaller. The current height on the stands are 28". I think what need now are at least 31". No wonder my measurements had a gradual roll off of the high end at around 8k at a couple of speakers I had. Now I am planning on getting higher stands to hear the difference.
highend64
deep_333
2,436 posts
 

That woofer crosses over at 3600 hz. Yeah, woofer at ear level, i suppose...

Other: This triangle is just a terrible lousy speaker.

Get rid of it and replace with a Andrew Jones UBR62. Put the concentric driver at ear height.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_970UBR62BK/ELAC-Uni-Fi-Reference-UBR62-Walnut.html

Thank me later

 

 

erik_squires
17,543 posts
 

When I bother to talk about this, yes, below the tweeter is often a better location to hear music than on tweeter axis.  Same for no toe in vs. direct. 

I often feel for instance that B&W speakers are designed to be heard on mid-woofer axis instead of tweeter. 

Even as a speaker designer, we sometimes try to make a speaker crossover optimized for on-tweeter listening but find that below is better when built.  This has happened to me and the famous Troels Gravesen as well.  You should always listen for yourself to find the right listening height / speaker tilt. 

highend64 OP
324 posts
 

I appreciate all the responses. I am going to try an elevate the speakers a few inches higher by probably getting newer stands since changing chair height is irrelevant right now.

@bimmerlover I think these have a good vertical dispersion to a point they are sensitive to slight height difference. The problem I notice as I mention earlier is that high frequency drivers were below my ear level but visual perceptionfrom the listening position was not like that.

@erik_squires I feel I have that perception with my speakers. 

erik_squires
17,543 posts
 

Remeber that you can just tilt them.  I've had good luck using relatively inexpensive wooden stands from Butcher Block acoustics with adjustable feet. 

larsman's avatar
larsman
3,150 posts
 

Interesting how different standmounts can be designed for different heights. I have Marten Parker Duos and their stands are 30" from the floor to the base of the speaker. My ears are level with the lower part of the bottom speaker, not the tweeter, and it sounds awesome, with a very tall, deep soundstage. I've tried sitting on padding to bring my ears up to tweeter level and that did not sound right at all.... I realize this is very unusual design, but it works! Their other standmounts, the Oscar Duos are more traditional ear/tweeter setup. 

More to discover