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Speakers on the long wall

My Vandersteen 2Ci speakers are now on the long wall of a 13' x 20' room with a 7' 7" ceiling, roughly centered on the wall and about 10" from the front wall, with a TV between them. The listening position is about 9–10 feet away, on the opposite side of the room in front of three windows, and one of the short walls has a 6' opening into the kitchen.​

In a previous setup the speakers were on the 13' wall and sounded excellent, but returning to that arrangement is no longer possible. With the current long‑wall placement, the sound is shallow, a bit lifeless, and the soundstage is poor. This seems to point strongly to room interaction.

This seems like the kind of room many have successfully tamed with careful placement and treatment, so practical advice on how to proceed with room treatments and positioning would be very welcome.

Vandersteen 2Ci, McCormack DNA‑0.5, Marantz CD player.

scooterbug
scooterbug's avatar
scooterbug OP
16 posts
 

There is 6 ft between the inside edges of the speakers, and the front of the speaker is 28" away from the wall.

They are on the Sound Lab stands on a cement (carpeted) floor.    

lanx0003
2,012 posts
 

So it literally leaves you 4–5 ft between the MLP and the back wall. If untreated, it can reflect sound waves that smear the image, create standing waves, and reduce depth. In addition to diffusers on the front wall between the speakers, you will need to place absorbers (not diffusers) to treat the back wall. It’s important to note that if there is ample distance behind the MLP, a diffuser is great for retaining spatial cues — but in your case, the space behind you is limited. 

If you want to retain spaciousness without sacrificing clarity, an effective compromise is to place absorbers on the lower half of the back wall and diffusers on the upper half.

larsman's avatar
larsman
3,190 posts
 

I've got a long living room that I've partitioned to have my speakers against the long wall, and I've essentially no side walls to reflect sound as they are so far away. I've got my speakers about 18" from the wall and about 8 feet between each other and between them and my listening chair. Combine that with a high ceiling and wall-to-wall carpet and the room contributes as little as possible to the sound. 

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ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,524 posts
 

A friend of mine has been working on his room for over a year. Not unlike yours. He has worked with a ACS (?) treated the ceiling and walls. It sounds fantastic. Here are a few photos of different configurations. Putting the speakers on the short wall always won in the end. But both can sound good. 

https://flic.kr/p/2rk9yrB

https://flic.kr/p/2rA5DDH

https://flic.kr/p/2rA6YsR

https://flic.kr/p/2rkfujz

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