Speaker Positioning


Should I consider floor standing speakers with a recommended (by manufacturer) minimum distance from side wall of 36 inches if my max only allows for 24? Just wondering how critical this type of guidance is...

gnoworyta

this week from all I have read here, I have become stupider. You all have a good weekend. 

Sometimes you have to make the speakers fit your room.  Complete open space around your speakers is great if your space allows.  Im sure many of us have made compromises.

I am a newbie to this topic, and I will ask a question, if I may?

Is speaker placement somewhat modified by speaker volume levels?

A lot of talk about speaker placement from side and rear walls, how much does this matter at lower listening levels? 

A stiff speaker housing should not radiate significant levels of vibration at lower listening, in my opinion. 

I am not trying to hijack this thread, and hopefully that does not happen.  

 

I had the same concern with the speakers I bought for my HT 2 channel system. The answer is not all speakers react the same. Toe in and/or side wall treatments obviously will help with soundstage and you can send the manufacturer an email requesting info regarding plugging the port. Recently I asked a manufacturer a specific question about the same problem and the answer was to get a pair 1 size down from the model I asked about.

Have you considered open baffle speakers? Those can be placed closer to the side walls without much (if any) detrimental effects. My room is 13x14 and my Spatials sound pretty good in there, closer to the side walls.

Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised (shocked, actually) to find my Acoustic Zen Adagios sound fantastic closer to the side walls than I had expected. I always had them 3 feet or so from the side walls, which made them really close to a near field setup and I always felt the sound wasn’t what the speakers were capable of. 

I then tried them about a foot from the side walls aimed at the listening position and lo and behold, a walk-around, holographic soundstage! But I do have lots of GIK acoustic treatment in that room.

Good luck.