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How do you choose speaker location?

Over many apartments I have always put my speakers at the outer wall (window) and have them fire to the long axis of the apartment. And I end up sitting halfway/partway back (I have never sat at or near the furthest wall)
My usual way of starting to decide the distance is to measure the room and calculate the odd order fractions of the distance.
My current Magenpan speakers are 1/7 the total distance to the far walls, and 1/5 the distance to a wall hiding a pair of closets poking out between the entrance hall and the kitchen.. At 45" (average) speaker face to back wall. Average since the flat panels are angled.
I rotated them mainly to get the best (most!) bass response.

Anyway, with various schemes to locate speakers, including using Golden Ratio. etc..
What sort of scheme do YOU use to start placement?
(I naturally assume we all then adjust the speaker by ear a bit.)
elizabeth
9 responses Add your response
gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
Undoubtedly this thread will receive quite a few replies. There is no absolute "scheme", and given what you have stated it appears you already have a good understanding of placement.

In my case, "practical aesthetic" played a primary role and I tweaked placement from there. Even though I have a "dedicated listening room", it opens up to a "dedicated dining area" at the back, and the front has "dedicated double hung windows". :)
rpeluso
521 posts
 
I use the guide in the Vandersteen owner's manuals, they are all free on his web site if you want to take a look. Then one can tweak move, if desired.
brownsfan
1,238 posts
 
Elizabeth, as you know, Maggies are a different animal.  Less effected by first reflections from side walls, but they like a little space behind them since they are dipoles.  If you have not downloaded REW software (room equalization wizard) I suggest you do so.  It is much easier and quicker to optimize your speaker position for the flattest possible response in the clarity region (below 300 Hz).   I think you will find the long wall configuration with your chair out from the back wall to be the best option, but REW will help you optimize around that, and enable you to add some room treatments to further optimize.  I did this about a year ago in my listening room and it made an unbelievable difference. 
oranda
3 posts
 
Haven’t tried this personally, but found this suggestion for speaker placement interesting:

"RMAF14: High Fidelity Stereo - That’s not Natural! How to make it that way"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Pf0ycbyBM

Ag insider logo xs@2x
gdnrbob
2,421 posts
 
+1 gdhal.
I, too, find that placing speakers where they look right in the room generally gives good results. Feng shui tenets also seem to work.
B
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 
Planars really benefit from being at least 5' away from the wall behind them, if possible. That is the minimum distance required to create a 5ms delay between the sound from the front of the speaker and that from the rear reaching the listeners ears. Anything less than 5ms makes the rear wave sound as if it is part of the front wave---smearing. The 5ms delay turns the rear wave into ambiance, separate from the direct sound.
elizabeth OP
6,726 posts
 
quote"" Planars really benefit from being at least 5' away from the wall behind them ""
Well Googling planar location bring up a variety of theories.
One saying 3 to 5 feet from back wall.
Another saying 1/3 of the way into the room!
I am using part of that 1/3.. being an odd distance. (where even distances are bad) And chose 1/7th and 1/5th and get 45" out
Which is in the middle of the 3 to 5 feet suggestion.

As for the 5ms delay.. Well yes at the exact spot behind the 5 ft out speaker. (and that energy is reflected right into the back of the speaker anyway) However the vast majority of the reflected energy is not from exactly behind the speaker. In my setup the average distance from all reflecting surface behind is as close a a few feet near the side wall, to around 7 to 9 feet.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
gdnrbob
2,421 posts
 
I think that there will be no consensus on speaker placement as every room is different. Not just size, but the furnishings, window placement, draperies, etc.
Like I said, I place for aesthetics and tweak as best I can.
The one thing I don't want is having speakers stick out like a sore thumb in my room. When they disappear, that is when I am happy.
I wish I had room to get a pair of Maggies. Them and Vandy's are two of my favs.-Though I admit to having a strong desire to try some MBL's.
B
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 
@elizabeth, the 5' distance is a simplification. Since panels are rarely positioned parallel to the wall behind them, the route taken by the rear wave to arrive at the listeners ears varies a lot depending on the room dimensions, it's reflective/absorptive characteristics, and the degree of panel toe-in. But one thing is certain---the further away from the wall, the better. Speaker placement is always a matter of compromise---giving up one advantage for another, depending on one's sound priorities.
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