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Speakers too wide apart?

Today on a whim I decided to move my speakers closer together. Originally they were 7ft apart. After the move, they are now 5.5ft apart. I sit about 7.5ft away. I was immediately floored by how much better my system sounded. There was a naturalness that I never heard before. Soundstage depth also increased dramatically (which may not be saying much since before I had zero depth). Most impressive was how much more holograpic the music is. This simple adjustment had an incredibly profound affect on my system. As others have pointed out on many occasion here on this forum, it pays to experiment with speaker positioning. In my case, I highly recommend adjusting speaker width.
128x128tboooe
bostonbean
241 posts
 
agreed
tboooe's avatar
tboooe OP
1,009 posts
 
wwshull, I wonder if in my case, bringing the speakers closer together helped with the first reflection point? I am in a situation where I cant really put up room treatments so what I can do is limited. My speakers are now more than 3ft away from the nearest sidewall.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
You and I sit in similar positions. I'm about 8.5 feet from the speakers, and the speakers are about 8 feet apart.

In my experience, moving the speakers closer together also resulted in a deeper image, but more contained between the speakers. Having them wider apart created a wider image that extends out beyond the speakers. Finding just the right distance is tricky!

Moving them closer also had the effect of moving the first reflection points a bit farther down the side walls, so this likely helped as well. Toe-in will also affect the location of the first reflection points. You know how to use a mirror (and a friend) to find the first reflection points, yes?
fihigh
4 posts
 
When you say 5.5ft.apart.Are you measuring from the inner edge of each speaker or from center to center.
I always used 3 plus feet away from side walls on all dynamic speakers I have had in my systems.I felt they all sounded better then when placed closer to side walls.
Tboooe very nice system
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,333 posts
 
. I was immediately floored by how much better my system sounded. There was a naturalness that I never heard before. Soundstage depth also increased dramatically (which may not be saying much since before I had zero depth).

I keep saying it over and over and over and over and over and over and over - get those speakers far away from the side walls - at least 3 feet if you can!

If your "throne view" photo is anything to go by as to speaker placement then it is not surprising you were completely totally floored when you moved the speakers closer together.

Well done for making such a huge improvement ....at no cost to boot!
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