2. speakers
  3. 1344307745

Speaker Placement Issue/Thoughts

I'm not sure if it's my hearing, my rooms (I've had the stereo in three different ones over the past few years), or a recording bias, but I consistently hear my image being biased slightly left of center.

I've had to resort to balance controls to fix this issue, but have also tried various speaker placement solutions (Thiel 1.6s and now 2.4s). When thinking about how to address the problem, I regularly get stuck in what feels like a logical paradox.

So, to shift the center image to the right, I can alternatively convince myself either that I should A) make the right speaker louder by moving it closer to me, or B) move the right speaker further away to shift the actual center of stereo speakers. Unfortunately every time I try to test this, so much ends up changing (the damn spikes are so hard to deal with) that I never figure out which is the appropriate solution.

Maybe I just need to pay a professional to come in and place everything for me...
128x128cal3713
cal3713's avatar
cal3713 OP
388 posts
 
I was pretty close to buying this laser measure, Bosch DLR130K-RT, but figured I'd go the old tape measure route first. I'm going to remove the furniture from the room today and take my first stab at the grid method. Have to get it done now before my saturdays get filled with college football. Looking forward to the experience...
tholt
545 posts
 
Hi Peterayer,

Using strong tape to attach the yarn to the floor along the centerline, I measure to the inside front and rear corners of each speaker and get each the same (ie front = front, rear = rear). This works twofold: for both distance and toe in.
cal3713's avatar
cal3713 OP
388 posts
 
Well, the living room has changed configurations, although the current setup might be temporary because it makes the room somewhat less user friendly. The speakers are now about 4-5 feet away from the front wall, and the couch is straight across the back of the room, about 3 feet from the back wall. I did manage to get most of the left shift out though, and it definitely sounds better.

Minus the laser measure, in the end I found Smith's suggestion of using an anchored tape measure the most useful. I took a small board, attached the tape measure to it using a finishing nail (through the measure's pre-made anchor hole, and then taped the board to the floor at my listening position. It was easy to stretch without slack to measure speaker distance. In the end I didn't actually use the grid very much, and probably could have just gotten away with only the tape measure. Really the only benefit was for helping me place the speakers an equal distance from the centerline...
More to discover