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Speaker placement along the long wall

Does anyone have any experience with speaker placement along the long wall? My room is 15'Lx12W. The rear of the room has a 6' wide opening into the dining room. This allows me to seat in between the two rooms (about 10' from the speaker right now), though it remains domestically unpopular. I'm considering relinquishing the space between the two rooms by moving the speakers along the 15' wall. The only problem is that I'll have about 8' from the chair to the new front wall, thus forcing me into near-field listening. My speakers are sealed box design(Hales Rev3). I'm wondering, before I attempt to re-arrange the living room, how close to the rear wall can these speakers be placed with minimal change in sound quality or any other pros&cons.

Responses are much appreciated.
wywhcan
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
No problem with your new arrangement. I would experiment with absorbtion behind the listening position. Also, consider having the speakers slightly off center along the long wall. My current listening environment, although larger, is set-up this way. I have the benefit that behind the listening position opens into the rest of the home and the results are wonderful. No acoustic treatments are necessary.
sean
6,229 posts
 
Obviously, this type of situation would be pretty speaker dependent. Having said that, i tend to prefer setting up speakers on the long wall if possible. More direct sound with less side-wall reflections taking place produces a very vivid soundstage and increased detail when it comes to imaging. I have a very hard time listening to systems that are firing into a long / narrow room as the sound seems so "un-natural" and "crammed together". This is especially true if the speakers are traditional front firing boxes. This is probably one of the reasons that i also like omni's and planar's i.e. increased "air", "space" and "depth".

The bottom line is to try it and see. Most all of your expense will be in labor, so you'll be getting off cheap : ) Sean
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nighthawk
241 posts
 
Could you put your speakers flanking the opening to the dining room? I bet this would give great depth to the soundstage.
unsound
6,115 posts
 
I have always prefered setting up speakers along the long wall. Dunlavy and Audio Physics have some interesting thoughts about this arrangement on their web sites.
soix
2,133 posts
 
My main concern would be if the new 8' listening distance gives the drivers a chance to gel together. If memory serves the drivers in the Rev3s are somewhat far apart, so this may be an issue. If you experience a lack of coherence between bass/mids/treble you may need to back the speakers up closer to the wall. It might not turn out to be an issue at all, but it would be something I'd watch for.

Tim
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