Listening Height Adjustment -- Is This Why Two People Don't Hear the Same?


Just wanted to pass on a recent experience, and surprise, in my system

My room (https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5707) is set up for one person to listen. I have a medium height arm chair at the listening position and had always assumed that it left me with my ears broadly in line with the tweeters in my Magicos (i.e. 42-43" off the ground)

Well I checked and I was actually at 38-40" depending on how upright I sit. Wondering how much of a difference getting it just so would make I purchased a set of add on feet, each 3.5-4" tall and added them to my chair -- not a good look!

But wow, what an improvement in sound. Tonally the speakers take on a very different balance, upper mid range and vocal intelligibility is substantially improved, bass is lighter but better defined and overall integration across the frequency range is much much better than before

The odd thing is that I don’t have the tweeters pointed directly at me -- they’re angled about 2’ off to either side, so what would a couple of inches in the vertical make such a difference assuming the tweeter drop off is uniform in all directions? Is it more a matter of driver integration?

This experience leads me to wonder
a) how many of us have actually measured and adjusted our set height to optimal/tweeter level, and do we do this every time we audition a new speaker, and
b) if two individuals are not the same height do we adjust for the difference in height between them sitting -- say a 5’6 vs 6’ person that’s probably a 3" difference sitting -- unless your chair has adjustable feet the experience of the two individuals may be completely different
128x128folkfreak
I rarely, if ever, sit in one spot while music is playing. However, over the years, I got to the conclusion that I should figure out if I like the sound of some system regardless of ideal conditions. In fact, even in another room. If I have to work too hard to figure the differences out, they are not worth thinking about for me. Before I get crucified for this kind of blasphemy, I do understand that some people enjoy sitting and distinguishing each and every nuance from the recording and I admire their dedication and patience.

Going back to the original post, yes, every detail counts. It is just question how much.
Tilting affects time alignment between drivers. Competent designers spend much effort to get this as close to perfect as possible, so definitely at least start with manufacturers set up recommendation. 

Not saying this this is the only way, but I start with placement to best result, then toe in to best result, then raise/lower my a@@ to adjust ear height to best result. 
Snap, folkfreak.

My room is something of a bear, with my normal listening position quite lacking in bass. But a few inches higher, and the bass is much improved.

When I first discovered this, my first thought was to angle the speakers as Eric suggested. No joy, scarcely any difference at all.

As soon as I finish my DIY turntable, I’m going to fool around with active cancellation. We’ll see how that goes - wish me luck!

Quad 2905's.
"Well this is why where practicable the best method, technique and protocol for evaluating components in a Music Reproduction System is to rely on headphones."

Well, its a bit difficult to evaluate/compare speakers using a headphone.
Ha-Ha.  This is pretty funny these days now that various speaker manufacturers have decided to make many speakers 6' tall.  I WONDER where they got that idea (Magnepan) and what influenced their driver placement (Magnepan) and why they work on "imaging" so hard (Magnepan)?

Yes, your ears need to be in the center of the Maggie panel when seated for "serious" or "fun" listening IF you want that specific experience.

I remember many customers who sat down in the shop once the music was playing and watched their eyes light up and smiles appear as they realized how wonderful the listening experience was, and those were the days of STEREO--2 channels only.  Enjoy!