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HELP Speakers sound brighter and 3D stage is lost

Audiophile Gurus,

I just have moved from a bigger place to this place where my music room is 12x16 fts.

Since the room is small I have placed the speakers about 6 inches away from the walls and about 8+ft apart. Now they don’t sound nearly as good as they did in my old place where there were about 9+ft apart and 4ft away from either of the walls, I use to get a 3D stage and the overall effect was incredible. Since they are new they sounded a bit harsh in my old place as well.

My setup:
Speakers: B&W 802N (only about 30Hrs on them)
Amp: McIntosh 352Mc
CD player: Levinson 39 (I am not using a separate Pre Amp)
Cables: MIT 750 Shotgun speaker cables.
Medium impedance MIT shotgun interconnects.

Is there any thing I can do:

1. to reduce the brightness besides waiting for them to break-in.
2. What can I do to get the 3D image back?
3. Is preamp a must for this configuration?
4. Will a subwoofer like REL help by pressurizing the room?
5. Any other pointers :)

Thanks
Sukhi
sahotas
rhljazz
1,117 posts
 
You don't mention whether the speakers are on the short or long wall. My room is about 14x15 and I place my N802's about three feet out measured to the frt baffle from the shorter wall and about 7 feet apart center to center. Toe in is critical. If they are pointed directly at you the sound will be way too bright. I use a laser pen to aim so the center position lands about 10 inches to the outside edge of where my ear would be, resulting in a very slight total toe-in. My switch from solid state to vacuum tube amplification was also a major improvement.
s7horton
1,065 posts
 
The above responses pretty much sum up what I have to add. My room is about the same size as yours, but my speakers are not nearly as big. CDM 1NT's. If it were me, the first thing I would try is to pull the speakers at least one foot away from the wall, and anymore if it is possible. I'm making an assumption that the speakers are placed on the short wall? If they are not, I would try that.
turnaround's avatar
turnaround
52 posts
 
My listening room is a small space too (about 13x14). I have Thiels.

I have repositioned my speakers and furniture many times. To get the big 3D image, you will need to give speakers about four feet of *clear* space behind, and clear as much from between as possible. You'll get a wider, deeper, taller soundstage; also tighter and more realistic bass; *everything* improves in a big way that throwing money at more components and tweaks cannot get. Your speakers will get more living space than you, but I have not found another solution.

On the subwoofer, I do not think that it will be very meaningful if you don't pull those speakers out first. It's like improving a sportscar that you never take out on the highway.
ezmeralda11
303 posts
 
Your post doesn't make sense: you have your speakers 6 inches from sidewall and 8 feet in between, but the shortest dimension of the room is 12 foot? My math says 3 feet is unaccounted for. 8' feet apart and 4' from sidewalls is about perfect, as far as time delay and width for stereo are concerned. At a minimum, fight for 2' from the sidewalls to get a crude 4ms delay (is that right guys: two ms out and two ms back). A little toe in wouldn't hurt and if they have to be close to the sidewalls, a 2foot by 2 foot of acoustic foam at the first reflection points will clean up the high beaming/harshness a bit.
Try the RPG profoam level 1 from audioadvisor.com for a quick and dirty easy route.

silentsource.com
aurlex.com
also good places.
sean
6,229 posts
 
Ezmeralda, i thought the same thing. The measurements are probable from the insides of each speaker in terms of spacing, then you have the width of each speaker cabinet ( which might be appr a foot and a half x 2 ) and then the distance from their outer edges to the wall. Make sense ? Sean
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