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Aid me with speaker placement

J

jyi786

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jun 13, 2002
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I just got the Athena AS-B1s, and, while they sound good, I totally underestimated their size and weight. I am in a complicated situation, as I don't know where to place them.

These speakers are for my PC/HT setup, acting as the mains. Unfortunately, the only place where I can accomodate the speakers are to mount them in the corners of the room, at ear level.

spksetup.jpg



I've googled, and read in some places that corner placement for a speaker is not recommended, and some where it is recommended, and it's got me confused.

Please tell me what would be a good placement for these speakers. They cannot be close to or around the immediate vicinity of my desk, because they are too large. They also must be in a position where they are acoustically sound. That's why I am debating whether or not it would be wise to mount them in the corners facing me.

edit: Here is a link suggesting corner placement:
http://www.revolutionhometheater.com/howto/bobhodas0503/main.shtml

and here is one against corner placement:
http://www.homestead.com/klyckproductions/speakerplacement.html
 
Bump? I need to have this set up hopefully by tonight.
 
http://dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html

Placement Tips
Of course, it's not always possible to place your speakers exactly as shown. The diagrams give a range of placement angles, so you have some flexibility. Sometimes you'll have no choice but to mount the surrounds behind you, but if you follow the guidelines as closely as you can, you'll have good sound.

Ideally, your front speakers, high-frequency drivers, or tweeters should be positioned at ear level (when you're seated). Our recommended height for the surrounds is above ear level, as soundtracks are likely to be optimized for that location.

Beyond keeping it on the floor, there's no specific rule for placing the subwoofer, as bass sound is non-directional. However, the amount of bass may vary depending on room location. You might want to try a few different places to determine what's best for you (sometimes moving the speaker even a few inches can change the sound).
Click to expand...
 
Well one site is a homesite while the other looks like a professional runs it. Either way the people who debate this are really into sound (aka they get paid to be experts)... I don't think the average consumer would be able to hear a difference.
 
I think the AS-B1 speakers are rear ported. They should be at least 1-2 feet from the wall. I'd tend to trust that homestead site.

Edit:

Certainly don't put your front speakers in the corner.
 
GodsMadClown said:
I think the AS-B1 speakers are rear ported. They should be at least 1-2 feet from the wall. I'd tend to trust that homestead site.

Edit:

Certainly don't put your front speakers in the corner.
Click to expand...


:(

Where do you suggest I put these speakers?
 
The room is 11 feet wide by 13 feet long, with my desk along the wide portioned end of the room (i.e. the pic is a bit misleading, I admit, because it shows the desk along the long end. )

edit: Here is a much more exact description of my room. Hence, you can see my dilemma.

spksetup2.jpg
 
Update: I just tried the speakers with their backs almost up against a wall. They sounded pretty damn good!!! Much better than when standing the 1-2 feet away from the wall as recommended.
 
Wierd. You usually want the best airflow for ported speakers. (ie. leave room for the air to leave the box) When you set up ported speakers with the port too close to something, it restricts the airflow, which goes against the technology of the speaker. I'd stay away from wall mounting those and go more for stand placement.
 
my mtx monitor 12s each have dual ports that are about 3-4" wide each......... the manual suggests putting them right up against the wall for better bass, and further away from the wall for better stereo imaging. they huff out a lot of air.
 
Is there a particular reason that your desk isn't at the opposite end of the room?

If that room was empty, and I was just moving in, with your (hexagonal?) desk, then I would put it at the opposite wall, pulled back 18 inches or so from the wall to give room for the CRT and breathing room for the main speakers. The tweeters of the main speakers should be level with your ears while seated.

I'd then mount the surrounds on the side walls (not less than 12" from the corners), using something like a pair of Omnimounts. The key feature is the ability to adjust the aim of the speakers of imaging. Don't be as concerned with the height of the speakers for the surrounds. Perhaps you have space to mount it above the door? Use the information at the Dolby link that I posted to inform your surround placements.
 
There is really no particular reason why my desk isn't at the opposite end of the room. I just diagrammed the portion of my room that my computer resides in. The rest of the space is other stuff, like bed, dresser, etc. etc.

Correct, the desk is hexagonal. The problem with putting the desk at the other end of the room is that everything you see in regards to window and closet on the other side of the room, is mirrored. So the room actually has two windows, and two closets. I can't put it on the other side of the room, because then my back would be toward the sunlight, which shines into the room for most of the day. Then I would get unnecessary glare, heat, etc. etc.

Unfortunately, my desk is sort of smallish also, so I'm considering making adjustments to the desk to accomodate the speakers. I'm gonna build extensions on it to set the speakers on.
 
corner mounting speakers often over-emphasizes the bass, this is only good if your speakers lack bass response.

Instead, try moving them in about 3 feet from each sidewall and about 1-1/2 feet forward. Make sure you are on-axis with the speakers though (about 20-30 degress slop allowed depending on speaker). Try to have your tweeter close to ear level (but no higher) as possible though. the tweeter height is where most folks will find the soundstage to be "nice"....the speaker placement is to try to correct for the bass. Sometimes you have to jockey the things around until you find the right spot.

I suffer with my rear-ports being right up on a wall since i dont hav ethe room for them...but once I get my own place they are going on proper stands and getting proper placement. No more of this right next to my monitor BS.

putting rear ports too close to a wall will sometimes muffle bass. Also remember that the wall itself can tailor sound by what material its made of alone, so you might want to foam line the area behind hte speaker temporarily to see how that works. egg-crate foam is very popular for doing this on a budget.

Well, good luck!
 
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