Specifications
Placement Within
the
Room
'!he methodology behind
room
placement
is
basically
simple geometry -
finding
the
line
between two
points,
measuring
how
long
the
line
is,
comparing
it
to
the
length
of
other
related
lines,
and so on. These
lines,
or
paths
as
we
will
call
them,
all
originate
at
one
of
the
speakers,
and
eventually
arrive
at
your
ears,
that
is,
your
listening
seat.
One
of
them
is
a
direct
path
from
the
speaker
to
your
ears,
while
the
others
are
reflective
paths,
bouncing
off
of
the
floor
or
walls
before
arriving
at
your
ears.
We
will
be
using
these
tenns
in
the
explana-
tions
that
follow.
The
direct
path
primarily
affects
the
imaging
abilities
of
your system,
wle
the
reflective
paths
affect
the
tonal
balance,
eSPecially
in
the
bass
and lower
midrange. There
are
4 major
reflective
paths
in
any room,
off
of
the
following
surfaces:
>
Floor.
This
one
is
normally
the
shortest
reflective
path,
and hence
causes
the
most problems. CarPeting
helps
a
lot.
>The
wall
behind
the
speakers.
>The
nearest
side
wall.
>The
wall
behind
the
listening
position.
The
ceiling
is
not
as
much
of
a problem, because
our
hearing
is
basically
oriented
to
horizontal
PerCeption. A
low
ceiling
would
definitely
be
a
candidate
for
the
list,
though.
Generally speaking,
the
Angelus should
be
at
least
one
foot
away
from
the
rear
wall,
and
as
far
as
possible
from
the
side
walls.
Most
importantly,
the
reflective
paths
off
of
each
of
these
surfaces
should
be
as
tmequal
as
possible.
The smoothest
possible
tonal
balance
throughout
the
room
is
achieved
when
this
can
be
done.
Equally important
is
that
the
speakers
be
placed
symnetrically
within
your room.
For example,
if
one speaker
is
3
feet
away
from
its
side
wall,
then
the
other
speaker should
also
be
placed
3
feet
away
from
the
side
wall
nearest
it.
Figure
1 on
the
next
page
shows
an example
of
syumetrical
placement
with
tmequal
path
lengths,
viewed from above.
One
situation
to
avoid
is
placing
a speaker
in
a
comer
of
the
room
at
an
equal
distance
from
the
side
and
rear
walls.
This
will
make
fOur system sotmd
'tubby'
or
bass-heavy, and
not
very spacious
at
all.
The
more
out
in
the
oPen'
the
speaker placement
is,
the
more
OPen
and spacious
the
sotmd
will
be.
Another one
to
avoid
is
when
the
distance
from your
listening
position
to
the
rear
wall
is
the
same
as
the
distance
from
the
speakers
to
the
wall
behind them.
This problem
is
related
to
what
are
called
'standing
waves'.
Most
rooms
are
rectangular
in
shape,
with
three
sets
of
parallel
surfaces.
Imagine,
if
you
will,
three
strings,
each
stretched
between
the
opposing
surfaces
in
your room,
and each having
the
same
amount
of
tension
applied.
If
you were
to
pluck
these
strings,
they would produce sound
at
three
different
tones,
with
the
lowest tone
being
produced by
the
longest
string.
The tones
that
correspond
to
the
dimen-
sions
of
your
room
are
supported by
the
surfaces,
just
like
the
strings.
These
tones
will
have a tendency
to
be
accentuated
in
your room, compared
to
others.
Furthermore,
if
one
of
the
reflective
paths
is
the
same
length
as
one
of
your
room's dimensions,
that
tone
is
accentuated
even more. Hence
the
importance
of
having
varied
path
lengths
in
your
setup
geometry.
5