Sound tuning

Speaker placement

The most important, effective, and usually also the cheapest tip concerns the correct placement of the speakers in your listening room, music room, or living room. This is because good room acoustics never depend solely on the speaker itself, but always on the interaction between the sound transducer and the surrounding room. None of us mere mortals can listen to a speaker in an “anechoic” room. And even if we could, it would be a very unpleasant, completely unnatural situation.

We have already dedicated an entire blog post to the complex topic of speaker placement so here is a summary of the basics.

• Very few floorstanding speakers are designed to be placed in the corner of a room. Bass frequencies are amplified up to three times in such a location, which can lead to booming. Therefore, if possible, place floorstanding speakers at least 30 cm, or better still 60 cm, away from the corners. Also leave at least 30 cm of space between the speakers and the rear wall.
• Compact or bookshelf speakers usually sound better when placed in an open space; very few sound good when crammed into a bookcase (as they used to be). Accessories stores or your hi-fi dealer usually offer suitable stands for compact speakers.
• Please do not let the speakers "disappear" behind curtains. Sound waves want to spread freely.
• Position both stereo speakers at the same distance from your listening position if possible, and you should have a clear view of the fronts.
• If voices that are actually mixed in the middle “roam about” when listening, angle the speakers (more) towards your listening position.
• If there is a rumbling sound at the listening position, annoying room modes are probably at play. Vary the distances and positions of the speakers and listening position. Sometimes it even helps to move from the long to the short side of a rectangular room.
• Place the speakers in similar, preferably identical environments. In other words, don't leave one completely free and the other cramped.