[SteveFord]

You asked for it, you've got it!

So, any special tricks for placing your speakers?
I'm lazy and try to go 48" out from the front wall (furthest away from me), ribbons inside and pointed at my ears, speakers raised, if necessary, so that the center of the panel is about where my ears are when seated.

I have found that the greater the toe-in the greater the bass output will seem.

For spacing I put them together and then move them apart until the sound is coming from two distinct speakers and then nudge them together until the sound seems to be coming from a single source.

Anyone else?

[Elizabeth]

I own Magnepan 20.7 speakers. Prior speakers were Magnepan 3.6
The 20.7 are placed at about the same location as my previous 3.6 The 3.6 I had added a Red Oak hardwood plank to the bass side (outside so my tweeters are 'in') as tall as the speaker, and adding a about five inches girth to the bass side. (curiously making the 3.6 as wide as the future 20.7 would be)
I live in a medium/small one bedroom apartment The living room is 140" wide, by two lengths, the full distance is 314" and a pair of closets jut into the room behind the listening position (between entrance door/hall and the kitchen area in the other side.) the closets remove 87" depth, 36" wide from the middle of the area behind the listening position. My listening position is about in 2/5ths from speaker end, and 3/5ths from farthest back wall.
I have a very low slung chair between the speakers (it is so low the AC unit under the large nine foot wide window vents are over the top of it...) The chair hides the amplifier behind it. (which is up on Butcher Block Maple 3: 18"x 19" on top of hteat is a Wanut #" 14" by 17" and between those and the amp are several blocks of exotic wood. Bolivian Rosewood bowl blanks 2" by 4"x4" (not a true Rosewood) and a 12: 2: x2" spindle of VeraWood. The kind of wood REALLY MATTERS based on a lot of experimenting with what they do to the TONE of the final sound.. I spent months finding just the right products for each location.... (I can guarantee just copying the stuff I use is a sure fire fail to get the best sound from any expensive exotic wood.... Just sayin'
My basis for location started with measurements.
I measured the room and its various oddities. The found a distance which was both 1/7th and 1/5th of the long axis distances.
I started there... ten years ago. I am still close to there.
The 20.7 are toed in more than the 3.6 were. The right angle from the face of my speakers crosses in front of the listening position by about two feet or so.
MY actual measurements from the walls. From side walls to closest edge 19"
From the wall behind to the outside edge 58 1/2" and 42" from the inside edge of the speaker panel. So a lot of toe in ! They are 54" apart measure of empty space...

I also have them up on unfinished Exotic wood (Bloodwood) 1.5" square, various 6" 12" and 18" lengths.. those up on small cut domino sized Oak blocks 3" by 1" by 1/2" which really just keep the Bloodwood from sinking INTO the carpet (sinking in destroyed the tone effect the Bloodwood adds) The Bloodwood is under the stock oval base of the 20.7
The other change I added a triple resistor 3 in parallel Duelund CAST 3.9 ohm and a pair of Path 3.9 ohm to be 1.3 ohm. To mention.. the resistors in the midrange do NOT lessen the output! they DO change the TONE of the sound. adding more resistance lowers the tone, less resistance brightens the tone of the midrange panel. I also removed the midrange fuse and it's many connectors from the circuit,bypassing it all.

I did slight adjustments to the setup, but have liked it, and tried others and just gone back. After I got the 20.7 and a few other upgrades, I used female vocals to LOCK IN the the clarity and focus of the central image. Moving or rotating the toe in speakers an inch mattered for this. Now I actually have the exact measurements written down, so I can easily return the speakers to the optimum position!

Other stuff in the room. No fancy audiophile room treatments. The big windows are a slight problem. (I added some dampening to them right on the glass) I have very heavy drapes always open so the rear corners are full of heavy folded drapery. The side walls at each corner have bookshelves to ceiling filled with DVDs in thinpack (1/2 width) cases. Which I also have adjusted' to various depths and some turned 90* etc.. to break up the flat surface. Addd some blocks of spare exotic (heavy) wood to the mix.
To the left sidewall is the flat panel TV on a rack, To the right is a loveseat size couch. MY audio equipment is to the left behind me, away from the wall so I can reach the rack seated.... behind to my left. The turntables are further back along the left wall..

[Saturn94]

My other speakers, Soundfield Audio Monitor 1, sounded best placed wide with alot of toe in, so that’s where I generally started with my LRS.

I know dipoles (hope that’s the right term) like space behind them, so I placed them as far out from the wall behind them as I could (a hair over 3ft) and toed in as recommended by Magnepan (tweeters farther from the main LP than the mid/bass panel), tweeters on the outside since I like a wide image and larger sweet spot.

Bass and soundstage sounded good with 3ft behind them, so I left them like that.

The wide stance like my other speakers didn’t work as well with the LRS, so I moved them a little closer together.

So, at least for now, they’re about 7ft to the main LP, 62 inches between them, about 3ft behind them, and toed in so that the tweeters are about 1.5 inches further from the main LP than the mid/bass panel.  Also, I have the “flippers” on the factory stands down so the panels sit more upright.  So far I’m happy with the way the sound set up like this.

I have a pair of Magna Risers on order.  I’ll probably experiment more with positioning once I get them.

I think the key is experimenting since every room/setup is different.

[howler minkey]

here’s a nice primer on dipole woofer placement...
https://www.hifizine.com/2012/03/on-dipole-subwoofer-placement/
...which helped me to finally get the most out of my gradient helsinki’s
dipole bass... even when watching/listening to monster mayhem blu rays.

i may order a pair of LRS’s and try hi-passing ‘em at around 200-250hz,
and use the sinki’s woof and lo-pass x-over at around those same freq’s.,
to see how well they blend, and how much more dynamic the lrs’s can
become with less deep bass to deal with.
the sinki has light, fast, coated-paper woofs similar to the ones used in
gradient’s quad ESL subs, at similar cross-over points.

[mcmusicman]

Great Topic!  For me I experimented many ways with my 1.7s.
In my space, they sound best 6' from front wall, 6' (8 center to center) and 12' from my listening position with toe set to outside my shoulders by a foot each side.  Tweeters Inside.

[shumi]

And then there is the Limage Method...does not cost any money to at least try it.


https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=mug&m=215733

[SteveFord]

My wife is pretty understanding but I think that would be pushing it.

[Letitroll98]

The Rooze placement method is very interesting.

https://www.audioasylum.com/forums/MUG/messages/77917.html%3Cbr

[timind]

The Rooze placement method is very interesting.

https://www.audioasylum.com/forums/MUG/messages/77917.html%3Cbr

That's hilarious. Sounds basically like sitting with your back to the speakers. I'm gonna give it a try.

[Craig B]

My .7s are about 4 feet out from the front wall, and about 3.5 from the sides. I've tried tweeters-in and tweeters out, in each case changing toe-in so the tweeter side is about an inch farther from my head than the bass side. That means with tweeters in, the speakers "aim" at a convergence point somewhere in front of the listening position, and with them out, the convergence point is somewhere behind the listening position. In my system and room, keeping the tweeters a little farther away helps snap the images into super clear focus. Tweeters in results in maybe a hair more precision in imaging, but tweeters out expands the sound stage. For my taste, that stage enlargement improvement is much better than the very slight loss in image specificity that I'd had with the tweeters in.

[raiders4life7]

Anyone have opinions on setting them up in a room the long way vs the wide way? I have a smaller room.

[Pianoplayer]

 I have 3.7i speakers in a long and narrow room, with the speakers on the short wall, about 4.5 ' out from the wall behind them (the "front" wall) and 10" away from the side walls. This is similar to the positioning of the 1.6's I had earlier.

The one listening chair puts my ears about 16' away from the front wall, and happens to be in a bass null, which helps with the room modes that exaggerate certain bass notes. It is also the one place in the room where the neighbor's central air unit doesn't penetrate too much.

3" foam wedges are on the walls at the points of reflection, and the wall behind the speaker has both foam wedges and quite a few difussors, which has helped tremendously in smoothing the sound stage. This took a lot of trial and error to get the difussors in the best position, but now the speakers completely disappear. Unless the recording has been extremely spot miked, no sound seems to come from the speakers. The sound stage is wide and even and appears to be entirely
behind the speakers.

[lilolee]

I wish I had the room for it, but my SMGa's are in a small room (13x15ft) so more or less in the corners with carpet rolls behind them to stop back eddys. They sound better than you would think.

[Wind Chaser]

Tweeters in results in maybe a hair more precision in imaging, but tweeters out expands the sound stage. For my taste, that stage enlargement improvement is much better than the very slight loss in image specificity that I'd had with the tweeters in.

I am in complete agreement with this. Even with the tweeters on the outside my stage has shrunk considerably with the Maggie’s compared to the widespread stage I had with the Spatial M3ts. 

IMO whether the tweeters are inside or outside doesn’t seem to make that much of a difference as far as image specificity goes, and like you I’d rather have a wider stage. I’ve got some Mye Stands for my .7 on the way and based on what I’ve read that should help tighten up the imaging some. 

[AvsFan]

I am in complete agreement with this. Even with the tweeters on the outside my stage has shrunk considerably with the Maggie’s compared to the widespread stage I had with the Spatial M3ts. 

IMO whether the tweeters are inside or outside doesn’t seem to make that much of a difference as far as image specificity goes, and like you I’d rather have a wider stage. I’ve got some Mye Stands for my .7 on the way and based on what I’ve read that should help tighten up the imaging some. 

Wind Chaser,

So I know we have been talking, how long have you had the Maggie's for? Do you like the Spatials or Maggie's more?

[Wind Chaser]

I've got about 60 hours or so on them now. They are two very different speakers with different strengths and weaknesses. The Maggie's are definitely more resolving in the mids and top end but... they require a lot more power... the bass isn't nearly as deep... the dynamics aren't nearly as dynamic... The overall presentation is much smaller and image specificity is almost nonexistent compared to the M3ts.

Had I auditioned them in my home prior to purchase I'm not so sure I would have bought them. But then again I felt the same way about the Spatial M3ts when I first got them. 

We'll see what happens as they accumulate more hours. I'm sure the Mye Stands are going to help as well.

[Rocket_Ronny]

The Maggie's are definitely more resolving in the mids and top end but... they require a lot more power... the bass isn't nearly as deep... the dynamics aren't nearly as dynamic... The overall presentation is much smaller and image specificity is almost nonexistent compared to the M3ts.

I could have told you that since I had Maggy 3.7s for a short time. It pays to inquire and not be an island. 

Rocket Ronny

[mijostyn]

SteveFord, I think you are almost right on the money. Put your listening position and the speakers at the point of an equal lateral triangle then move the speakers another foot or so apart. Your toe in is fine. 4 feet from the wall is fine. Now with you in the listening position have someone move a mirror across the front wall. When you see the back of the speaker squarely in the mirror you have found your first reflection point. Mark both sides. Now go here  https://www.parts-express.com/sonic-barrier-fwp121-sawtooth-foam-sound-damping-for-enclosures-and-studios-12-x-12-x-1---260-546  and get two boxes of these tiles. You stick these to the wall at the reflection points from the floor to 6 feet up. Two rows. Alternate the direction of the fins and you can make a nice pattern. I tack them to the walls with dabs of thick cyanoacrylate glue on the wall and I spray the tile with accelerator. You can always pull these down and clean the wall with acetone which will remove the glue. But, you won't. Your image will tighten up nicely. The best 20 dollar tweak you will ever make:)

[SteveFord]

You're talking to someone whose wife just decided to put a giant, ugly, overstuffed white wart of a chair in front of the right hand speaker.
Luckily, I can shove this monstrosity into a foyer easily enough but in the front yard, set on fire, would be my first choice.

[klao]

Recently, I had to move my Maggies 20.7's a tad bit wider apart and slightly more into the room, after replacing the dead 65" plasma with a larger 82" qled tv. Here's my current setup.

Tweeters are on the inside & toed-in so that the speakers' inner & outer edges are about 1.785 m. (5'10") & 1.98 m. (6'6") from front wall (20 cm. / 8" difference).

Left & right tweeters are approximately 2.87 m. (9'5") apart. Speakers' outer edges are 93 cm. (3'1") from side walls . Listening position of my ears is about 3.85 m. (12'7") from the speaker's plane (mid-range drivers) and about 2.80 m. (9'2") from the back wall.

It's a dedicated room: 5.94 (W) x 8.55 (L). x 3.15/3.65 (H) meters / 19.5' x 28' x 10'/12'.

I like having the orchestral music sound stage to be as wide and deep as possible, while making sure soloists and vocals are locked in at the center. Some jazz ensemble/recordings with my setup will present certain insruments quite extreme on the sides, though.