[Bigfishhk]

Looking for placement tips from anyone with Song Towers in the corners. Obviously it will vary from room to room, but I am interested to hear some of your experiences (eg toe in, distance from walls)
Another of my limitations is that I can't get much further than about 1ft from either rear or side wall (distance from cabinet rear and side).  the speakers can be around 7ft apart, not too much wiggle room.
I am getting really good transparency, detail, imaging. Would love an extra ounce or two of bass. However the bass response I am getting is really tight and detailed which I love.
Anyway appreciate any feedback on this.
thanks
Tom

[jsalk]

Tom -

For a normal rear-ported speaker, being that close to the rear wall would be somewhat problematic.  But we have found that the SongTowers with their transmission line cabinet work quite well that distance from the rear wall.  The closer you get to the rear wall, the more bass reinforcement you will get.  But at a certain point, it will tend to sound a little "boomy".

As for the side walls, this is an issue where room treatments of some sort can help quite a bit.  The problem is, sound coming from the speakers is reflected off the wall from the first reflection point. (Have someone slide a mirror along the wall while you are seated in the listening position.  When you see a reflection of the speaker in the mirror, that is a reflection point. Remembering back in your school days, the angle of incidence equals the angle or reflection.)

The problem is, these reflections arrive at your ears very shortly, time-wise, after sound arriving directly from the speaker.  The time differential is so minimal, your brain does not recognize the reflection as a reflection.  It interprets this reflected sound as coming directly from the speaker.  So the reflections from close surfaces tend to smear the image. 

About the only solution is to have some absorptive material at that first reflection point to kill the reflections.  This is a very inexpensive system upgrade and can produce impressive results.

Acoustic panels can be home made.  Or you can purchase them.  In fact, companies like GIK can produce panels with photographs or artwork - even your own photos.  This can increase SAF/WAF.

As for toe-in, SongTowers really don't require any as their off-axis response is excellent.  But you can certainly experiment with it.  The more you toe the speakers in, the more precise the center image will become.  But the sound stage will not be quite as wide.  So it is a matter of trading off imaging for sound stage width.  Play with toe-in until you find the amount that works best for you.  This will vary by individual and there really is no right or wrong.

I hope this helps.

- Jim

[Bigfishhk]

Jim
thanks for the feedback. I will continue to experiment with position and look into side reflections. I think also I have probably had too much toe in. Will straigthen out more and listen. I have no apparent boominess with cabinets 8" from rear wall.

QUESTION re rear / side wall distance ratio. is it true that the speaker should not be EQUI-DISTANT from both side wall and rear wall (something to do with cancelling waves)?. And if so, should wall to speaker measurements be taken from the axis of the Drivers (as opposed to measuring distances from cabinet edges)?

Tom

thanks

[coke]

One of my speakers is located in a corner.  After adding a Gik 244 in the corner and a 242 on the side, it sounds as if the wall isn't there anymore.  It really widened the soundstage on that side of the room and things also became more focused.

One of the cheapest upgrades I've made, but probably one of the best 

[Bigfishhk]

how did the treatments affect bass response?
how far are you from the sides and rear walls approx?

many tx
TOm

[coke]

how did the treatments affect bass response?
how far are you from the sides and rear walls approx?

many tx
TOm

I put 244's in every corner. The tri traps were too big for my room.  I don't have any measurements, but when playing sweeps, I heard a lot of flucuation in the lower frequencies.  After the treatments, it sounded MUCH more linear. 

I was forced to have my system offset within the room, so the left speaker is only a few inches from the wall while the right is several feet.  I think the speakers are a little over 2' from the rear wall, but I can't remember the exact measurements. 

[vortrex]

you have the same room setup as me with the same speakers and placement.  I spoke with Brian@GIK and he set me up with room treatments to handle it.  those will be arriving in a couple weeks and should make a nice improvement.  if you have never seen this video, it's quite impressive.

comparisons start at the 3:30 mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4paIPqORvdc

[nyc_paramedic]

One of my speakers is located in a corner.  After adding a Gik 244 in the corner and a 242 on the side, it sounds as if the wall isn't there anymore.  It really widened the soundstage on that side of the room and things also became more focused.

One of the cheapest upgrades I've made, but probably one of the best 

I concur with my colleague. Close to corners or not, you should get bass traps for your room. Best bang for your buck bar none.

[Bigfishhk]

you have the same room setup as me with the same speakers and placement.  I spoke with Brian@GIK and he set me up with room treatments to handle it.  those will be arriving in a couple weeks and should make a nice improvement.  if you have never seen this video, it's quite impressive.

 
THANKS FOR THE CLIP. REALLY HOPE YOU CAN POST THE RESULTS WHEN YOU GET THE ROOM TREATMENTS, ESP AS YOUR PLACEMENT LIKE MINE

ps do you think as temporary treatments, I can place large polystyrene  boards on the side walls?
TOM