[lacro]

Knowing that Danny has always recommended his rear ported speaker designs should ideally be placed 3ft. out from walls.
But.... what can one do that can't achieve the recommended distance?

In my case with my X-LS Encores, I can only pull them 12 inches from a rear wall. I know room treatments is a science in itself, but is there a single solution for my situation such as sound absorption or diffusion panels directly behind the speakers on the wall?

Larry

[Captainhemo]

If you are  talkig about  rear ported/vented  designs such as the   X LS Encores or  AV3/N3 TL's etc,  you only need   about 18", you can probably get away with 14".  If you are building a TL design and you can't  get the  space,  you can reverse the  TL during construction and have it vent out the front..

If you  are  talking about OB (open baffle ) designs, you'll want the  3' , more if possible.   Diffusion bemay help a bit if yo ucan't  quite get to 3' but I think you should be awfully close to tta 3' mark.

-jay 

Edit, sorry Larry,    I didn't even notice the 2nd paragraph of your  post , no coffee yet   
Can you pull them out  a bit further temporarilly to see what difference it makes ? 

[Danny Richie]

Only the open baffle designs have to be 3 feet or more out into the room. But distance can be your friend with any design. More distance from the front wall will give you a deeper sound stage.

I like diffusion between the speakers and some to the sides. Absorption is necessary in the corners. Those are pretty much givens. The rest really depends on the room. I recommend trying things even if they are temporary and listen to the effect. Don't be afraid to try stuff or move things around to hear what it does.

[mlundy57]

Only the open baffle designs have to be 3 feet or more out into the room. But distance can be your friend with any design. More distance from the front wall will give you a deeper sound stage.

I like diffusion between the speakers and some to the sides. Absorption is necessary in the corners. Those are pretty much givens. The rest really depends on the room. I recommend trying things even if they are temporary and listen to the effect. Don't be afraid to try stuff or move things around to hear what it does.

Would you put the diffusion so it covered the walls behind and between open baffle speakers or just between the speakers and leave the walls untreated directly behind the speakers?

[paul79]

In this scenario, I've had great results putting absorption panels behind the speakers.

[stevenkelby]

I built some big 2D diffusion panels to put behind/between my Super Vs and they helped a lot, but I still got better sound with more distance from the front wall.

The panels I made are a bit over a foot deep (and 4ft wide x 4ft tall) and I can have the speakers about a foot from them, so 2 feet from the front wall. That sounds good, it doesn't sound good without the diffusion there. So I guess all in all I "saved" a foot.

However, I normally have them 3 feet from the panels, so 4 ft from the front wall. That sounds best to me so I leave them there unless we have company.

Initially I had the panels directly behind the speakers but I get better sound with them touching together, between the speakers (still hard against the front wall.

I also have big traps in the corners.

You can sort of see one the panels here, under the projector screen.  I covered them in speaker grill cloth.

[Danny Richie]

Would you put the diffusion so it covered the walls behind and between open baffle speakers or just between the speakers and leave the walls untreated directly behind the speakers?

A combination of both works well.

[bdp24]

Would you put the diffusion so it covered the walls behind and between open baffle speakers or just between the speakers and leave the walls untreated directly behind the speakers?

When you say "the walls behind and between open baffle speakers or just between the speakers", the implication is you have a wall between your speakers!

[jimdgoulding]

Only the open baffle designs have to be 3 feet or more out into the room. But distance can be your friend with any design. More distance from the front wall will give you a deeper sound stage.

I like diffusion between the speakers and some to the sides. Absorption is necessary in the corners. Those are pretty much givens. The rest really depends on the room. I recommend trying things even if they are temporary and listen to the effect. Don't be afraid to try stuff or move things around to hear what it does.

I heard that (!) and hear it every session.  The front center points of my narrow box speaks are 53" out from the wall behind them and 44" from the walls beside them in a 12'W by 15'L room and permit a you-are-there sensation on music recorded with regard for realistic presentation.  Or, they-are-here, the musicians, on up front in studio made recordings.