[droht]

I'm wondering if someone can lend some technical insight to my situation.  My music system is a 2.1 set up, nearfield on my desktop in office.  I have been very happy with it, but never satisfied.  I have read that nearfield can work very well in negating the need for room treatments, and have heard from some well-regarded designers that lots of bookshelf speakers will excel in this kind of set up.

So, why do I enjoy music more when I play it in my HT sitting ~ 10' from speakers?  HT is a non-dedicated room with zero treatments.  Speakers are on built in bookcases.  Totally non-optimal.  Yet the sound is just better somehow, especially at louder (80dB+) levels.  Not sure how to describe the difference.  It is not as detailed, and the imaging is not as precise in my HT, but I simply prefer the space between my ears and the speakers.

Source in office is flac from PC>USB DAC>Virtue TWO amp vs flac files on ext HD through WDTV media player into Yamaha RX-V659 AVR.  I've flipped speakers around beetween rooms.  Don't think they matter much in this case.

Any obvious explanation for this?  Thanks!

[bunnyma357]

It sounds like you prefer a more "the musicians are in my room" perspective vs. a "you are in the recording session" perspective. Headphones and nearfield tend to minimize the room interaction, which has a lot of benefits, but one of the drawbacks can be the loss of a sense of space.

It probably isn't a case of right or wrong, just what you prefer.  I was looking through the Gedlee website and there is a lot of info on the psycho acoustics of why spaciousness is important and why a live room can sound better than a dead room at certain frequencies.

http://www.gedlee.com/Papers.htm

Jim C

[srb]

Another thought....are you using single driver or 2-way speakers?  If 2-way, perhaps the highs and lows are not adequately combining in the near-field placement.
 
It's possible in that setting that you might prefer single driver or coaxial drivers.
 
Steve

[droht]

Jim, interestingly enough, I am liking my headphone set up more and more, and thinking about investing more into that, and maybe scaling back to speakers for just background music in my 2-channel room/office.  I will check out the info on the Gedlee site.  I've read a bit about it, and would definitely consider his speakers in a dedicated room.

Steve, I have tried 2-way and single drivers in both settings.  My reaction is following the room, not the speakers.  Though I must say that I do prefer my single drivers to a variety of 2-way designs that I've had in the nearfield set up, so maybe there is something to that idea.

[JLM]

IMO desktop is not nearfield.  The desktop allows reflections off the desktop.

Nearfield means in room.  Refer to Cardas for a classic example of nearfield:

http://www.cardas.com/content.php?area=insights&content_id=28&pagestring=Room+Setup+3

Nearfield is primarily meant to remove, as much as possible, room effects by moving unequal distances from front/side walls.  And its best to locate the drivers off center vertically in the room too.

[jimdgoulding]

I would just add that if your desktop speakers are literally on your desktop, elevate them somehow.  I use thick marble vases, for example, 7" high.  Makes the response linear as opposed to bass heavy. 

[droht]

I have always thought the interaction with the desktop is an issue.  Right now I have single driver speakers on Auralex Mo-Pads.  I noticed an improvement when I added the pads about a year ago.  Center of drivers are ~ 14" from desktop and 30" from my ears.

What I've tried in the past as an experiment is moving the speakers out to the edge of the desk and moving my chair back to keep distances relative.  Not a big difference in sound.

I've spent more time listening comparitively to both rooms since I posted this.  Biggest issue is volume.  Below 75 Hz or so I really prefer the desktop setting.   Above that I prefer the HT.  Although I hate this phrase,  maybe it just "is what it is". 

[srb]

Below 75 Hz or so I really prefer the desktop setting.   Above that I prefer the HT.

75dB?
 
Steve

[droht]

Below 75 Hz or so I really prefer the desktop setting.   Above that I prefer the HT.

Decibels may be the correct unit of measure...thanks!
 
75dB?
 
Steve

Decibels may be the correct unit of measure...thanks!

[srb]

Decibels may be the correct unit of measure...thanks!

I thought so, as most people prefer the bass response of their HT to their desktop!
 
Unless you have a really large desk with really large speakers.   
 
Of course I knew someone that had a pair of Altec A7 Voice of the Theatre jammed into a relatively small bedroom, so anything is possible!
 
Steve

[droht]

Well, I used to run this desktop set up.  Really provided some good "feel it in your chest" bass for a 10" sub.  Eventually it became too difficult to work with my arms around the sub though...

[Duke]

You're getting a strong, undesirable early reflection off the desk, and if there's a monitor in between the speakers that can be detrimental as well.

That being said, I prefer a conventional setup to even a "clean" nearfield setup, despite the magnificent depth of image the latter is capable of.  I like the feel of having a reverberant field that is fairly strong relative to the first-arrival sound.  In general the more distance between you and the speakers, the greater the reverberant-to-direct energy ratio.  This puts a premium on the speaker's off-axis performance, as it will almost exculsively determine what the speaker is putting out into the reverberant field.  As a corollary, nearfield listening minimizes the significance of what a loudspeaker is doing off-axis... so "nearfield monitors" are designed with a different set of priorities than speakers designed to be listened to from far away.

A good way to quickly get a handle on a speaker's off-axis performance is to listen from the next room, through an open doorway, with no line-of-sight to the speakers.  From that location all you can possibly hear is the reverberant energy.  Note that an unamplified live piano, acoustic guitar, or singer would still sound totally natural from outside the door like that. 

Duke

[JackD201]

Reflections in their myriad forms are our friends. The acousticians's job is to control and manipulate them in such a way where there is a good mix of direct and reflected sound. Near field is most predominantly direct. Great for working on a track so you know what exactly is on it but not as appealing for recreational listening. Just too intense, what some call analytical. Yet it is also a matter of preference based on acquired tastes.

Why do you prefer your HT midfield experience? I'd suppose that a simple analogy is singing in the shower. The long reverberation time makes your voice fuller and masks the rough spots. I'd venture to guess it's the same between your HT and your desk top. The reflections give you a better sense of space. The distance from the speakers allow for better driver integration between tweeters, mid/bass' and sub(s). Subs don't do very well from up close. The first few feet are normally null nodes.

[bpape]

I would say that's an opinion not shared by all Jack.  I know many people, including myself, that prefer a nearfield situation to a farfield.  Intense?  Sure?  Analytical?  absolutely not - only if the system itself is.

Bryan

[JackD201]

I wasn't trying to generalize Bryan, sorry for that. I was referring to "analytical" with the OP's probable reason for preferring his midfield set up vis a vis his nearfield one. I figure he likes the effects of his room reinforcement and all they bring to the party as opposed to mostly direct sound.

Definitely there are nearfield set ups that are not "analytical" in audiophile parlance. I'm from a pro background (sound for film and TV) so analytical does not carry the baggage it does in audiophile speak from the perspective I'm coming from.

I used to go as neutral as possible at work (I've change professions and drive a desk instead of a board) but back home it's what I'm feeling at the moment. Fortunately with my current system I can go anywhere between both the neutral and colored world with a few minor adjustments in the front end and the loudspeakers.

[guest48077]

I am running Yorkville YSMp1 powered Nearfieled Studio Monitors.

I originally bought these for a home studio setup. I grew to love the flatness and sound of these speakers. I then bought another pair on a deal ( my buddy works at the plant) to use for my Stereo. Right now I couldn't be happier. I do feel I am missing some perception of space. I think I will move into a larger speaker system fairly soon, I just need some amps for LARGE ADVENTS I picked up (for 32 Dollars BTW).

I think My bass freq do not travel as far as I would like due to the Near field design. Over all the sound is crisp, flat respones, nice bass. I personally prefer a flat respones.