How close do you listen?

roymail · « **on:** 8 Mar 2012, 10:39 pm »

I don't really know where to post this question. So since I listen to lots of classical music, I will post it here. There should be a General Audio circle, IMO.

How close do you listen? Nearfield or further back? I prefer 8 to 12 ft myself. I guess it all depends on how far apart you have your speakers or how large the room is as well as your listening preferences. All comments welcome.

Thanks to all.

Tyson · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Mar 2012, 10:46 pm »

I sit about 8 feet from my speakers.

canzld · « **Reply #2 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 04:55 am »

Nearfield for me too. 6-8 feet, with speakers 6-8 apart and minimal toe-in. Room 12x30 something feet. Efficient speakers with small watts. I don't find my seating distance is genre dependent.

Type of speakers may be an influence in choice of seating distance. For me, open baffle.

95Dyna · « **Reply #3 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 02:10 pm »

I'm all over the place and find interesting differences in recordings. In my experience among the many variables that influence this choice the recording is most notable. Speakers are 10' apart tweeter to tweeter firing from the long wall of a 17' X 21' X 10' room that is 75% open into other rooms in the rear. Primary listening position is 12' back from speaks. I also like to sit a few feet further back on an elevated stool-speakers are 5' tall and dipole in the upper mid-range and up. Another place I like to listen is to stand between the speakers about 2' back from the plane. Some recordings give me the auditory illusion I'm standing on the maestro's podium in that position e.g. in a violin concerto the soloist is right beside me, violin/viola's to the left, cello/bass to the right, winds straight ahead etc.

Devil Doc · « **Reply #4 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 02:26 pm »

11ft. 4in. I bought Get Better Sound.

Doc

rklein · « **Reply #5 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 02:50 pm »

When I listen to recordings I am about 8 feet from my speakers.

When I am playing clarinet in the Canton Symphony Orchestra or the Cleveland Pops Orchestra I am right in the middle of the "action"!!

Fortunately for me, I only have to spend $$$$ on speakers as opposed to $$$$$$$$$$ as I get "the performers are in the room with you" effect all the time when actually playing in the orchestra.

Regards,

Randy

rpf · « **Reply #6 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 03:54 pm »

10-11 feet.

rollo · « **Reply #7 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 03:59 pm »

Quote from: rklein on 9 Mar 2012, 02:50 pm

When I listen to recordings I am about 8 feet from my speakers.

When I am playing clarinet in the Canton Symphony Orchestra or the Cleveland Pops Orchestra I am right in the middle of the "action"!!

Fortunately for me, I only have to spend $$$$ on speakers as opposed to $$$$$$$$$$ as I get "the performers are in the room with you" effect all the time when actually playing in the orchestra.

Regards,

Randy

Was always curious to know from a musicians standpoint which you prefer. Sitting amongst the orchestra or the audience. With recordings as well do you perfer a recording with the audience in front of the soudstage or deep into the soundstage ?
Now for the listening, for me nearfield about 6'-6" apart and 7 ft away.

charles

no1maestro · « **Reply #8 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 04:56 pm »

As a former conductor, I was given to nearfield listening; not from the podium but rather row four center. In my home office I listen from about six feet. My speaker array is made up of several small speaker pairs which are selectable and work with a JBL sub woofer and work quite well for my taste. I have, for instance, pairings for Mozart and different ones for Beethoven and yet other pairings for jazz etc. I find this excellent for my listening.

rklein · « **Reply #9 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 07:48 pm »

Quote

Was always curious to know from a musicians standpoint which you prefer. Sitting amongst the orchestra or the audience. With recordings as well do you perfer a recording with the audience in front of the soudstage or deep into the soundstage ?

I will try and answer the first part of your question two ways... as a performer, I want to be part of the music making. This means of course, that you are extremely aware(or should be

) of what your fellow colleagues are doing. Fitting in with the winds, making sure, that if you don't have melody to play only loud enough so that you can hear who the heck DOES have the leading line. Making sure that you are in tune with not only your partner in any particular section but with the entire wind section(flutes, oboes, clarinets & bassoons). In addition, there is a small time delay depending on where you are sitting. There are plenty of times where the conductor will state that "you are behind or late" in relation to the strings. I am thinking to myself that I am right on the tempo. However, the conductor is correct because of the simple logistical fact of where the winds and brass are located(from the center of the orchestra and going back from there) and that the sound doesn't have to travel as far to his/her ears from the strings as it does from the winds/brass. The joy of MAKING music far outweighs the advantages of listening to music, even if you are in the "best seat" in the hall accoustically speaking. I would venture to say that a good analogy would be that you always notice far more of your surroundings when you are the driver as opposed to being the passenger. Usually, the driver can remember the directions to their destination while the passenger may not.

I have had the pleasure of playing in and listening to concerts in Carnegie Hall, the Academy of Music(Philadelphia Orchestra) and Severence Hall(Cleveland) and the most expensive seats do not equate to being the "best" seats. Maybe visually but certainly not from a listening standpoint. The best seats usually are on the lower floor towards the back and perhaps the lower balcony seats. So in answering your 2nd question, when I listen to recordings, I do not want to be in the front row or even the 5th or 6th row... I want to be in the row where the music has had a chance to grow into the complete product. I want to be in the row where the hall(if any good) has had a chance to do it's magic on the sound being produced by perfoming ensemble.

Regards,

Randy

Soundminded · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 01:32 pm »

Quote from: no1maestro on 9 Mar 2012, 04:56 pm

As a former conductor, I was given to nearfield listening; not from the podium but rather row four center. In my home office I listen from about six feet. My speaker array is made up of several small speaker pairs which are selectable and work with a JBL sub woofer and work quite well for my taste. I have, for instance, pairings for Mozart and different ones for Beethoven and yet other pairings for jazz etc. I find this excellent for my listening.

I like hearing the hall as well as the musicians. I like the effect of concert hall reverberation. I'd prefer to sit back around row S or T at a live performance. I think those are often the best seats because you get the best balance between the two. I built an experimental sound system to recreate this effect. I sit around 15 to 20 feet back in a 30 foot long room. With this system where you sit is not critical.

rollo · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 04:36 pm »

Rklein great response, thanks. That is why I prefer recordings [ Live ] where the audience clapping is in front of the music.

charles

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #12 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 05:07 pm »

Quote

I bought Get Better Sound

So did I. Glad I got it, but I disagree with a narrower spacing between the speakers than from the listener. Jim does this because he likes the tone better. Myself, I don't like a narrow soundstage so I usually go wider than a equalateral triangle between the speakers.

Main room it's all over the place but generally I go for 8-9 feet from speakers and about 9-10 apart. However, if I had the speakers backed up to a wall I would probably go narrower.

Computer rig about 3' from speakers and about 3.5' apart.

Another factor is that some speakers just need different spacing than others. So that's another variable.

Rocket_going against the grain_Ronny

HsvHeelFan · « **Reply #13 on:** 21 Mar 2012, 06:12 pm »

My speakers are 8 feet 4 inches apart.

My normal listening position is 16 feet away.

When I'm in the Orchestra, the String Bass section is typically about 8 feet to my left and in front (think of a 45 degree angle as I look out at the concert hall) and the Bass Trombone bell is usually 2 feet or so to my right.

Nearfield doesn't begin to describe it. It's more like being immersed in a sea of sound (all on the lower half of the piano keyboard).

HsvHeelFan

milford3 · « **Reply #14 on:** 21 Mar 2012, 06:29 pm »

I listen at ten feet. But I also like to "walk the room" while listening. Certain music sounds better in the corner of the room rather than being in front of the mains. A habit of mine I guess.

jeffreybehr · « **Reply #15 on:** 21 Mar 2012, 06:37 pm »

My speakers are almost 10' apart C-to-C, and I sit about 10' away, so I use an equilateral triangle and didn't know it!

I listen about 90% to Romantic-period Classical and big-orchestra film music, and my multichannel system sounds big. In Phoenix Symphony Hall, we sit in row 11, center. I love the width of the orchestra's sounds, but I wouldn't want to be closer.

eclein · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Mar 2012, 09:29 pm »

My preference is nearfield. Right now I have JBL L830 3-way monitors about 5-6 ft. in front of me and they are on stands with tweeter at ear level and about 7 ft apart. I've always listened nearfield, it seems to be more accurate to me.

canzld · « **Reply #17 on:** 22 Mar 2012, 04:17 am »

Quote from: HsvHeelFan on 21 Mar 2012, 06:12 pm

My speakers are 8 feet 4 inches apart.

My normal listening position is 16 feet away.

When I'm in the Orchestra, the String Bass section is typically about 8 feet to my left and in front (think of a 45 degree angle as I look out at the concert hall) and the Bass Trombone bell is usually 2 feet or so to my right.

Nearfield doesn't begin to describe it. It's more like being immersed in a sea of sound (all on the lower half of the piano keyboard).

HsvHeelFan

nice post - that is exactly the metaphor I had been going to propose. A sea of sound. I always sit on the floor of my local symphony hall (Roy Thompson-Toronto - a pig's ear of a hall, but that's what we've got) and often right at the front, row 2 or 3, opposite the cellos. Sitting further back does give the best overall sound in the hall, but there is something visceral about the closer seating positon - expecially with a piece like a Shostakovich symphony. Pretty much unreproducible at home I think sadly - and of course, not ever recorded from that perspective.

mjosef · « **Reply #18 on:** 22 Mar 2012, 04:55 am »

Close: speakers 5ft. apart/ seat 7-8ft away.
But I listen from all over my small apt., furthest away being 25ft. or less.

Rclark · « **Reply #19 on:** 22 Mar 2012, 07:59 am »

About six or seven feet away from my Maggies, but I would be further away if I had the room. They are a similar distance apart from each other. They are facing straight ahead with the tiniest measured toe in of a few slight degrees and neither is firing at my ear.

Cardas for planars, long wall. I LOVE it.