Open baffles and apartment living question

Mister Pig · « **on:** 30 Sep 2015, 11:52 pm »

So we are moving into an apartment for a couple of years, and space is at a premium. I currently use a pair of Hawthorne trio open baffles with the 10" SSI drivers. I currently use them 4 feet off the front wall. I wonder how badly they would be affected if I were to load them near the front wall, lets say 18 to 20 inches. Is this an absolute no go? If I can't get it to work then I will be stuck selling them and going to a set of mini monitors for the interim. No room to store them in an apartment, so they would have to find new owners.

Is there any possibility this could work?

Regards
Mister Pig

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #1 on:** 1 Oct 2015, 12:00 am »

You can do this test now by moving the speakers.
I would say the soundstage will no more be 3D.
Even so I would continue use this nice OB this way
til larger premisses are avaliable.

sfdoddsy · « **Reply #2 on:** 1 Oct 2015, 02:31 am »

I had a set of Orions in a smallish apartment which meant they were up close to the wall. They didn't sound as good as they could, but better than any alternative.

Poultrygeist · « **Reply #3 on:** 1 Oct 2015, 10:30 am »

If the apartment is carpeted you can use carpet sliders under the OB's and only pull them out into the room when they're being played.

My floors are hardwood and on my next OB's I may try rubber casters.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #4 on:** 1 Oct 2015, 11:45 am »

I use said carpet sliders under my Maggies these days. The best spot for them for listening is around 41 inches off the front wall. And I have a couch on sliders that I move out of the way to accommodate the best listening environment.

When the family wants to watch a movie, or folks come over to play pool, I move the couch back, and push the Maggies right up against the wall.

Tape on the floor marks the ideal spot for 2 channel joy, so I can more easily move it all back once those other activities are done.

As for how close to the wall you can use OB and still get good sound, I would say it varies. My old DIY OB speakers sounded good as close as 20 inches to the front wall, but did sound better out about 30.

bladesmith · « **Reply #5 on:** 1 Oct 2015, 02:40 pm »

Right now I have mine in a small room, with a pretty high ceiling, about 16' vault. I have them about 20" from the front and 20" from the side, Just the way it has to be, I have no choice. I have a sofa and love seat, which absorb some low freq.'s, which help. I realize I am not using these to there fullest potential, but they sound incredible.

I would keep them and work out your sweetest, sweet spot, I don't think you will be disappointed.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #6 on:** 1 Oct 2015, 04:34 pm »

After I found the right position for my Carver Amazing I surprised how boring are monopole speaker, even the very expensive.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #7 on:** 1 Oct 2015, 04:53 pm »

There is still a place in my life for boxed speakers, I own a number of monitors and use them in other setups. During my 2-3 year hiatus from OB, I really loved a set of Totem Model 1's I had.

But for the main setup, I am back to OB. It is in the presentation of the music for me, OB just does something special to these ears in that regard.

Mister Pig · « **Reply #8 on:** 2 Oct 2015, 06:50 pm »

Yeah I am thinking this is not going to work. Rolling them out into the room and back is not conducive to people moving around in the room, as it is also a major pathway. Also the speakers are darn heavy, probably 80 pounds apiece, and nothing you want to love around on a regular basis, especially with carpet spikes. But I own them......and that makes the choice harder. Not sure I got room to store them either, as the back crossover panel and legs mean they take up a lot of room, as much as a regular speaker really.

Suppose I am going to think about a small foot print floor stander to get through the interim.

Regards
Mister Pig

guest42212 · « **Reply #9 on:** 2 Oct 2015, 06:57 pm »

I would try them where you can comfortably place them before
giving up on them. You may be surprised ...... Really ....

Poultrygeist · « **Reply #10 on:** 2 Oct 2015, 08:21 pm »

OB's aren't hard to store. I remove the drivers keep them in an inside closet and then stack the baffles flat in my attic.

Mister Pig · « **Reply #11 on:** 5 Oct 2015, 04:32 pm »

Quote from: Poultrygeist on 2 Oct 2015, 08:21 pm

OB's aren't hard to store. I remove the drivers keep them in an inside closet and then stack the baffles flat in my attic.

Coming up with storage room is harder than you might think. We down sized our house hold possessions significantly, but going from a 2600. SQF home to a 1000 SQF apartment creates storage difficulties. For instance the area under our bed already holds the box to the plasma TV, which we will need again in a couple of years.

The Hall closet has been designated for audio gear storage, my wife is great for allocating that space. But I have 5 iconic turntables that need storage, and that takes up most of the space. If I can disassemble the speakers and squeeze them in that would be great. I do enjoy the speakers.

Regards
Mister Pig

mick wolfe · « **Reply #12 on:** 5 Oct 2015, 05:06 pm »

I'm currently dog sitting for my daughter and had big concerns about the safety of my Spatial M2's. My dog and her dog combined weigh about 140 lbs. and they can be fairly rambunctious. I was going to store the M2's , but instead decided to roll the dice and just push them back out of harm's way. This amounted to about a foot or so from the front wall. Normally they're about 3' out into the room. Bottom line.... the bass thickened a bit and they aren't quite as open sounding, but they still play music in an involving manner. I'd certainly give a close to the wall set-up a shot before storing them.

guest42212 · « **Reply #13 on:** 5 Oct 2015, 06:49 pm »

When I moved mine back nearer the walls,
I found that picking them up off the floor
~ 18" helped keep things 'open' .......

Mister Pig · « **Reply #14 on:** 5 Oct 2015, 09:20 pm »

I wonder if I can make a small panel of a material that might be a slight diffuser, cover it in an attractive material, or at least one that blends in with the wall......and be able to move the speakers closer to the wall and mitigate some of these issues. I wouldn't want it to be full absorptive I would think, and I cannot make the panel something like 3 or 4 inches thick....as it would aesthetically be a problem. Wonder if I could cover something like an acoustic tile in a cloth and go that way.

They really are a nice speaker.

Regards
Mister Pig

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #15 on:** 6 Oct 2015, 11:19 am »

Oh Nice speaker.
I can store it for you for free til you buy a new house.
Dont hurry!

Mister Pig · « **Reply #16 on:** 6 Oct 2015, 12:03 pm »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 6 Oct 2015, 11:19 am

Oh Nice speaker.
I can store it for you for free til you buy a new house.
Dont hurry!

The middle driver is a co-ax, so it has a tweeter. So it goes against your creed......I would'nt want you to desecrate your house by having them inside. Now I do have a set of Frugal horn Sachiko with Fostex 208 Sigma drivers, and I got no idea what I am going to do with them.

Regards
Mister Pig

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #17 on:** 6 Oct 2015, 12:10 pm »

No thanks Iam frugal audiophile.

Jazzman53 · « **Reply #18 on:** 6 Oct 2015, 12:23 pm »

Rather than trying absorb the backwave, you could mount a "V" shaped beam splitter directly behind the drivers to redirect the rearward sound sideways. This would allow you to place the speakers directly against the back wall. I use a beam splitter behind my electrostat panels and it works very well. See my beam splitter ESL here: http://jazzman-esl-page.blogspot.com/

Gorgeous speakers you have there, BTW

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #19 on:** 6 Oct 2015, 12:44 pm »

Congratulation on your sucessful DIY project, I though it was a ML.

Open baffles and apartment living question

guest42212

guest42212