Curious: Tweeters on sloped baffles vs. Ear height?

rockadanny · « **on:** 30 Aug 2018, 08:06 pm »

My main speakers (EgglestonWorks Fontaines) are TMM-configured with a sloped baffle.
I've read that, while seated, the height of your ears should align with height of your tweeters.
Is this true for all box speakers, even ones with sloped baffles?
In my setup (6' equilateral triangle) the best sound seems to be when my ears are a few to several inches higher than the tweeters.
Is this caused by the angle of the sloped baffle?

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #1 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 09:59 pm »

My speakers are also sloped baffle, Meadowlark Audio, Shearwater Hot Rods, and the manufacturer recommended ears level with the middle of the two drivers, which is how you sit normally with the height of these speakers. I've of course experimented with this and didn't hear anything better, just different. Putting our two posts together one could surmise you'd start at the manufacturer recommendation and experiment liberally. There are no rules, only guidelines.

rockadanny · « **Reply #2 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 10:06 pm »

Thanks LIR98. I was reluctant to post that they sounded "better" with higher seating position because perhaps it is just "different", as you pointed out. I have not spent enough seat time yet to determine if actually "better". I'm hoping a speaker/sound engineer will chime in and explain why a slanted baffle either matters or not in this case.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #3 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 10:10 pm »

This is a generic thumb rule that I have see floating in the 1990s on some hi-end magazines that they intend suited to all tweeters models, all xovers, all music styles, all people ears... of course its a too generic rule to be successful, not to mention personal taste and female ears.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #4 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 10:15 pm »

Dynaudio Confidence 5:

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #5 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 11:05 pm »

I'm sure it's all radiation pattern. Technically you would be losing some of the time delay advantage as you go higher, but in the range we're looking at that would be negligible. Maybe if you stood up. But I think the lobbing of the drivers would predominate while seated. So your TMM config vs my TM might make more difference than the baffles being angled. How are you changing your listening height?

rockadanny · « **Reply #6 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 12:23 am »

Thank you FullRangeMan. Agree.

Music was playing when I sat down and noticed as I sank into my chair the higher frequencies lost some energy previously heard on my way down. When I lifted myself up slightly it returned, and I think I prefer it. So I placed my chair on 2" of books under each leg and am evaluating this new height.

rockadanny · « **Reply #7 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 12:26 am »

This happened to me once before but there were too many other variables in flux at the time. But now that my rig and chair are finally set, I've once again noticed this height thing.

bacobits1 · « **Reply #8 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 12:40 am »

How about tilting the speakers forward carefully.
My speakers are t/m/m time aligned A bit sloped. Tweeter being on top there is no way to make my ears even that high.
Room treatments were the best thing I ever did.

rockadanny · « **Reply #9 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 01:02 am »

"Tilting?" ... oh my ... oh no ... not me ...

go

As you can see, my speakers, much like my financial status, teeter on the brink of destruction. The bases are delicately balanced (tri-points) on their stands, while the top portion (cabinet with drivers) are separated from their integral box stands, and are also delicately balanced (tri-points). I am afraid any tilting, even careful, would send them tumbling.

JLM · « **Reply #10 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 01:04 am »

Lots of theories out there. Beyond the ear height to match tweeter height concept there's the theory that to have tweeter/midrange drivers vertically aligned. The farther away you listener the less it matters. Personally I like the tweeter to be slightly below ear height.

Just have fun and play safe.

bacobits1 · « **Reply #11 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 01:15 am »

Didn't realize the form factor of the speakers.
Sell em buy some Salks?

rockadanny · « **Reply #12 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 02:00 am »

JLM, nice to hear I'm not alone in this preference

Bacobits, when I hit the lottery I'll be getting me some Salks, Omegas, Spatials, JBLs, etc., etc.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #13 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 04:10 am »

Thanks Rockadanny
When xover causes this restriction the manufacturer usually informs in the suited positioning cabinet tips the height indicated for tweeter.
Seems Dynaudio have no this prob:

rockadanny · « **Reply #14 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 11:36 am »

Thanks FullRangeMan. Those speakers certainly speak to your point. Wow.

rockadanny · « **Reply #15 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 11:39 am »

And I'm probably I the short side of average height anyway, so not surprising I need a booster seat for listening.

Dieterle Tool · « **Reply #16 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 12:42 pm »

This is from Pat McGinty's old Meadowlark site... http://www.patmcginty.com/TC1.htm It's a good explanation of time coherence.

-Dieter

rockadanny · « **Reply #17 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 02:20 pm »

Thanks Dieter - very interesting explanation. No wonder I really like my speakers and how natural they sound.
Thank you for sharing

Dieterle Tool · « **Reply #18 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 06:00 pm »

^ No problem. I have always appreciated Pat's contributions to the speaker world. I would like to hear the new Meadowlark monitors with powered subs and DSP.

Mark Korda · « **Reply #19 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 10:27 pm »

Rockadanny,
I always wondered about your question. Technics came out with the first time aligned speaker that I remember in 1977, the SB 7000. The tweeter was at ear level while sitting down but it didn't have a sloped front. The tweeter was further back than the woofer and the mid range was too but half as far.
My take is that by slanting the front baffle you might get time alignment but your tweeter is not pointing to the optimum angle of seated listening. I think it's a time and cost thing. I could be wrong but I would never angle my tweeter upwards for the sake of imaging
When I look at speakers with tweeters at ear level and have a slanted front I want to put a carpenters shiv or wedge in the back of the cabinet or listen standing.
Now to throw a wrench in it; Why do symphonies keep the bass instruments in the back and higher frequency instruments like flutes in the front? .....Mark Korda