[jethro]

I'm sure this has been answered before but I couldn't find it.

How close to the rear wall (recommended minimum) can the rear-ported 626R be placed when used as a rear speaker for HT ?

Thanks.

[Brian Cheney]

I recommend at least 4" clearance from the back wall for the 626R.

[sharper]

Brian,
        Does that 4 inch minimum distance apply to using the 626R's as mains for a 2-channel system as well ?   If so, should you use taller stands, for instance, to counteract any boominess caused by the nearwall placement?  Any other suggestions to optimize the 626R's in this situation?

[Brian Cheney]

I recommend a baffled stand that places the upper third of the midrange panel at seated ear height.  In my system that means a 24" tall solid stand.

The bass on the 626R is quite tight and can stand close wall placement.  However I tend to use it at about 18" from the back wall.

[sharper]

Brian,
       No one seems to sell a baffled stand. Coincident speakers here in Toronto used to..but don't anymore.

What about selling 626R cabinets with no driver or binding post cut outs for stands?

Well, there should be one sealable hole for sand, lead shot, etc.   They're 24" high and would be the perfect baffle for the 626R.  I don't know if this is easy for you to offer or not.

[jdoyle]

That's a great idea Scott!  How about it Brian?

John

[Brian Cheney]

I could do it but the retail would be about $220 per side just for the empty box.

[John Casler]

While I'm sure Brian would love to sell cabinets as stands, the Dedicated sub is probably a "value match" in that department.

Another option is to pick up any acceptable sized  "used" speaker, remove the components, cover the holes creatively and solidly, fill them with sand, paint the finish to match, and "voila" you have a solid speaker pedestal.

I will be picking up some 626Rs soon and my old JBLs will be doing their new duties, with a fresh coat of black paint.

Remember to have the face of the 626R "flush" with the front of the stand, so the bass wave from the woofer can travel "unimpeded" down to the floor.

Wider is better than narrower.  If you are lucky enough to come across "anything" that has a "slanted" front, so much the better.

Look in attics, basements, garages and garage sales.  They are a source for 626 stands.

Regards,
 
John Casler
 
VMPS LA CA USA
SUMMIT Audio Video
310-446-0138
800-320-6884 (order desk)
bioforce.inc@gte.net
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=systems;system=72
http://my.register.com/summitaudiovideo.com/index.html

[jethro]

How well would the 626 standard or 626SE as rear speakers match with the RM-2 or RM-40, and LCR ?

[John Casler]

How well would the 626 standard or 626SE as rear speakers match with the RM-2 or RM-40, and LCR ?

Hi Jethro,

Hard question to put a straight answer to.

Since there are so many new processes and channels to deal with, the requirments of each is different and beyond that subjective to the listener.

Your questions seems to ask about a 5 channel configuration.  

Below is my "opinion" about how well the "dynamic" 626 would match any of the "ribbon" frontal arrays

Dolby Prologic - OK to good match
Dolby Prologic II - OK match
5 channel stereo/party music - OK to good match
Most DSP modes - OK to good match
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Not good
DTS 5.1 - Not good
THX - OK to good
SACD - Not good
DVD Audio - Not good
Logic 7 - OK match

That said, in my system I "do" have the RM40/LRC frontal array and I do not (at the moment) have ribbon Side Surrounds or ribbon Rear Surrounds (7.1)

It sounds fantastic! on the majority of software and in the majority of processes.

I will (in a few days) have the 626Rs which will also be used as "side surrounds" in a "TRIPOLE" I create by stacking a dipole on top of the ribbon monopole.

I will let you know if it makes a dramatic difference.

I think the insinuation that all speakers front and surround, must have the same mid and HF drivers for tone and timber matching is valuable, but lost on speaker placement.

Why is it valuable anyway?

1) For pans so that the sonic movemnt is smooth
2) For Multichannel music so that all voices and sounds have the same tone and characteristics.

Even if you have 5 "exact" speaker matches for all five locations, if you mount the surrounds on/in or up against the wall, they will sound dramatically different.

It always amazes me that some will spend big dollars to get the exact speakers for surrounds and then stick them on the wall where they sound different from the get go, while their frontal array is 2-4 feet out in the room.

I have all my speakers 2-4 feet off of any and all walls (including all surrounds and the dipoles!!!)

Then too, you have to consider the suggested "height" for each process.

Many processes suggest sides and rears be mounted above ear level.

Dolby Prologic - to the sides/rear and above ear level
Dolby Prologic II - to the sides and above ear level
5 channel stereo/party music - any
Most DSP modes - to the sides and above ear level
Dolby Digital 5.1 - to the sides and above ear level
DTS 5.1 - to the sides and above ear level
THX - to the sides and above ear level
SACD - to the sides and ear level
DVD Audio -  to the sides and ear level
Logic 7 - to the sides and ear level

Ribbons lose much of their tone/timbre/air when "off axis", so when "off axis" placement is called for, you might as well have the regular 626.

Reflected and "off axis" sound loses most, if not all its "sonic specificity".

So to clarify, if we mount our "ribbons" above ear level and on the wall we might not get the desired result. = not the same sonic character as the fronts.

In the best of all worlds, we would have the incredible "limited dispersion" ribbons in all 5 speakers, all equal distant/on axis from our ears for any multichannel music. And they would be placed off the wall the same as our fronts.

We would then have the ribbons, combined "with the dipoles" for ambience and locational/directional cues for all 5.1 and DSP processed Movie software.

I will have that exact set up in two days.      

If you are doing 7.1, the placement/tonality is slightly less critical for these (rear surround) speakers since they fire from behind the ears and may not need to be an exact match.  But for perfectionist, what the H***

Remember, most movies have both ambient sound and direct sounds for localization coming from all 5 speakers.

Building the best system today, takes much thought and perception of just what the end result will be.  Additionally, this task becomes "MUCH" more difficult if that system has to be 2 Channel Music, 5.1 Channel Music, and 5.1/6.1/7.1 HT.

These challenges again point to the VMPS Ribbons as the speaker to use when double duty is needed.  That limited dispersion comes in very handily when one needs to acheive the best of both worlds which include dispersed and direct sonics.

Whew!! Must have been that afternoon cup'o'Joe  

[Pez]

Getting back to positioning on the 626s, I have experiemented a lot with them. I find that 3' out from the wall is pretty optimal (I'd pull them out further, but they'd be in the center of the room) for stereo it helps them project a deeper more precise image and soundstage both infront, around, and behind you.  

As far as the stand thing goes I have tried something that seems to work extremely well with the 626's. As Brian points out they sound best with the midrange at ear level (in my case that requires 24" stands), but this is hardly optimal for the tweeter. Much of the extreme highs shoot right over your head. I figured this was just a characteristic of the design.  Putting them on a shorter stand screws up the soundstage/image so I just put them on the stands and angle them down so that the tweeter points at the listening position giving you the best of both worlds- the midrange panel remains at ear level while the tweeter is aimed at you instead of over you. Try it, it's the best way in my experience.

[jasonc]

If this is true wouldn't it make sense to build the 626s with the tweeter angled down slightly or even better the option to adjust the vertical angle of the tweeter from flat to down or even up.. thinking of the push-in concept, ie flat wall switch design to help visualize.  
Not a speaker designer or cabinet builder so I obviously have no idea how difficult or costly this would be to implement in the design.   Thinking most likely it would effect the speakers overall performance, an extra moving part can't be a good thing I would assume but why not a built in angled tweeter then?  Again, also sure there's a reason for there not being one, but maybe not?