[ttan98]

I am new to OB baffle speakers and I understand to operate an OB speakers effectively they need some space behind the drivers. Also allow for some space in front. Overall the room needs to be fairly large, how large?

Does any here can tell me what is the ball park figure or min room size needs to be considered even before I build a pair? My room is rectangular in shape, the dimension is 9ft  by 12ft and the ceiling is about 8.5ft high.

Anyone cares to comment?

Thanks in advance...

[opnly bafld]

I have used mine in a room with similar dimensions.
You can always damp the back of the speakers by covering the drivers and/or do the same with the wall behind the speakers.
There are so many variables that experimenting is usually the only way to know for sure.

Lin

[JANDG]

I run a 2nd , well 3rd system in a room that small & baffles are 1' from back wall, they have all the magic one could want..  vintage 12" alnico FR' ran w/ vintage tube amps. They suck you in & don't let go.Don't let room size & close to back wall stop you. I also run my main in OB at 2' from back wall in much bigger room..

[PhishPhan]

What about OB speakers and their proximity to side walls? Does it matter how close they get? I only ask because I have a long but narrow room.

[ttan98]

The speakers will be facing the long end, on one side of the speaker is facing  the closed windows, and the other side open ended. The back of the speaker will face the wall.

[dewar]

check this

http://homepage.mac.com/tzagar/placement.html

[JLM]

Most OB fans will shoot me, but I agree that dipole needs more space to sound their best compared to boxed speakers.  IMO the greatest strength of OB is their large, open soundscape.  As mentioned above you can modify them to accommodate placement close to the rear wall (but then they'd be semi-open baffles).

Of course you can use them almost anywhere, but they're not designed for nearfield listening. 

Cardias has one of the more respected room layout recommendations.  Following their suggestions I built my dedicated room 8 feet high, 13 feet wide, and 22 feet long.  This is about the minimum I'd recommend for OB, with the speakers about 5 feet from the front wall and the listener about 5 feet from the back wall.

[JohninCR]

Other than very small horns or computer speakers, almost any speaker sounds better in large rooms.  OBs can work just fine in any room with virtually any placement, because, unlike box speakers, they are completely and easily tuneable.  I've even used them nearfield at a desk facing up against the wall with one edge of the baffle against the wall in only a 7'x10' space, and they sounded much better than boxes in the same room.  Most of the old console stereos were OBs using heavy rearwave attenuation in an open backed box with placement right at the wall.  OBs are only limited in use by your imagination, and they can specifically outshine boxes in small rooms, since they always add a greater sense of space.

[gooberdude]

I'm new to OB and have a question about side wall distance.   My room is large (25' x 14' wide x 8' high + an addtl 10' x 13' L section) but one speaker sits 36" from the sidewall, the other speaker is unobstructed with 15' to the next sidewall.  both speakers are 5' - 6' from the wall behind them.

Can small wings be used to mitigate side wall reflection issues?

Also, i know this is true for boxed speakers and have found it so with OB as well...room treatments greatly mitigate wall issues.  meaning, in a properly treated room its OK to get speakers closer to walls.

When I demo'd the Ronins from Nomad-Audio the designer stated his OB co-axials can be placed extremely close to sidewalls with no degradation.    I'm wondering if this is true of all OB designs...

matt

[JohninCR]

Matt,

A wing on that side will have the opposite effect than you intend.  It would shift the dipole null rearward resulting in expanded radiation in front toward that side.  The problem of early first reflection off of that is the same as with a box.  Just put a cushion from the couch at that first reflection point and see if you hear an improvement.  That should give you an idea of whether or not you need to treat it.  At 3ft, it's probably not an issue if you have the baffles toed in to some extent.  A bigger issue is likely the irregular shape of the room.