Well, since Nathan is out of town for the weekend, I will make an attempt to explain what I did. I think this method actually is one that the US distributor of Avant Garde uses, but the way he explains it is so strange, and hard to understand. Nathan explained it much better, and since he has actually done it, he can put it into words better than most.
I am sure he'll let me know if I go astray, and don't 'splain this right, but here goes anyway. . .
First off, you want to get your speakers a good distance from you, in an acceptible position. You want to get the best bass response, and make sure you have no real bad frequency anomalies by adjusting them back and forth. you can follow whichever rules you want, Cardas, or I used CARA. Once you get the distance right from the listener, at this point, you will want to measure the distance from the listener to the front of the speakers in a straight line.
If the distance is say 10 feet, you will take 10 feet, and use 70%-80% of that distance to determine how far apart the speakers need to be.
(This will be line "C" in Digaram X below) I started with 75%, and you can do more if you need a wider soundstage, or less if you need more focus. Keep it between 70%, and 80% though.
At this point, make sure the distance from the speakers to the side walls is about the same, and same with the front, and back walls. You don't have to be too exact, but get within 1/2 inch to 1/4 inch.
Now, reference the following diagrams:
Diagram X
Diagram Y
At this point, you will want to get out your tape measure. I find that the metal tape measures are worthless for this step. If you can, get yourself one of those tapes that is 25-50 feet long, and is actually like a nylon, or cloth tape. These will work best.
Note the yellow lines in diagram Y. What you want to do is measure the entire width of your room. Measure, and make sure you are the same distance from the back wall on both sides of the room. It's easy to be 1" or more off, and not really notice it. Therefore, use two tape measures to make sure you are the same distance on either side.
Do this to the smallest increment you can accurately (probably 1/16" with a tape). Divide by 2, and use the result to drive a nail in your floor
(note that the red dot represents a nail). You want the nail to be your listening position. If you have hardwood floors, and you don't want to nail, I am not sure how to get around that. Don't use tape or anything unless you can be super accurate, and make sure it doesn't move a bit.
The cool thing about the flexible tapes is that they will hook onto a nail, and swivel, so you have very little variance in your measurements.
Once you have nail #1 in place, then go to a spot in front of your speakers. This should just be close to the front of the speakers, but equidistant from the sides of the walls. Like nail #1, you will want to put nail #2 in the same spot width-wise.
(nails are represented in Diagram X by orange 1, and 2)At this point, you should have two nails in your floor, and they should both be dead in the center of the room between both your side walls.
Let's move on.
The next step, you can reference in Diagram X. What you want to do is hook your tape measure onto your newly driven nail 1. Now, proceed to measure line A in Diagram X. You will want to go from nail 1 to a point on your speakers that is very precise. I prefer using the front, inside corner on TOP of the left speaker for this first measurement. Repeat the measurement on the other speaker for line B. This will be the inside corner of the right speaker. You want these to be exactly the same. If they are not, make the needed adjustment to correct.
Next, from nail 1, measure to the OTHER front corner of the left speaker. This would be the left, outside corner. Do the same for the right, and make the needed adjustment to ensure the same measurements.
Pay close attention that you use the same tension on the tape each time, and that it's not coming off the nail in a different direction to add length. You think this is minor, but after you hear what difference 1/8" makes, you will understand.
Go to nail 2. Repeat the measurements from nail 2 to the same spots on the speakers. Make sure they are the same. If you make adjustments off nail 2, then go back and measure from nail 1. this can be frustrating, but it's the best tweak ever.
When you get them right, then do toe-in. Toe-in the speakers to your desired angle. Me personally I toe them in so that I can still see a bit of the inside cabinet. you may want to use a laser at this point to aim if you prefer.
Keep one thing in mind. This is what screwed me up, so I will warn you now. Any speaker will image REGARDLESS of the level of toe-in. A speaker can be toed OUT, and it will image AS LONG AS they are EQUIDISTANT from the listener within very low tolerances. Toe-in will change the tonal balance a bit, but should not change imaging much.
Once you toe your left speaker the way you want it, make measurements all over again. Then use those measurements to do the right speaker the same way. Don't forget that BOTH nails have to be used to make adjustments, and the measurements should be the same for BOTH speakers.
When you have finished this, you will understand why you need to go through all this work. This is probably the single best tweak I have ever tried. And it's free. It will take you maybe an hour, and you now have two nails in your floor, but once you're done, your done.
No matter if you have "room correction", eq, or anything like that, this will work in ANY system. The results will speak for themselves. As a matter of fact, since I now know what differences there are in 1/16", I want more. I want to be within a mm. I will be using MORE advice from Nathan, and getting myself a laser tape measure to accomplish this. I have spent more money on less effective tweaks, so I am looking forward to the results.
If you guys find that I have omitted something, or I need to add, please let me know. This will get you guys started that want to try this over the weekend.
Thanks again to these guys for interpreting this method for me!
B
