My wife kicked me out (of the living room)

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oneinthepipe

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My wife kicked me out (of the living room)
« on: 5 Aug 2008, 05:43 am »
My wife kicked my audio equipment and me out of the living room.  I thought that it was a pretty good room for listening, about 24' (length) by 12' (width).  She thinks it is a pretty good room for watching TV.

Today, I moved into the "den," which is 16' (length) by 12' (width), with eight feet less in length.  I placed the speakers three feet from the rear wall (there is a five foot wide opening in the rear wall that leads into another room; the opening is between the speakers but is narrower than the distance between the speakers, which is eight feet), two feet from the side walls, and toed in to face the listener (me).  My listening chair is about seven feet from the wall behind it.  There is a rug on the floor between the chair and the speakers; otherwise there aren't any room treatments. 

I could only listen tonight at a fairly low volume, but I am not accustomed to sitting so close to the speakers.  When I sit in the chair, slightly reclined, my ears are only about 6.5' from the speakers.  Soundstage is there, but vocals seem to have moved back.

I'll experiment with speaker and seating placement, but I will obviously need to become accustomed to "near(er) field" listening.

JLM

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Re: My wife kicked me out (of the living room)
« Reply #1 on: 5 Aug 2008, 10:35 am »
I don't like the ratios of those room dimensions, expect standing waves to reinforce as the dimensions are all appear to be multiples of each other.  So I see the real challenge is in treating the room.  The opening in the front wall (behind the speakers) should increase depth of soundstage and allow for deeper bass (with more breathing room).

For nearfield to work best, the drivers in your speakers must blend very well so that you can't distinquish between mid/woofer and tweeter.

Your new setup is close to what Cardas recommends and what I use in an 8 ft x 13 ft x 22 ft room with single driver speakers.  At first it feels weird (between far field and headphones), but with the Cardas setup imaging (and therefore detail) snaps into place.  I also listen farther back in the same room while at the computer and in comparison is like knowing there is a nice system in the room versus having an audiophile experience.

So visit the Cardas website and  play around.  Hopefully you'll find this move to be a win/win situation.

WerTicus

Re: My wife kicked me out (of the living room)
« Reply #2 on: 5 Aug 2008, 11:21 am »
time to upgrade to a newer younger model of wife i think!

Wayner

Re: My wife kicked me out (of the living room)
« Reply #3 on: 5 Aug 2008, 12:34 pm »
The golden ratio is 1.6 to 1 to .6. That sounds like a perfect room to me. I would put the speakers on the long wall because of the narrowness of the room FWIW.

Also listening in near field (your just about there) is a very rewarding experience. experiment moving the speakers around abit a of course, play with toe-in and keep thing symmetrical.

Have fun.

Wayner  aa

max190

Re: My wife kicked me out (of the living room)
« Reply #4 on: 5 Aug 2008, 12:41 pm »
Pipe,

First off you are almost sitting in the middle of the room which usually = no bass

IMO, I would pull your spkrs out 5' measuring from the front center, and 3' again measuring from the front center to the sidewalls.
Move your listening position so that your ears are no closer than 3' from the rear wall.
Now play with toe to focus the center image.

Next step would be to trap your front corners, treat your 1st and 2nd sidewall reflections as well as treating the wall directly behind you.

Good luck,


bpape

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Re: My wife kicked me out (of the living room)
« Reply #5 on: 5 Aug 2008, 12:46 pm »
If you can't swing any of the above, stick with being no closer than 3' from the wall.  From there, make sure that the following distances are not the same.

- ears to wall behind you
- speaker center to side wall
- speaker baffle to wall behind the speakers

Bryan

oneinthepipe

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Re: My wife kicked me out (of the living room)
« Reply #6 on: 5 Aug 2008, 03:38 pm »
time to upgrade to a newer younger model of wife i think!

She already is a younger wife (although we have been married for nineteen years).  If anyone is upgrading, I am afraid it will be her.  I'm only living in the house at her pleasure.  :o

She is a terrific wife; she lets me have my guns, car, and audio equipment.  :D