[Niteshade]

I have been enjoying the experience of near field listening. It eliminates many acoustic issues involved with the room and provides more intimacy with the music. Speaker placement is still critical and that includes toe-in and height. Both are variable based on a speaker's radiation pattern. Interestingly enough, I have found that the size of the speaker does not matter to me regarding listening distance. I sit back around 8ft. This seems to work well with monitors or floor standing models, no matter how big.

Far field listening, which I believe is sitting back at least 15ft is interesting as well, as long as the speakers can be positioned correctly and the amp is powerful enough.

[bpape]

It depends a lot on what's being listened to.  For most of what I normally do, I prefer borderline nearfield.  For large orchestral works, I prefer farfield usually - though as a musician, I can still appreciate the balance afforded by nearfield replicating more of what one hears when actually on stage playing.

Bryan

[eclein]

Near-field for me, I always have and probably always will. Its the best way for me, I sit right in the SPOT and let the music fall all around me. I love it that way, a nice comfortable volume, close my eyes and I'm in!!!!

[emac]

Both, so long as the sound is enveloping enough.  Traditional and planar speakers work very well in the nearfield, but I haven't been particularly taken with either to create the soundstage I'm looking for in larger room.  Meanwhile, OB and omnidirectional speakers seem to work much better for what I'm looking for in a larger room.

[Wayner]

In my studio, which is almost exclusively vinyl, we listen to LPs in the near field. Oddly, my main speakers, the Dynaco A25XLs modified are about 9'-6" apart, yet I'm about 6 feet away. The music is 3D with almost every LP.

In my main listening room with the Martin Logan reQuests, we are back about 10 feet and speakers are also about 10 feet apart. I do not consider this to be near-field listening, however.

Oddly enough, yesterday I spread the Martin Logans apart another 6" and a whole new world was sprung. I can't explain it right now, but music last night was awesome.

Wayner

[Quiet Earth]

Unless you have a really, really big room then you are probably always listening near-field. Funny how the definition gets distorted by such small distances.

Hey Wayner, you can move those Martin Logans even further apart if you like. They won't mind a bit. Enjoy!

[jimdgoulding]

Near-field for me, I always have and probably always will. Its the best way for me, I sit right in the SPOT and let the music fall all around me. I love it that way, a nice comfortable volume, close my eyes and I'm in!!!!

[satfrat]

I would think room dimensions would have a factor in any listening format, if you believe that the room itself is a component, which I do.
 
My room is 17' long and my Lorelei's sit 7' apart in an 11' room width, and being 44" from the front wall. I sit a little over 7' from my front Lorelei's, 4' from my rear Lorelei's. Guess that would make me a borderline case,,, or so I've been told. 
 
Cheers,
Robin

[Wayner]

So Robin, your speakers are along the "long wall" of your room (like mine)?

Here is the studio:

 

Wayner

[mcgsxr]

My main rig is in my unfinished basement, roughly 35x25 feet.

I listen nearfield when sitting and just enjoying the music.

I listen farfield when playing pool!

[davidrs]

Just moved from 9 feet away to 12 feet away (and two feet higher) from my Vaughn Pinots.

Much much much better.

So am I playing the field,,,errr mid-field?

Near field to me meant a few feet away, as in from desk top speakers. Would that be exteme nearfield? Or is all this relative?

Bottom line question: are there any hard and universally accepted definitions of near/mid/far field listening distances?

Thanks.

[bummrush]

5,6 ft away,the thing that saves me is the sound is not in your face whatsoever,so that helps alot,

[GaryArthur]

My main rig is in my unfinished basement, roughly 35x25 feet.

I listen nearfield when sitting and just enjoying the music.

I listen farfield when playing pool!

I like that.

I choose a different poison for far field enjoyment. My room is 17' by 43' with Martin Logan CLX mains 7' apart inside to inside and 11' apart outside to outside edge of speakers. I sit 9' from the main plane unless I am pouring a second or third single malt.

[jimdgoulding]

I would think room dimensions would have a factor in any listening format, if you believe that the room itself is a component, which I do.
 
My room is 17' long and my Lorelei's sit 7' apart in an 11' width, being 44" from the front wall. I sit a little over 7' from my front Lorelei's, 4' from my rear Lorelei's. Guess that would make me a borderline case,,, or so I've been told. 
 
Cheers,
Robin

For sure, Robin.  My listening room is 12X15X8' which requires nearfield listening if I am to get the kind of 3D immersion with the event that makes me happy.  Tonality and frequency linearity are very good, too, where I have my speakers placed.

[satfrat]

For sure, Robin.  My listening room is 12X15X8' which requires nearfield listening if I am to get the kind of 3D immersion with the event that makes me happy.  Tonality and frequency linearity are very good, too, where I have my speakers placed.

With my system, I live in an Avatar environment (movie premieres tonite @ 8pm est on HBO). 
 
Cheers,
Robin

[Tyson]

Nearfield listener here.  Part of why coax drivers work so well for me.

[JLM]

Room size and speaker/listener positions ala Cardas (nearfield, 68 inch equilateral triangle in an 8 ft x 13 ft x 21 ft room).

[soundbitten1]

I'm about 12 feet away. So I guess that's near-field?

[nunhgrader]

Both rooms - nearfield.

Desktop with powered Samson's

and big rig with Dynaco St-70's (Will Vincent rebuilds) - Tekton 4.1's about 6'.

[Mike Nomad]

All of the above: Far-Field in the Main Room; Near Field for the 2-channel desktop system, and when mixing & mastering; Headphones at work, and also as the first check for mixing & mastering.