Open-bafflers only: how much choice do you have in speaker and seat placement?

JohnR · « **on:** 28 Mar 2011, 11:59 am »

Open bafflers ONLY!! Boxed speakers - start your own poll/thread somewhere else please!

I'm curious about this one. I've been experimenting a little with seat placement and plan to do some measurements to optimize an upcoming dipole sub project. And I'm wondering - how much say do you have in where the speakers and the listening chair go?

mcgsxr · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 12:49 pm »

Unfinished basement, dedicated portion for listening, things go anywhere I want in my OB setup.

Well, I won't move the pool table...

!

gary · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 01:33 pm »

My room is relatively small, maybe 14' x 18'? but other than two pieces of my wife's exercise equipment on the sides it's entirely dedicated to the stereo. The baffles are about 2' from the back wall and 1.5' from the sides. It usually sounds best if my chair is pulled forward quite a bit, probably about 1/3 of the way up from the back wall.

gary

JohnR · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 02:00 pm »

Hi Gary, is that 1.5' from the driver center or edge of the baffle? They are quite widely spaced if the former - ?

fsimms · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 02:10 pm »

Extensive!

But the baffle has sides.

Note the Album on my guest's belly.

Bob

JohnR · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 02:19 pm »

Um... those aren't open baffle speakers (as nice as they might be).

fsimms · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 02:30 pm »

Quote

Um... those aren't open baffle speakers (as nice as they might be).

Thanks for the nice compliment. Here is a picture of the back.

I am very close to getting commercial QRD panels for the wall instead of the towel and then I will not need the glasses to diffuse the back wave.

Bob

JohnR · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 02:37 pm »

I know what the back looks like, and I don't think they're open baffle speakers. Does Dennis?

gary · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 03:06 pm »

I'm embarassed to post this, partly because it's a crappy cell phone pic and partly because the room looks awful. It will be painted & carpeted soon. Anyway...

The speakers are moved out from where they were in that picture, and my dimensions are from the wall to the beginning of the baffle (now they're about flush with the fronts of the bass enclosures).

gary

fsimms · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 03:13 pm »

Quote

I know what the back looks like, and I don't think they're open baffle speakers. Does Dennis?

I think both Jim and Dennis think they are open baffle speakers. They sound even better when I get them 4 feet from the wall. Still, they sound extremely good the way I show.

Bob

JohnR · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 03:14 pm »

Fine. I give up.

fsimms · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 03:21 pm »

Quote

Fine. I give up.

Am I being hard headed again!?

Sorry.

Bob

jtwrace · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 03:21 pm »

Quote from: fsimms on 28 Mar 2011, 03:13 pm

I think both Jim and Dennis think they are open baffle speakers.
Bob

I really hope you're joking or misunderstood them.

JohnR · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 03:31 pm »

The topic is related to the radiation pattern of open baffle / dipole speakers. I'm interested in knowing what external constraints owners of OB speaker are (or aren't) under. To me, "open baffle" implies an attempt to generate a dipole-like radiation pattern over a significant portion of the spectrum.

fsimms · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 03:39 pm »

Quote

I really hope you're joking or misunderstood them.

I looked at the Salk website and found this quote from Jim.

Quote

But unlike an open baffle speaker, there would be no cancellation at 90-degrees where the out-of-phase signal from the rear of the driver meets the sound from the front of the driver.

Maybe I am did misunderstand them.

It does sound like an open baffle.

Bob

JohnR · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 03:43 pm »

Regardless, it isn't. Salk do (or did) make an open baffle speaker, called Archos I believe.

Nuance · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 05:34 pm »

Quote from: fsimms on 28 Mar 2011, 03:13 pm

I think both Jim and Dennis think they are open baffle speakers.

Bob

No, they don't.

Their open baffle design is the Archos. Technically it's a hybrid open baffle design. I will agree that they sound like an open baffle design. They were my third favorite speaker out of every speaker I listened to at RMAF. And of those three they were easily the cheapest.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #17 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 06:13 pm »

My placement of speaker and chair is typically the following:

Speakers are in a corner, and are 1.5 feet away from the "side" walls at the closest point to the speaker. There are bookshelves "behind" the speakers, leading to the gear that is placed centrally in the corner.

They are about 6 feet apart from each other.

My chair tends to be 6-10 feet away from the plane of the speakers.

Pic being worth 1000 words... here is a slightly aged pic, and the chair is not there.

Rudolf · « **Reply #18 on:** 28 Mar 2011, 10:30 pm »

It's my private room - loudspeaker placement is dictated by room acoustics only. Usually those allow less choices than my wife.

Placement details:

sfdoddsy · « **Reply #19 on:** 29 Mar 2011, 02:01 am »

Mine are on casters so I can move them in and out from the front wall.

Poll

How much choice do you have in speaker and seat placement?

Open-bafflers only: how much choice do you have in speaker and seat placement?