"Put it on the wall. Hang on why does it sound bad?"
Apr 28 '01
The Bottom Line If you test your hi fi speakers to the extreme you can be guaranteed a better sound.
Sound familiar? Have you ever wondered why speakers sound different when you move them about? If so this is the Epinion for you. In this opinion, I will discuss and advise how, where to, and where not to place you speakers. So let me begin.
Get to know your speaker
It’s probably never occurred to many people how a speaker works. It’s often a fact we need not know. What you do need to know is what type of speaker you own, these are separated into the following groups:
Bookshelf
I’m not really sure why they call them bookshelf’s as they are never used on a bookshelf. Ok, to identify a bookshelf speaker, it will be less than 30cm high, have a port (a duct for air passage and bass enhancing) on the front, rear or bottom, will be short in depth, and will basically be easiest to setup.
Stand-mounting
Very similar to bookshelf speakers, these type of speakers are designed to be placed on top of a stand, simple. They are rarely anything over 60-70cm, and quite heavy. They will probably have two drivers (the parts which create the sound) and a port.
Floor-standing
You’ve probably guessed it but, these are for floor standing. No stands are required. Audiophiles prefer these types for their low down grunt and power. You don’t really have a lot of control in height, but placing these speakers is very tough. They will too have ports (sometimes two or more).
Right, once you have knighted your speaker a type, you can continue. Next you need to see how it is designed.
Place the speaker out in the open, take a good look at it with the grill off. See if there is a port. Where is the port?
Front
Answer: With all type of speaker, with a front port, you can place it right up against a wall. Be careful when near corners, these corners of rooms can reflect sound, and in case with floorstanders reflect bass. What happens when bass is reflected is a sort of over blown sound, meaning it sounds ‘boomy’ where the bass almost drowns out the higher frequencies of sound.
Back
Answer: Again with just about all type of speaker this is a lot harder than a front port, it acts as a bass booster, and when a speaker has a rear port it means hard positioning. Some manufacturers give a foam bung, you can use these to place them near a rear wall. Otherwise, without a bung, the sound becomes more powerful, I’d recommend playing the same song on repeat, and gently moving you speaker about 10cm toward the wall from 50cm. Make sure it’s a fast upbeat track, like pop music, rap and such, your ears will be the final judge; see how different the sound is when the speaker is close to a wall, the bass should become heavier, listen for a punchy, attacking sound and not a booming thumping sound.
Bottom
Answer: These are incredibly rare, but there’s going to be someone out there with a pair, they’d probably be a pair of stand mounters, though I have seen floorstanders with plinths under the base. These give a better sound than front ported designs and a better position to rear ports. The idea is that bass is pushed downward, and is dispersed by a flat (or pyramid shape) plinth. And this means the manufacturer has tuned it for max performance. With stand mounters however, the story is different, they usually have four spikes on the bottom, so you need a pair of stands to accommodate the area under the speaker to allow the air to pass.
Stands? Why do I need stands for speakers?
For standmounters, (or almost any speaker) it is easy to give sound if it is level with a human ear. Placing a 50cm tall standmounter on the floor, not only makes them talk to you shoes, but muddies the whole sound. The speaker will not sound great down there; bass won’t be as punchy or detailed as when on stands, the higher frequencies will be lost, and the stereo imaging (where instruments and voices etc are placed between or around the speakers) will be destroyed. The reason the sound will be muddies for bass, is that the speakers have no spikes, these give the speaker a solid bass, allowing the drivers to move faster and produce a punching bass drive. And at ear level the speakers will be singing again.
And you won’t need stands for floorstanders, as these usually have spikes for carpet use.
Wall Mounting
This is only possible if your speakers have front or downward firing ports. I wouldn’t recommend a floorstander on a wall, but stand mounters usually work well for surround sound uses. I would suggest a small shelf, supported by a brace to hold you speakers. Use blue tack or something tacky to hold the to the surface.
Spikes on wood floors
If you have a wooden floor, and want to put a stand with spikes or a floorstander on the floor, a good way to prevent scratching the floor is to place pennies under the spikes, adhered with some of the ol’ blue tack.
Toeing in
Simply were you point the speakers toward the listening position to aid stereo imaging. Try it with repeating tracks to see a difference.
Bright or harsh treble?
It’s a common problem, if you experience a bright or harsh treble, you can do two things about it.
1) Are the speakers new? Many new speakers need a good 24hours running in to get the drivers working correctly, just like new cars, which need a slow running in period. Before and after results astounded me when I listened to my hi fi in store compared to my home experience.
2) Are the grills off? If they are, the material can absorb the unwanted harsh frequencies, or you could put thin layers of cloth behind the grill cloth to lower it further.
If you test your hi fi speakers to the extreme you can be guaranteed a better sound. Testing won’t take long, just pop in a funky tune, and repeat it, pausing in between sessions and moving the speakers ever so slightly to obtain hi fi heaven. How long? Half an hour?
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MichaelHatton
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