There's no greater joy than to have

well positioned speakers.

CHOOSE A DIFFERENT SUBJECT

DO YOU NEED NEW

SPEAKERS?
Every time people talk to me about their
intention to buy new components, I always
ask them what gave them the idea that
made them want to buy a new amplifier, a
new set of cables or - in this case - a
different pair of loudspeakers. Almost in
every case there is a good reason to
question their motives.
Some want to change
speakers because they have read
a mouthwatering review of big
high end systems, written by the
audio journalist in whom they
trust.

While others would decide

to go smaller - while maintaining
quality - and consider buying
bookshelf stereo speakers
instead.

Or one may have been

exposed to the sales talk of an
importer at an audio show.

Click to read the Spanish version:

Los altavoces bien posicionades en
la sala

And there are people who

act on an impulse to buy
something for their audio sets
(and their sets of ears) because
they want to bring about a
change in their personal lifes by
nurturing the sound as if a hifi
system is a plant that needs to
be prepared for a changing
season.
Do their motives justify the expenditure of
new components? Maybe.
However, a few more questions and

answers will help analyzing the problem.

CHECK THE FRONT END FIRST

It goes without saying that it is always right
to ask about the equipment. It is important
to know how the signal is managed and
also how the components and loudspeakers
are placed in the room.
Amplifiers do behave differently when
placed in different audio racks, on different
shelves and closer to the edge of the shelve
near the pillar. Using racks with four legs is
better than to use the three legged variety.
And what is the material of the shelves?
Positioning amplifiers, turntables and CDplayers is as important as it is in the case of
loudspeakers, as you all know.
If components do not have the proper
grounding (as the Goldmund people taught
us in the nineteen eighties), how would you
expect the loudspeaker systems to give
maximum transient response?
So pay attention to the position and
grounding of components. Pay
attention to materials. And do throw
these beautiful smoked glass shelves
right out of your designer racks and
substitute them for plain wood!!!
If this is no news for you, so much the
better. Only then it is possible to know if the
cartridge-arm-turntable combination and/or
the CD-player are the limiting factors. In
that case we have to contemplate their
quality first before new speakers are
bought.

The advice on this page is there to give WHAT ABOUT THE POWER
you some insight and to stress that a AMPLIFIER?
less than optimum sound reproduction In order to achieve maximum sound quality
is not necessarily the speaker's fault. it is not sufficient to look at the front end.

Also the design of the power amplifier

should be considered. In that case we have
to look at Watts, current and stability. And
we should consider the phase pattern if two
amplifiers are being used in a bi-amping

configuration. Power amplifiers should have

identical phase patterns/characteristics.
And a preamplifier should well match the
phase of the power amplifier. If not it is
possible that a slight phase shift will limit
the fidelity in the top of the frequency band
and thus will inhibit the slam and the clean
detailing of complex sound structures. You
all know from experience that the same
preamplifier functions better if connected to
power amplifier X and does perform less
well with power amp Y. There are a few
things to consider:

Maybe your amplifier has

circuits with too much negative
feedback and cannot deliver the
energy with sufficient speed.

Maybe it is an amplifier
with not enough energy storage
and instead has a large toroidal
transformer from which the
energy is drawn. Those
amplifiers are suitable for high
efficiency loudspeakers and are
not able to deliver constant
energy to make lower efficiency
loudspeakers with complex
filters work properly, especially
speakers with an efficiency of 85
to 87 dB, like Harbeth, several
Avalon systems, etc.

Maybe you have high

efficiency loudspeaker systems
(93 to 106 dB) like Cabasse and
Klipsch, and you are feeding
them with heavy, prowerfull,
high capacity amplifiers.
Especially high efficiency horns
need fast and neat power.

Another reason for dull

sound can sometimes be the use
of two bridged stereo amplifiers,
one for the left and one for the
right channel. As you know
bridging generally gives dull
sound.

AND CABLES?
Did you pay enough attention to the
interconnects between components? And
what about the loudspeaker cables? Do
they transmit a well balanced, well
extended frequency band? If not, get better
cables first.

ROOM: SHAPE, SIZE AND

FURNITURE
Then there is the room you have positioned
the speakers in. First of all we have to take
the size of the room into account. It should
be large enough to enable low frequency
information to unfold. Then the shape is
important. Is the room long and narrow? Is
it a square? Is it a large room? And how is
it damped by furniture, carpets, wallpaper,
paintings, shelves with books and records.
And what are the actual positions of the
speaker systems?
It is all too often clear that quite a few
music lovers do not give the loudspeakers
the attention and care they really deserve although they think they do! Or, if they do
adhere plenty of significance, they do not
always know how to get the last extra bit
out of the capabilities of the design.
Furthermore I have noticed that some
people do not wantto put the speakers in
the 'right' position because a large and
deep sound stage is sort of distracting and
asks too much of active listening, too much
involvement. In this way they do miss much
of the impact of the performance. Those
music lovers often want to position the
speakers in such a way that certain aspects
of the frequency band are accentuated: a
heavier low end and an accentuated top as
if they have activated the loudness switch.
CHOOSE A DIFFERENT SUBJECT

What do you get when the

loudspeakers are well positioned:

extended frequency range

high dynamics and good

transient response
minimum of distortion
the acoustics of the hall or
studio were the recording was
made is conveyed

subtle noises of
instruments, the tapping of a
foot, the humming of a
conductor, noises made by
musicians, and by the audience
in case of a live performance,
will be heard.

SPACE VERSUS HARMONICS

Although there must be only one right
position for your loudspeakers in your
specific listening room, providing maximum
stage, with good transients, it is not always
easy to obtain these qualities.
Even professionals can have trouble in
getting it right. When the German magazine
AUDIO (May 1996) tested Wilson's Grand
Slam loudspeaker systems and Mark
Goldman from Wilson had positioned the
giants as they should be (so he said) and
had marked the spots with tape, the AUDIO
journalists were not entirely happy with the
stereo image's depth and width. After Mr.
Goldman had left Germany, the AUDIO staff
let the tape where it was but changed the
position of the speakers in order to get a
better and beautiful sound stage while
retaining an impressive reproduction. This
of course also illustrated the subjectivity of
the listening experience. Many times I have
adjusted the speaker position in the
listening room of a music lover and many
times I had to come back to make the
adjustments anew, because the owner had
changed the position thinking to improve
the sound, but could not get that beautiful
image back.

CARE
Once again: Quite a few music lovers do
not give the loudspeakers the attention and
care they really deserve - although they
think they do!
An importer of B&W speakers, Rowland
Research amplifiers and Cardas cable stated
that if the sound stage is realized to the
maximum, than the harmonics are also
correct. Yes, the harmonics as built in by
the speaker designer are correct, but
sections of the audio band may not have all
the desired weight. If there is a lack of
impetus, than you probably have the wrong
speakers.
I have found - and maybe some of you

have come to the same conclusion - that

with certain designs "the right position" can
make the sound thin. However, when
weight and dynamics are there which give
the instruments that tangible plasticity,
than the speakers may not necessarily give
that airy sound stage.

MIRROR IMAGE
Not all loudspeaker systems have the units
placed in line, but only high price cabinets
are configured to mirror each other. Take
care that the tweeters are always on the
inside. Not doing this will prevent the high
frequencies to connect. The delicate
frequencies will be blurred by the longer
waves of the mid range units and or low
mid transducers. The sound will become
dull and it is difficult to realize a perfect
stereo image. Even at the CES of 2006 in
Las Vegas there was at least one
manufacturer who had placed his expensive
high end cabinets in such a way that the
row with mid range units was obstructing
the sound of the tweeters which were
positioned at the outside.

POSITION OF THE TWEETERS

When seen from the front it does not seems
to be important to place a-symmetrical
enclosures with the tweeters positioned in
the inside. But when looked at the radiation
pattern of the enclosures positioned with
the tweeters to the outside, it is clear that
the lobe of the low-mid frequency unit is
obstructing the radiation coming from the
tweeters, though it might seem not too
severe. Nevertheless the better connection
between left and right gives the best sound
stage. The enclosures with the tweeter in
the middle are symmetrical. There the
radiation in both the vertical and horizontal
planes are optimal. Although these
drawings may seem just looking at the best

placement in a theoretical way, you will see

by experimenting that you will find the best
sound stage when the tweeters are
positioned inwards. What counts for the
tweeters, also goes for mid range units if
they are placed towards the edge of the
baffle.

MONITOR SPEAKERS
This article describes the best setup for a
pair of stereo speakers in your private
listening room. When using monitor
speakers in a studio, the positioning of the
tweeters as indicated above, does not apply
to monitors if these are inclined somewhat.
In that case the tweeters should be at the
outside.

ATTACK
So initially all things depend on the
designer of the loudspeaker system. Did he
in his concept give bloom to violoncelli and
violins, and enough weight to tubas and
trombones? What about the possibility to
provide a sharp and fast drum? And what
are the dynamic capabilities of the lower
mid section? After all the most important
part is the region of 200 to 400 Hz. where
the entire weight and the most power of the
whole orchestra or jazz band comes into
action. No designer in his right mind would
neglect this fact.

LOW FREQUENCIES
And what about the rendition of the lower
frequencies under 100 Hz. In that region
most designs for the average consumer do
badly connect with the room.
Famous French loudspeaker builder Georges
Cabasse originally opted for bass units with
powerful magnets in closed volumes with a
relative early roll-off which provides a
smoothly decreasing characteristic. These
loudspeaker systems functioned well in all
sorts of rooms. Although the giants from a
few years ago like Goeland, Brigantin and
Albatros prefer larger listening rooms, they
also connect very well if compared to the
older B&W 801 (vented cabinet) for
instance.

TOO MUCH

If the loudspeaker system has one or two

woofers in one side panel, be sure to place
the cabinets in such a way that the woofers
are at the outside of the sound stage. If you
do not, the waves of the woofers will
deteriorate the sound of mid range units
and tweeters.

Bass reflex systems have the advantage of

being fast (and do not need powerful
magnets), but the bigger designs often
have a bass that is not easily controlled in
every listening room. Fortunately nowadays
many small 2-way bassreflex systems have
an early roll-off and are at the same time
quite dynamic.
If you have put the speakers in a position
where only the lowest frequencies get the
most of acoustic support compared to the
low mid region, than you will never get the

sound right. Transient response will be

impaired which can be heard in an uneven
and lumpy attack. If your loudspeaker
systems produce heavy bass, no matter
where and in what room they are placed,
you have a valid argument to look for new
speakers. But do not fall into the same low
frequency trap.

If you are not happy with your

speakers I won't keep you from going
to the shop and inquiring about the
model that you read about in the
review. But if the reason for the
change is that you cannot get the
sound right with the speakers you
actually own, then you should read on
before you go shopping.
Bear in mind that there is a chance that
you will not easily get the full benefit
from a new pair of speakers if you have
not exercised and tried your old
speaker's potential to the full. It
therefore is advised that you give your
current speakers the attention they
deserve.

CONDITIONS
My record collection is growing and
growing. Once in a while I have to put extra
shelves along one of the walls of my
listening room. Of late the growth factor
has been rather high. The result is that I
became more and more unhappy with the
sound that my speakers were producing.
The extra record storage had changed the
position of my speakers without moving
them.
So the functioning had to be checked anew
by determining the position to the left and
right wall and keeping the correct distance
between the left and right speaker.

In certain cases it can be beneficial to add

panels to the baffle if the distance to the
back wall is too long. This improves the
midband and makes the instruments more

tangible.

CLEAR THINKING
Generally speaking changes also can be
brought about by a plant that is growing
out of control or by adding a large painting
or two to your collection on a wall. (Do
never ever put plants in between the
speakers or right behind one or both if you
want the maximum of stage.) A new piece
of furniture or a slight rearrangement of
chairs also suffices to disrupt - although
slightly - the familiarity of the acoustics.
Even a little table in front of your listening
chair does impair the stereo image and the
correct flow of the sound.
Various changes can improve the acoustic
properties of your room. If possible you
should put no table (even the lowest) in
between you and the loudspeakers.

OPENNESS
Keep the space as open as possible. Finally
an unfamiliar sounding could be brought
about by the fact that one or both speakers
were slightly moved when the room was
cleaned. Even worse is of course a smaller
or larger table reflkecting and redirecting
the soundwaves. Or a plant distorting the
image. And do not forget that the
components placed in between speakers
also have their benificial and most of the
time detrimental effect.
If you are content with the way your
speakers sound, leave them were they are.
But if you suspect that they have more
potential (because you heard them have it
in somebody else's home), than you could
try once again to change their position.
Before you go ahead however, make a
simple drawing showing the enclosures and
the exact distances to the walls, floor and
the distance between them, so you always
can go back to the position they were in
before you started experimenting.

SHOE BOX
It is of the utmost importance to take the
shape of the room into account.
As you know, a room that has the shape of
a shoe box (and is in essence a very small
replica of the Concertgebouw in
Amsterdam, Symphony Hall in Boston or
Gewandhaus in Leipzig), that room is better
than an L shaped room or a very large
square room.
L shapes and large square rooms have the
disadvantage that there is not enough
immediate reflection to be used in creating
a well balanced sound. In general large and
also irregular rooms are more appropriate
for the bigger loudspeaker systems with
baffles that are calculated in order to
support the harmonious transition from one
unit to the next without much help from the
back and side walls. They need enough
baffle in order to give weight to the sounds.
CHOOSE A DIFFERENT SUBJECT

SOUND BALANCE
In smaller rooms - like mine for instance
which measures in centimeters the well
appreciated 360 (W) x 610 (L) x 255 (H), a
shoe box so to say - small speakers can
attain an extremely high performance not
only as far as the extension of the low end
of the frequency band is concerned. By
trying to regulate the best position it is
possible to create a realistic sound balance.
The design of the speaker in relation to the
listening room is of great importance. In
general small 2-way systems if well
designed give the best sound stage because
of the use of a single driver for the low and
mid frequencies. If cabinet and filters are
well designed they will not introduce
disturbing phase shifts.

TWO VERSUS THREE SPEAKER

CABINETS
The Super Audio Digital Disc and the new
formats which are being developed to give
a more precise high resolution audio, make
it possible to have a center channel as was

originally recorded by the

Mercury
Living Presenceteam and proposed by C.
Robert Fine. These recordings were also
monitored on three loudspeaker systems.
The insertion of a center channel and a
center speaker may ask for a somewhat
wider positioning of the left and right
loudspeakers. In that case a narrow room
does not allow the speakers to be
positioned along the shortest wall. With
three speakers the placement should be
along the longest wall of the room. And
there are two possibilities. One very
straightforward as will be explained later,
And the other the old fashioned way of
angling the speakers so that the drivers are
angled towards the listener(s) ears. See
also

CINERAMA and Trinaural

microphone Placement

FOOLED?

In certain cases the extra

added baffle should be
recessed. The total width can
be up to 46 cm = 18 inches.

Because of the physical properties of the

cabinet (if it is a modern item), complaints
are often heard that they do not sound at
all what the reviewer was raving about or
the manufacturer's brochure so eloquently
promised. Sometimes loudspeaker systems
are demonstrated in a shop while standing
in a row with many other speakers. And of
course the sound is completely different
from what it should be.
Sometimes both the clerk in the shop and
the music lover do not know how to create
a coherent sound stage. Sometimes a not
run-in speaker pair can give trouble as was
the case with a new pair of Mission 750's
(Jubilee design). Only after having used the
speakers for a couple of days intensively
the 750's started to sound more or less like
the qualities the reviewer praised so much.
But then only after we went through a lot of
trouble while matching the speaker's
peculiar acoustic phase (at certain spots in
the frequency band) with the nature of the
room.
When reviewing loudspeakers we noticed
that most had slam and sounded firmly at
first but after a few days they lost their
power and slam because the roll surround
lost its firmness.

DESIGN
I count a few strongly high-end oriented
audiophiles as my friends. They modified a
commercial model by shortening the
vertical distance between the tweeter and
woofer by more or less eliminating the
baffle and without redesigning the filter. As
an extra they placed the small enclosures
far away from walls and corners.
The sound never gets the weight it should

have and what my friends are striving for.

Naturally they keep telling others that the
designer choose the wrong units. Their
complaints sound logic because you can
hear in their demonstrations that the sound
is too meager in the bass and lower mid
section and that it has no refined highs.
Improvement would be possible if they
would listen carefully, not only to the sound
of music, but also to the sound advise of
friends, some dealers and unbiased
experts.
This also shows that the amateur speaker
builder should actually build his design for a
specific position in a room that has specific
measurements and a corresponding
volume. He could of course make his design
compatible with other rooms. But then he
would compromise the best possible
solution and do what most commercial
speaker builders do.
CHOOSE A DIFFERENT SUBJECT

ACOUSTICS
I often ask a prospective buyer who asks
for advice to make a drawing of his listening
room and let him indicate furniture,
equipment, loudspeakers, etc. and I discuss
with him the layout. It can be necessary to
add some damping on the walls in the form
of panels, a few square feet of carpet
halfway the room and a piece on the back
wall, and probably in one far corner as well.
Nowadays the fashion is to put just a few
pieces of furniture in the room as if it were
a museum of modern art. Such a room will
behave badly.

DAMPING

Click on the ad.

The drawings that accompany this article

show some solutions that can give you an
idea of how the frequency characteristics of
the room and of the speakers can be
compensated for by adding damping panels
(dp) to the left and right of the
loudspeakers and in the corner to the left of
the listening chair where the front end is
located (record player, CD player and pre
amplifier). The power amplifier is placed
between the loudspeakers as is the custom
nowadays.
If you have the bookshelf type of speakers
that you have placed on the shelves you
only need to experiment with the distance
between them and the height. Here I deal
with free standing and floor standing
speakers.
At one time when I was changing
equipment and loudspeakers I thought I
could do without these damping panels and
took them of the wall. But the new
speakers did not sound well at all and I had
to put the panels back. And was happy.
So if the acoustics are O.K., than you can
start determining the right position of the
speaker systems.
CHOOSE A DIFFERENT SUBJECT

It is not what you have got,

but what you do with it,
that counts.

DEMONSTRATION
Many years ago Farad Azima of Mission
Electronics came to our country to
introduce his Mission products for the first
time. He set up a demonstration for an
audience of over a hundred audio dealers.
The Dutch importer had positioned the new
Mission speakers on tables placed many
feet apart so that the entire audience could
see and hear the loudspeakers. Without
hesitation Farad Azima took the two 770
speakers and put them right down on the
floor, the distance between the speakers
being not more than about six feet. The
770's sounded like music: harmonious, with
remarkable transient response and
extended frequency band. (I must add that
the 770's had quite a remarkable and
generous low end which was of great help
of course.) Everyone was amazed. In order
to let over one hundred audio dealers hear
the music, most people had thought that it
would be necessary to put the speakers on
stands that were high enough to overlook
the room and that they should be
positioned at a great distance from each
other in order to create a large stereo
image. That proved to be a misconception.
Many music lovers place their speakers
much too far apart.

STARTING POINT
A general rule is that the distance between speakers and listener(s) should be 1
1/2 times the distance between the speakers.
I soon learned that the distance between the left and right speaker could be
some 5 1/2 feet initially, it does not matter if I listened at a distance of 5, 10 or
15 feet. So 5 1/2 feet - that is from center of speaker to center - could be your
starting position if your listening room is small and you use relatively small

speakers. In case you have a large room the distance to start with could be
around 6 or 7 feet.

If the speakers have an early low end roll-off (a high -3 dB frequency) at some
70 Hz, then you would need more support from back wall (and eventually from
side walls if they are not too far away) in order to "amplify" low frequencies, the
low end.
After adjusting some components in the system and changing the position of the
speakers more than once, I found that the sound had a shallow component in its
character which made a solo violin too peaky and orchestral sound not massive
enough. Gradually I found that the distance between the speakers would benefit
from a larger distance of 6 feet and 2 inches. But then the distance towards the
back wall should be shortened as well.
Only a harmonious sound can build up a real beautiful transient response, the
fastness of which will depend first and foremost on the shape and vertical
tracking angle of the diamond tip of your cartridge, and of the quality of the CD
Player.

PERPENDICULAR
Take care that the fronts of the speakers
are exactly on the same imaginary line, a
line which is perpendicular to the walls
(refer to the drawing at left). The distances
to the walls on the left and the right should
be about the same.
The general rule is that small speakers
need a position at a short distance from the
back wall, let's say 50 cm to start with. But
if the side walls are rather close, than this
distance can be greater.
The distance to the back wall for big
speakers should be about 1 meter to start
with. Big speakers also can benefit from
some acoustic support of the back wall of
course, but as most big systems have large
baffles, this distance will have to be much
larger. I have heard demonstrations of high
end loudspeakers like the Avalon Accent,
Avalon Osiris, the Sonus Faber Extrema (on
these heavy stands) and various Watts that
did not get enough support from the room
and one could hear incisions in the
frequency response (especially in the case
of the Avalon Osiris).
Yes, I know that I am talking about
complete freedom from any demand by
your wife or partner. They may stifle you in
your exploits for creating the full blown
concert hall acoustics or jazz club
atmosphere in your room (remember that
even if you have equipment of modest
stature this can be possible!). I am sorry,
but for advice on relationary issues you
have to consult someone else. Ask Dr. Phil.

FIXED FREQUENCY
CHARACTERISTIC
The starting point is a complete
loudspeakersystem having a crossover with
fixed frequency settings, calculated slopes
and levels. Both the dynamics and the
frequency curve of such a system are
determined during manufacture. Once the

best placement is found, no further change

by shifting the cabinets even half an inch is
not necessary, unless the speakers were
new and needed a burn in by feeding the
systems with balanced music and from time
to time administurning high current. When
a friend of mine bought a new car he was
very claever in driving it in the first weeks.
It was advised not to drive the car beyond
the advised speed limit. But the friend took
the liberty to exeed that limit from time to
time for only short periods. Thus the engine
of the car did not become lazy. The same
method can be advised for a loudspeaker
system. Listen to all sorts of music and at
reasonable levels. But do exceed the
normal level of say 84 dB once in a while.
After the speakers have been burned it it
could be necessary to readjust the distance
but by only a few milimeters of the distance
to the back wall and side walls. Or maybe
not.

SPEAKERS WITH ADJUSTABLE

LEVELS FOR MID RANGE AND
HIGH FREQUENCY UNITS
Placement can be less easy if you own
loudspeaker systems with adjustable levels
of mid and high frequency units, systems
like Infinity, JBL and to a lesser extent
Yamaha NS 1000 and the like. It all
depends on the number of dBs and on the
overall sound characteristic of the design.
In thas case the well functioning depends
specifically on the level of the mid range
units. Every time after hangng these levels
it may be necessary to increase or decrease
the distance between the speakers in order
to get the best sound stage with the best
width and depth.
CHOOSE A DIFFERENT SUBJECT

COMPROMISE
As said, the ideal listening room has the
shape of the best concert halls in the world:
the shoebox.
For most music lovers, and even for most
audiophiles, the room arrangement will
often (if not always) be a compromise.
Therefore the drawings on this page show
chairs and tables standing in the way and
obstructing the sound waves. We all know
from experience that the positioning of
furniture and speakers is not an easy task
and though most try to find the optimum
solution, the room arrangement will always
take the daily use into account. Those who
have the possibility to have a separate
listening room are of course the luckiest
people.

ADJUSTMENTS
Once you have determined a basic position
for the speakers, you can start by slightly
increasing the distance between the
speakers and place them also closer to the
back wall.
Do it with small increments of an inch and
listen carefully what happens to the sound
image, to the tonal balance, and to the
cleanness of the sound. While varying the
positions you will at one moment encounter
a beautiful image without aggressiveness
and a spacy atmosphere. Measure all the
distances and note them on a piece of
paper. Now you can 'fine tune' that position
by making small corrections.

ART
If you are a newcomer to the art of
adjustment you will learn that the ideal
position is not reached in a few minutes or
half an hour. Even if you think that it is
right you may find the next day (ears
relaxed) that it does not sound right. So
take your time. It may take several days.
In making the distance between the
speakers smaller you are connecting the

sound patterns of the left and right

channels. This works especially well for the
mid band. The sound patterns (loops) have
to be connected, they have to touch each
other in order to be able to generate that
Widescreen sound in your listening room.
Always make the position as symmetrical as
possible. One speaker that is positioned
just a bit of an inch more forward into the
room unbalances the stage and makes the
sound of that speaker more prominent,
even the smallest difference will effect the
sound level.
Of great importance is also that there is
enough space between your easy chair or
social 3 sitter sofa and the wall behind it.

NATURAL SPACE
Putting the speakers farther from all walls
gives a leaner bass. If you want more
support from the lower frequencies from
the side walls and will put the speakers
closer to these walls, then you have to put
them also closer to the back wall at the
same time. Because the balance between
lower frequencies and mid frequencies has
then to adjusted in order not to weaken the
mid band. So called book shelf speakers do
not necessarily be placed next to the books
at a certain distance instructed by the
manufacturer. At one time we positioned
Mission 706 speakers as indicated in the
drawing at left. because of the connective
support given by the baak case, the
reproduction was extraordinary and from
where we sat on the coach, we just looked
in the space the recording was made, be it
a concert hall or jazz club. Experiment can
give good results.
The right position is the one that brings
Ingrid Haebler's piano for instance slightly
left from the middle and puts it in
perspective. You will notice that the piano
gets lifelike proportions in relation to the
instruments of the orchestra and will be
embedded in the fully generated sound. Her
playing will become more meaningful. And
you will hear, I have to admit, that this
Philips recording does project its own
acoustic field that differs greatly from that
what we know from Decca and Mercury's
(and from some early DG's as well as some
early Philips's). This is what you have
gained: the acoustics of studio and concert
hall have become eminent and the sound of
the instruments have a harmonious nature
with transparency.

LP & CD
Some people think that CD is superior in
establishing a real to life sound stage with
height and depth. Due to the troubled

manufacturing process of analogue Lp's

with tape copies, matrix production and
great numbers of Lp's being pressed from
one matrix, this is often true. Many music
lovers think that Lp's are not able to deliver
the same quality of stereo image and
depth. But there are a lot of Lp's that do
and that is why they are so much in
demand.
There are also people who blame certain
recordings for a hole in the middle.
The other day I read this in the Internet:
'By the way, early Blue Note stereos do not
suffer from the "hole in the middle" effect
found on other labels, most notoriously on
many Stereo/Contemporary and Atlantic
releases - have a listen, for example, to
Coltrane's "My Favorite Things." Blue Notes
usually have a well-balanced sound stage.
(PRIMYL VINYL EXCHANGE NEWSLETTER,
vol. 2, no. 6, Nov - Dec, 1997.)
The author probably did not have his
speakers well adjusted and blamed the
Contemporary and Atlantic technicians and
producers for the misalignment of his
boxes, although there is some truth in his
remark, only for the hole in the middle, but
not for the slender sound in early
stereos.

APERTURE
If you still do not get the sound picture in
your living room right, then it is likely that
you have overlooked a very important
aspect of how to bring the stereo image to
life. You may have overlooked the nature of
the vertical aperture of your loudspeaker
systems. It all depends on the dispersion
characteristics. A 2 way system with a
tweeter beneath the low midrange driver
may have a loop that is directed upward.
Short loudspeaker stands can be used. A
d'Appolito-design has a loop that is pointing
straight at you. In hat case your ears
should be at the tweeters' height. For big
loudspeaker systems the same is not
always true. If you have placed the
speakers and your listening chair at the
correct height, then you should take care
that the tops are level. You can check this
with a spirit level.

SYMMETRY
You will never get the right image if the
speakers are not facing you exactly in the
same way. Adjusting the spikes of the
stands will help you in leveling the cabinets.
Also you will never get the right image if
they are not only at the same height, but if
they are not at the appropriateheight.
Mostly the manufacturer indicates the
height of the stand. But if he gives a wide
margin (because he does not know the
height of the seat of your listening chair),
than you must find the best height yourself.

ANGLE
In order to see if the height is correct you
can adjust the angle of the speaker by
putting a piece of wood underneath the
cabinet at the back and listen again to
know if the sound stage is improving. You
can determine if you should change the
height of the stands and to what extend.
So you see it is all about symmetry.

There is no way to get the best image

possible if you cannot position the speakers
in front of a flat background. Cupboards,
shelves or desks at one side will disturb one
channel. If there is obstruction on one side,
alter the environment for the other channel
so that the difference is minimized.
Also equipment placed in between the
loudspeakers will limit your way to
happiness. So put only a main amplifier on
a low rack that does not interfere.
Furthermore I would like to stress that it is
not at all a weak point in your character or
a sign of incompetence if you ask some
friends (music lovers) to listen with you and
evaluate every adjustments together.
Moving, positioning at exact and
symmetrical distances and listening with
two or three people is a must. You always
can remove the tape when they are gone,
like the staff of AUDIO.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

The general rule is not to place the
speakers too far from each other. Always
connect the mid band acoustically, no
matter what size and shape of room you
have. That is the most important issue.
From there you can gradually adjust the
distances, in very small increments. By
adjusting the positions, you will learn about
the nature of the loudspeaker system,
about the positive and negative effects of
you listening room. After some time you
will discover the best position. That is the
position which gives space, depth, which
will improve focus. You will discover the
acoustics of the hall or studio where the
recording was made. You will also discover
that mono recordings have a stage as well
and that the sound is positioned in the
center.
You may well become an expert in
positioning your loudspeaker systems.

Copyright Rudolf A. Bruil, August 2001