A question on acoustics (1 Viewer)

[Derek Kan]

Hey everyone,
I have a slight problem, and I was hoping that someone can help me out. I live in a college size apartment, with an average size room. My 27" Wega is on my chest of drawers, and me and my friends sit on the opposite side of the room on my bed (sideways) and a small couch/recliner thing. I just bought two energy exl-26s for my fronts but i noticed they are pretty short relative to my TV, since it's on a chest of drawers, and they are pretty low relative to the listening position since we sit on my bed, which is maybe around 8 inches higher than a normal couch.
So basically, what I'm saying, my viewing position to the TV is fine, since I'm high, and the TV is high, but the floorstanding energy's are a little low in comparison. Do you think it's way too much trouble to build some sort of accoustically agreeable platform to place the energy's on? Or do you think raising them off the floor will do more damage than keeping them a little lower than ideal listening position? I hear ideal is that the tweeters are about ear level, and that the tweeters are about midway between the top and the bottom of the tv.
What do you people think? Should I raise them? And, just to let you know, I am really terrible and buidling stuff. I'm not a handy person.
Oh yeah, if I were to build something, how would I do it? What materials should I use?

 

[Bill Catherall]

Dude...didn't you post this exact same question http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/Forum23/HTML/000308.html

 

[DaleB]

It is generally easier to 'tie' the picture to the sound if the mains are of equal height of the display.
One way to accomplish that would be to raise the speakers to the display height, or as high as reasonable, and aim them down towards your ears.
You can use special stands to mount them on the wall to and aim them down, or set them to the sides of the TV and put something under them that will aim them down without causing them to fall over.

 

[Derek Kan]

DaleB:
Thanks for your help, I'll look into that. However, I'm not so sure if my apartment owners will let me get away with drilling holes in the walls.
Bill Catherall:
I dont' appreciate your response at all. The reason why I posted this post again in the "Home Theater Hardware" forum is originally i posted it the "Building A Home Theater" forum and I did not get too many replies. I know that the "Home Theater Hardware" forum is a lot busier and I thought it would be nice to get a few more responses. I'm sure a bulk of the community of this forum did not see my post in the "Building A Home Theater" forum.
Also, I don't go to these forums to be lectured by others. I can't stand it when people act all high-almighty as if they know what's best for everyone. I appreciate people's constructive help/criticism, not some childish "Dude..." response that you gave to me.
To the moderators: Sorry for writing a post like this. I know it might seem hypocritical of me, but posts like the one up above just annoy me. You can feel free to lock this forum if you choose. My apologies.

 

[Bill Catherall]

Derek, your first thread (the one I linked to) is in the "Building a Home Theater Area" and so is this thread. Just check the top of the page if you don't believe me. I did notice your thread in the Hometheater Hardware Area, but I don't find that to be redundant since many people don't frequent all areas, as you stated.
My post was an attempt to give some friendly advice about forum etiquette. It looked like you weren't happy with the results of the first thread so you reposted it again in the same area. Obviously, from your response, it looks like you made a simple mistake and posted it in the wrong area, since you apparently think this thread currently resides in the Hometheater Hardware Area. To which I say, "Dude...sorry."

No harm meant. < holds out hand to give firm friendly handshake >
------------------
Bill

[Edited last by Bill Catherall on August 14, 2001 at 06:14 PM]

 

[Derek Kan]

Bill,
Actually, I DID NOT re-re-post in THIS forum. The moderator locked my forum in the Hardware forum and he/she reposted it here. I had nothing to do with it. I think I'm capable of knowing where I post my own posts... I'm assuming the mod changed it, because he/she was unaware I posted something similar here before and thought it was more fit for this forum.
So in other words, I guess it was a simple misunderstanding. But you have to understand, what you said to me pissed me off quite a bit.

 

[Bill Catherall]

Those wacky mods. Now look what they've started!

Sorry if you got pissed. That wasn't my intent at all. Nor do I think what I said should have pissed anybody off. I think it's all about the "tone" you "assign" to it when reading it. Had I been lecturing or yelling it would have LOOKED MORE LIKE THIS. Or maybe even LIKE THIS. Instead, the only emphasize I used was italics, which is emphasis only with no change in "volume."
Anyway, as you said, just a total misunderstanding. I'm going to let the issue drop. Peace?
Soooo...anyway...back to the topic. What kind of walls do you have? Are they drywall? cement? cinderblock? Most apartment owners don't mind you drilling small holes in walls if they are drywall. It's usually pretty typical for people to put up pictures, etc. The worst they could do is charge a small fee to repair the hole. I'm talking less then a $1/hole. Ask them what they think about holes in the walls for pictures/small speakers. From my experience, as long as they don't have to patch a huge hole that requires a drywall patch, then they don't really care. It's all part of apartment living.
I bought a pair of wall hanging speaker mounts for my rear speakers. I don't remember where I got them. Some web site. Anyway, $20 for the pair and they swivel up/down, left/right, giving me a full range of motion for properly aiming them. Each mount required 3 holes in the wall. If you are lucky enough to have a stud in the wall where you want to mount them then the holes don't need to be very big. If not, use some drywall anchors to avoid ruining the drywall, or having speakers falling down.
------------------
Bill

 

[Derek Kan]

Alright, truce. Yes, communicating through writing isn't always the best.
About the walls, I think they are drywall. Last year I lived in the same building and I had drilled holes in the wall for my satelites (fronts and backs) and I got charged $50. More than usual, but I go to school at UC Berkeley, and the landlords/housing situation is horrible up there. Anyways, I'm not sure if I want to make more holes in the wall. How good is it to hang floorstanding speakers anyways?
I think I'm just going to leave the speakers as is, on the floor. Semester's starting soon and I'm not sure if I have enough time to build stands with everything else going on.
Otherwise, does anyone have any good/quick solutions?

 

[Robin Smith]

Anything solid would work. If you can find some cinder blocks and put a piece of wood on top that would do it, even if it only raises it by 1 foot. Just make sure the surface is stable with no wobble at all.
Alternatively, with some cheap two by four lumber you could build some inexpensive box-style stands of whatever height you want (within reason). Make them wider than your speakers and cover them with cloth when you are done to hide the ugliness.
If you go this route, you might want to put three spikes in the bottom of each stand. They would bite into your flooring without damaging anything and using three would ensure a stable stand. Do your speakers have spike already? If so, they could simply sit on top of the cloth-covered wood and everything should be stable and secure.
Just a couple of ideas.

 

[Derek Kan]

Robin,
Thanks for your suggestions. I might build the box thing out of wood and put a piece of cloth on top. My speakers already have spikes too, so it should be ok.
Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Max Knight]

Here's a vote for multi cinder block stands. They are cheap, don't take much time to put together, and (I think) are acoustically superior to wood stands (which are prone to more vibration). Build yourself a nice little cinder block pyramid!
-Max