Front speaker's distance-how far apart should they be? (1 Viewer)

[Matthew Anderson]

I have read somewhere before about a formula for how far apart your front speakers should be in relation to the distance from listening position. Thanks for any thoughts.
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[Guy Kuo]

They are typically close to an equilateral triangle with the points being the speakers and the listener. The ratio of speaker to speaker: listener to speaker distance is usually somewhere around 0.8:1 to 1:1. That's 60 degrees of separation or a bit less. The wider the separation (so long as you don't get too close to side walls) the wider the sound field. If it gets too wide, the center phantom image gets "thin"
Spend a lot of time on the positioning. More than almost any other factor it will affect the sound quality of your system. A 6 inch move can totally alter the severity of peaks and valleys in a speaker response curve.
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Guy Kuo
Link Removed
Ovation Software, the Home of AVIA DVD

 

[JohnMW]

I was told that fronts 8 ft. apart mean a 9' 7in seating distance.

 

[Saurav]

I was told that fronts 8 ft. apart mean a 9' 7in seating distance.

I seriously doubt you can come up with numbers accurate down to the inch which are optimal for any combination of room and speaker. I agree with the previous posts - 60 degrees or maybe a little less, and the key point is to experiment, because every room/speaker combination will have a different optimal location.

 

[JohnMW]

I never said that was accurate, only what I read here on the HTF. With that in mind, if someone can tell us how to properly determine how far 60* is, please translate that into an approximate distance.

 

[jeff lam]

If you use the equalateral triangle method, the listening position should be 6.928 ft for an 8ft speaker distance right? Cut the triangle down the center to give you 2 30/60/90 tiangles and use a2+b2=c2 to calculate the distance of the listener. I think that's correct. Or maybe I was sleeping in my geometry class that day. I don't really remember, it was a while ago.

 

[Saurav]

Well, your formula is correct, and I'm too lazy to check if your result is correct or not

With that in mind, if someone can tell us how to properly determine how far 60* is, please translate that into an approximate distance.

Well, 60 degrees makes an equilateral triangle, and an equilateral triangle is simply one in which all 3 sides are of equal length. So, an easy way to check this is, if the distance between your speakers is 8 feet, then the distance from the listening position to each speaker should also be 8 feet. Note, not the distance from the listening position to the line joining the speakers, but the distance measured directly from the seat to the speaker.
If you want to be accurate, I believe the distance from the seat to the line joining the speakers should be equal to:
(distance between speakers) * SquareRoot(3) / 2
Which, using the calculator on my computer, comes to:
(distance between speakers) * 0.866
For 8 feet, that comes to 6.9282 feet or 6 feet and 11.13 inches
(it's easy to give numbers down to 4 places of decimals when you have a calculator open in front of you )

 

[Matthew Anderson]

Thanks to all who contributed on this subject. I have better separation now that I have moved the speakers more apart.
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[Saurav]

IMO, the distance of the speakers from the side and rear walls has a biggest influence on how they sound, and that should be the primary criteria used for positioning. If you're interested, go to Link Removed and in the FAQ section, read the article on the 'WASP' speaker placement method. I was pretty darn amazed at the results. There are links to other techniques too, and you might get better results from a different technique, based on your room and other constraints.
Good luck.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

From Dolby Labs HT Website

Quote:

For more HT Speaker placement, INFO, see http://www.dolby.com/ht/Guide.HomeTheater.0110.html My HT Enthusiasts Website

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

I would imagine the reason Dolby recommends no more than 60 degrees is primarily because the sound from most speakers starts to drop off in level at about 30 degrees off-axis. However, a lot of speakers have wider dispersion than that without the level dropping off, so you have to experiment. If you do have them more than about 45 degrees apart, you will most likely need to toe them in a bit so that your listening position is within 30 degrees from the center axis of the speaker.
But, as with all things, your mileage may vary. My mains are 58 degrees apart and not toed in because I wanted a very wide soundstage and larger sweet spot (due to the seating in my room), but my speakers don't significantly drop off until around 45 degrees off-axis.

 

[Brian OK]

Saurav,
Kudos on the WASP placement method.
When I set up my new basement HT (with the dogged desire to again get into 2-channel after a few years, but constricted by my old living room layout) I went with the Cardas recommendation.
Today, a little tinkering, and viola...
WASP accounted for my parallel , yet asymmetrical long walls (two 45 degree intrusions into the room) (2'exactly @45degree) to hide a water meter, as well as a small 16"x4" partition on one wall, not to mention that the opposing wall/ceiling soffits are different dimmensions).
I saw your link and read through all the methods.
WASP struck a chord. Lorenna McKennitt's stage just blossomed. Sweet.
Thanks,
BOK
darn typos
[Edited last by Brian OK on October 31, 2001 at 08:11 PM]
[Edited last by Brian OK on October 31, 2001 at 08:13 PM]

 

[Saurav]

Glad to be of help. I figured that any technique which involved walking around the room talking loudly surely deserved a try