Effect of Placing Speaker close to side wall

[Zwischen]

Hi,

Would like to know the decremental effect of the placing speakers very close to the side wall. ?

The layout in my Living room is such that the only place I have left to place my speakers is along the side walls. The distance from the back wall is around 1.5 feet.

 

[pupupuchi28]

Are they rear ported ones. Only then there are chances of the sound becoming boomy. Only sonic effect and nothing else.
A crazy way to handle this would be to attach a u shaped pvc pipe to the rear port to throw the sound towards front. Crazy but work for cramped space.

 

[anm]

rear port should not be a problem as they are 1.5 ft from back wall.
What is your impression when you pull them a little in vs when they are too close to the side wall? You can try angling them in to face you.

 

[doors666]

Are they rear ported ones. Only then there are chances of the sound becoming boomy. Only sonic effect and nothing else.
A crazy way to handle this would be to attach a u shaped pvc pipe to the rear port to throw the sound towards front. Crazy but work for cramped space.

that would change the port tuning. you dont want to do that.

 

[cmsajith]

Are they rear ported ones. Only then there are chances of the sound becoming boomy. Only sonic effect and nothing else.
A crazy way to handle this would be to attach a u shaped pvc pipe to the rear port to throw the sound towards front. Crazy but work for cramped space.

Please dont mislead people if you dont know what you are commenting on. If you attach a tube to the rear ports it will change the port tuning of the speakers as it increases the effective port length (most probably it will increase the boominess coz' the longer port will reduce the tuning freq. and it can also lead to port chuffing).

 

[corElement]

big drivers will be boomy, small drivers will not, anything under 6" is fine

 

[spirovious]

My Tannoy F1 changes its sound signature placed closed to wall even though they are front ported with driver 14cm.If placed open & on stands,bass reduces & sounds little thinner.

 

[Flash]

Placing the speakers along the side wall will cause early reflections
Some frequencies will be reinforced, others suppressed, thus altering the character of the sound

Would it be possible for you to toy with the idea of acoustic treatment at reflection points at the side wall. This is one way you can combat the issue

- F l a s h -

 

[pupupuchi28]

Please dont mislead people if you dont know what you are commenting on. If you attach a tube to the rear ports it will change the port tuning of the speakers as it increases the effective port length (most probably it will increase the boominess coz' the longer port will reduce the tuning freq. and it can also lead to port chuffing).

Where on earth is it tought that boominess is a function of low tuned frequency:sad:, but yes it will change port tuning.
Different people different perspective...save real estate and get fine tuned port or vice-versa.

may God maintain peace

 

[Zwischen]

Would it make a huge difference gettng the speakers away from the side wall, I have not tried positioning the speakers away from the side wall as there is no space.
the speakers KEF Q300 can be pulled further from the back wall around 2 feet and toed in towards the listening spot the speakers are 8feet apart from each other

Will side wall proximaty (less than 3 inches) affect soundstaging, clarity or anything else ?

 

[BLASTO]

Would it make a huge difference gettng the speakers away from the side wall, I have not tried positioning the speakers away from the side wall as there is no space.
the speakers KEF Q300 can be pulled further from the back wall around 2 feet and toed in towards the listening spot the speakers are 8feet apart from each other

Will side wall proximaty (less than 3 inches) affect soundstaging, clarity or anything else ?

What is the problem you are seeing in your current setup?

 

[cmsajith]

Where on earth is it tought that boominess is a function of low tuned frequency:sad:, but yes it will change port tuning.
Different people different perspective...save real estate and get fine tuned port or vice-versa.

may God maintain peace

Please try to understand what is booming and what are the reasons for booming.

Eg: Check the page : Bass reflex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"A poorly designed bass reflex system, generally one that is tuned too high or too loosely, can ring at the tuning frequency and create a 'booming' one-note quality to the bass frequencies."

 

[pupupuchi28]

Please try to understand what is booming and what are the reasons for booming.

Eg: Check the page : Bass reflex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"A poorly designed bass reflex system, generally one that is tuned too high or too loosely, can ring at the tuning frequency and create a 'booming' one-note quality to the bass frequencies."

While I don't consider wikipedia to be a bible/gita/granth or kuran and hence everything in it does not necessarily should be taken as 'carved on stone', but since you had raised the point, allow me to clarify, using same article.
"A poorly designed bass reflex system, generally one that is tuned too high or too loosely". Tuning is not a only function of port, but the complete enclosure. Bass reflex system does not include only ports. Read through the same article, "The frequency at which the box/port system resonates, known as the Helmholtz resonance, depends upon the effective length and cross sectional area of the duct, the internal volume of the enclosure, and the speed of sound in air."

Boominess: driver resonating frequency coinciding port resonating frequency or ambiance resonating frequency coinciding port resonance frequency or overall enclosure resonating frequency coinciding with ambiance resonating frequency, establishing greater oscillation leading to amplification at particular frequency. Typically these happen at 60-200 hz (exceptions are there). I will have to write another big script to explain why at these frequencies, so lets skip on that.

Anyway there are numerous articles on internet to understand this concept, if one has missed these basics during school (no sarcasm intended). Lets focus on what OP wants.

 

[Zwischen]

What is the problem you are seeing in your current setup?

Well I have not noticed anything out of the blue. Except for a thicker midrange as compared to what i had heard during auditions. It could however be the result of my aging Parasound Amp

But I have not placed the speakers away from the wall either to see if there is any improvemement
That would mean me moving the speakers in the middle of the room and reqiring them to check
At 50. I dont have the strength like you younger folk to move equipment around from position to position mad:
Lifting the stands itself the last time gave me a backache for a couple of days.

 

[jls001]

But I have not placed the speakers away from the wall either to see if there is any improvemement
That would mean me moving the speakers in the middle of the room and reqiring them to check
At 50. I dont have the strength like you younger folk to move equipment around from position to position mad:
Lifting the stands itself the last time gave me a backache for a couple of days.

Please go through this article for guidance on speaker placement in a rectangular room. The formula changes as per room shape. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to follow strictly the formula for final placement of speakers unless you have a large listening room, but if you can at least approximate them, you will get better response from your room.

 

[BLASTO]

Well I have not noticed anything out of the blue. Except for a thicker midrange as compared to what i had heard during auditions. It could however be the result of my aging Parasound Amp

But I have not placed the speakers away from the wall either to see if there is any improvemement
That would mean me moving the speakers in the middle of the room and reqiring them to check
At 50. I dont have the strength like you younger folk to move equipment around from position to position mad:
Lifting the stands itself the last time gave me a backache for a couple of days.

First thing that will be affected is the bass. If that is fine, it is the amp. If you demoed using a different amp, bring it for home demo and try it out.

 

[Zwischen]

Please go through this article for guidance on speaker placement in a rectangular room. The formula changes as per room shape. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to follow strictly the formula for final placement of speakers unless you have a large listening room, but if you can at least approximate them, you will get better response from your room.

I have downloaded the pdf. Will go through it in detail

 

[Zwischen]

First thing that will be affected is the bass. If that is fine, it is the amp. If you demoed using a different amp, bring it for home demo and try it out.

Yes the bass does seem a little enhanced
I wonder if there are any Forum members who wont mind lending their amps for me to demo in my house So that i can take a call

The AV shops here will never give theirs for a home demo

 

[Shivam]

Very close to the wall will lead to direct sound and reflected sound to arrive almost at the same time to your ears. This can cause a lot of problems with the music including blurring of soundstage and music becoming more muddled. Large assortments of instruments may become confusing too.

Placement close to any of the walls can also cause reinforcing of the standing waves and can make the sound 'boomy' in an average sized room.

If you have no options then -
Use good absorbers and diffusers on the adjoining walls.
KEF Q300 have sober high frequency response which can sound mild especially with side placements. Make sure that you turn them in (toe them in) enough to avoid thinning of high frequencies in comparison to mid-bass.

 

[jls001]

Give room (as much as you can spare) on back of speakers (even if your speakers have front firing ports) and sides of speakers. You will be amazed at how much better bass becomes. It took me 2 weeks of experimentation to arrive at the speaker position. My final position is nearly 3 feet from front wall (as measured to the speaker rear edge closest to the wall after toe-ing in) and about 9 inch from side wall (again measured to the nearest edge of speaker side). If I could give it more room in the sides, I have a feeling I will get a wider sound stage. The depth is very good but not the width. And the bass boom is all but cured. No room treatment used.