Speaker Toe-in: No Rules, Just Relationships

[Fiftyfifty]

Hi

Toe-in is one of those topics that often gets reduced to “do this” or “don’t do that.” In reality, it’s far more nuanced.

A few things that influence how much toe-in works in a given setup:
• Speaker design: Wide-dispersion designs throw more energy towards the side walls. A bit of toe-in can help control early reflections.
• Distance from side walls: The closer the speakers are to the walls, the stronger the reflections. Toe-in often helps reduce their impact.
• Bass behaviour: While bass isn’t directional, toe-in can change how the speaker couples to room boundaries and, in some rooms, reduce bass build-up and sound tighter.
• Personal preference: Firing straight ahead tends to sound rounder and more relaxed. More toe-in can sound more direct and intense, especially in the mids and highs.

There’s no fixed recipe. What works for me is to start with the speakers firing straight, toe them in gradually, and stop where the music feels most natural.

Would be interesting to hear how others here approach toe-in in their own rooms.

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[Nikhil]

I used to be a big toe in guy in the past. Great for sound stage etc.
That was when I was into critical listening and I was looking to analyze in detail.
Toe in usually implies a locked in listening zone / seat where one would listen.

But have been leaving my speakers firing straight for a while now.
I now prefer a more relaxed listening style now where I move around the room.

Just two different ways to setup speakers and listen to how they couple with your room.


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[suku_patel_22]

I like the sound coming straight. I’m not a toe-in guy.

 

[Kushanava]

I prefer firing straight and adjust distance between the speakers to get the most even & stable phantom center. Its easier to detect thinner sound so , I start with 1/3 rd rule and then try spreading the speakers till the Centre collapses or the emotional quotient is lost.With this the maximum imaging is retained.

 

[Gerry_the_Merry]

I have speakers toed out. Even Bhagwan was surprised. They sound nice. And they are not symmetrical about the axis either. But deliberately placed that way.

 

[Nikhil]

I have speakers toed out. Even Bhagwan was surprised. They sound nice. And they are not symmetrical about the axis either. But deliberately placed that way.

I was going to mention this earlier. It's a very interesting way of setting things up.

Also setups where speakers are placed irregularly due to room constraints.
The L/R Balance knob is used to then calibrate the sound image.
Very common in the old days where stereos were setup in living rooms.


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[arj]

I like speakers closer together but firing straight..gives me rich tonal density and depth. using the 1/3rd rule give soundstage width with no loss of the density.
If moving wider then toe in is the only option but I lose tonal richness then

 

[Fiftyfifty]

I too start with speakers at 1/3 of width and firing straight ahead. But when pulled out significantly from the front wall, the vocals can often sound recessed. When this happens, increasing the distance between the L and R speakers can bring the vocals back to a realistic plane, almost like a concave stage that flattens as you stretch the speakers towards the side walls.
Toe-in may then be beneficial, but not always.
In the opening post, the point I was making is that there are multiple factors at work. Therefore there's no better way than a bit of experimentation.

 

[arj]

True. also speaker dependent as some speakers need toe in. The Merlin Speakers I had earlier came with a protractor as it worked around 10 degree wider than the speaker to ear to sound best !

 

[Nikhil]

In the opening post, the point I was making is that there are multiple factors at work. Therefore there's no better way than a bit of experimentation.

So true! Just last month I was getting some work done and moved my speakers back by a few inches. I could immediately hear a difference in the sound and I decided to let them be that way to just hear them some more that way. It's fascinating to discover how you can fine tune the sound in your setup with just experimenting with speaker positioning.


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[Sean de Silva]

I've dabbled with toe-in many a times with different floorstanders over the years but I've settled with straight firing for my 3050i as this orientation produces the best imaging and soundstage in my living room to my ears. I wouldn't mind trying a toe-out just for the fun of it but hesistant to for fear of first reflections thanks to an adjacent cupboard

 

[keroo1099]

I would never have thought that just changing curtains in the living room to slightly heavier material would change the sound. I knew something was off, didn't sound 'musical' so experimented with toe in/out, pulling the speakers forward and back a few inches but nothing worked. Some of the attributes we look for were better at the expense of others. I finally decided to switch the speakers putting the tweeters on the inside and voila, everything snapped back into place. I have lost a little soundstage width but gained with better imaging, bigger image height but most importantly it sounds musical to me.

Moral of story is try all options before you hit the bottle.