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Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 3:01 pm
by dylanger
Just curious about monitor placement. I know that they need to be equal distance between the two and my ears. What about space between the monitors and wall, material that's the sit on.

Re: Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 1:48 pm
by macrae11
Every room is different, but ideally 1/3 of the way into the room front to back is a good starting point, centred from left to right. On stands as rigid as you can make them. Preferably the core of a neutron star.

Re: Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 2:17 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
The equilateral triangle is a simple guideline to start with. It is by no means something that will trump all other considerations, but if it's easy to do, you should definitely start there. Be sure to point the speakers at the listening position to put average "head" level as the focus for on axis response. If your speakers are far above or below that level, it may require you to raise, lower, or tip the boxes accordingly to get the desired shot. This isn't a game of centimeters, so we aren't talking about wasting too much effort on tiny adjustments with positioning. I've just seen many setups where the enclosures were mounted in such a way that no one was anywhere near hearing both speakers in a way you would want to. In spite of the many examples otherwise, try to have the drivers aligned vertically in the speakers as opposed to horizontally, but if you do have to go horizontal, place the high frequency drivers on the outside end. I've seen products designed to "isolate" the enclosures from the surface they sit on, that also allow for tilting, but the effect these kind of treatments sometimes have is the opposite and distort, as opposed to improve, the quality of the sound reproduced. IME, all you can do is try, and remember that any variable you change can affect another element in the space in a huge way.

As far as distance to the wall behind them, or configuration of the room in general, the truth is the object of any setup is to minimize negative effects that the room will have on your monitoring. Every room and situation will be different and IMO it would be hard to say without a proper acoustic analysis what you should and shouldn't do with any certainty. Many times, practical and financial limitations of the modest spaces most of us are working in will dictate how close you can move toward theoretical perfection in monitoring environments. There is nothing wrong with getting a decent starting point, and then trying some fixes once you diagnose where your biggest challenges are. You can't get back the money you spent on a bunch of acoustic treatment that you didn't really need, to fix a problem you didn't hear coming...

Hope this helps a little, and I hope you come back with more specific questions and observations. This could be a good little thread in the making!

Re: Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 2:21 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
macrae11 wrote:Every room is different, but ideally 1/3 of the way into the room front to back is a good starting point, centred from left to right.
Trying for close to symmetry left to right is pretty important. This goes not only for location in the room but surroundings as well.

Re: Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 12:27 am
by Scott DeVarenne
What is the rationale of rigid stands?

Re: Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:24 am
by Mathieu Benoit
Scott DeVarenne wrote:What is the rationale of rigid stands?

Mass is a major component in isolation.

macrae11 wrote:Preferably the core of a neutron star.


Did you ever have a good look at Alain's System 1200 stands? They easily weighed around 200lbs each. Build from 1/2" steel. Not enough to have their own gravitational pull, but still pretty massive.

Re: Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 12:41 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
Mathieu Benoit wrote:
Scott DeVarenne wrote:What is the rationale of rigid stands?

Mass is a major component in isolation.
I'm no expert, but does rigidity indicate mass? As well, in the case of a stand, wouldn't something more rigid transfer vibration to the connected structure more efficiently, not less?

Re: Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 1:08 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
Malcolm Boyce wrote:
Mathieu Benoit wrote:
Scott DeVarenne wrote:What is the rationale of rigid stands?

Mass is a major component in isolation.
I'm no expert, but does rigidity indicate mass? As well, in the case of a stand, wouldn't something more rigid transfer vibration to the connected structure more efficiently, not less?


You are right, rigidity doens't necessarily mean mass. I simply presumed he meant to say mass (based both on my understanding of physics and his comment on the core of a neutron star.)

That being said, if you add enough mass in a small enough space... There is a good chance it will be rigid. Haha.

Re: Reference monitor placement.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 6:20 am
by Alain Benoit
Mass I am sure was implied, as a minimum the stands should weigh more than the speakers mounted upon them.

A.