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Re: thanks guys, another couple of questions

Posted by David Aiken (A) on March 4, 2007 at 12:38:26

In Reply to: thanks guys, another couple of questions posted by Shane from AUS on March 4, 2007 at 01:46:10:

You're right about near field listening reducing the impact of the room on what you hear. That's because in a near field setup the length of the direct path from speakers to you is much longer than that of the path taken by the earliest reflections. That means the strength of the reflections is much lower than that of the direct signal so they don't influence what you hear to the same degree.

A larger room gives you the opportunity to place the speakers further away from the walls, and many speakers perform better that way. That's a plus for any larger room, no matter where you place the listening position.

If you keep the speakers the same distance apart in a larger room, and listen at the same distance from them as well, the length of the early reflection path will be longer than it would be in the smaller room and the strength of those early reflections would be reduced even further. That will be a plus regardless of whether the listening position is near field or further away.

So, whether you listen in the near field or further away, a bigger room will give you the same advantages. The speakers can be placed further away from walls if that's where they will work better, and the level of early reflections will be reduced if you listen at the same distance.

Near field listening is not just for small spaces. I regard it as a choice that affects the musical experience. There are quite noticeable subjective differences to how you perceive the music in a near field vs a more distant listening setup. Different people tend to have their own views as to which they prefer. I think near field definitely works best in a small room, but then you don't have much of an option in a small room. In a larger room, it becomes a choice as to how you want to experience your music.

David Aiken

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