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In Reply to: RE: Speakers in Corners Help posted by pictureguy on September 29, 2016 at 10:09:58
Why people choose loudspeakers in such situations is beyond me. A nice pair of headphones (or two) can provide much more satisfying sound for one or two people in a small room.
Comfort is a sticky point in the minds of many people though. People who have not checked out the headphone scene in many years think that headphones are all too uncomfortable. But I think that headphone manufacturers have made strides in both sound quality and comfort over the past decade.
Headphones are the future in a world where living space is becoming a precious commodity.
Follow Ups:
genungo,
I didn't want headphones. I want a nice sounding system that I can share with my family and guests. Most people think that buying loudspeakers is straight forward like buying a microwave oven. You buy it, bring it home, and plug it in. They don't understand the acoustical aspects - or even know they exist (this was me).
As well, most people with my current configuration would probably be perfectly happy (out of ignorance) and wouldn't give the degraded sound quality a second thought, or even realize that it's degraded. However, I research the hell out of everything, and now understand that my $1600 loudspeakers are not configured for optimal sound. But, I am working on this. I'm confident that there are steps I can take to get much better sound out of the X14As.
First, I need to get the speakers out of the corners. I just ordered some brackets from Amazon and they'll arrive tomorrow. I'll use them to move the speakers farther from the front wall, and out of the corners. They swivel 360 degrees, so I should be able to get the back of the speaker about 18" from the wall.
Also, while the room itself is 12'x 12', it is open to a large entry way and hallway. It's not a 12'x 12' closed bedroom. As well, there are four largish windows in the room that I want to treat with reasonably priced shades that will absorb some of the sound. At the moment they are covered with mini-blinds, which I assume are not doing me any sonic favors.
The floor is carpeted, and then has an additional 8'x 10' very thick shag carpet on top. So, I don't think I'm as bad off as I initially had led everyone to believe.
So, I know that my tweeters should be ear-level while I'm seated. However, can I move the speakers about a foot or so higher than this and angle the speakers down and at my ear without hurting the sound too much? I have young children.
An open-ended room is a whole 'nuther ball o' wax! The outcome of an acoustic equation like this can be hard to predict, you won't know for sure until you try it. Hope for the best.Those brackets seem like a very good idea to me. Freestanding, moveable acoustic panels or even room dividers are another option should the need arise for acoustic barriers near the open side of the room.
Edits: 09/29/16
Hi all,Thanks for all of the suggestions. I really do appreciate the help. So my father-in-law is a long-time audiophile. I'd say he has about $30K+ invested into his system in his dedicated and sound treated listening room - thousands of CDs and vinyl. He stopped by today after work to give my setup a listen, and insisted that I'm dialed in and shouldn't change a thing.
These speakers really got him pumped up. He was excited and said that sound-wise my system isn't far behind his, and that sound only gets maybe 10 to 15% better than mine. Many will likely disagree, but I'm going with it. I guess it's like mountain and street bicycles and reduced weight. After a certain weight, you reach a point of rapidly diminishing returns if you pursue additional weight reduction technologies. Each additional ounce removed from the bike can cost thousands. Dropping that last few pounds can take you from a $2K bike to a $10K+ bike.
He was also very excited about the high quality and selection on Spotify (which he had never heard of). I asked him to name the most obscure band he could think of, and after a minute or so he asked me to search for The Wackers (I didn't say he had taste). I instantly produced their entire collection. He was sold, and explained that it took him years to find what he thought was all of their stuff. Turns out, Spotify has some material by them that he'd forgotten about.
Do you know that if I'm logged into Spotify on my main PC (the one with DAC and speakers), I can also log into the same account concurrently from my iPhone or iPad and control the music selection and volume. My iPad is my Spotify remote, which I can use to control the music from anywhere. No need for wireless speakers or wireless-capable DACs with Spotify. Thought that was very cool and worth sharing. And no I don't work for Spotify - just very impressed.
I still have some experimenting to do. While I very much value my father-in-law's experience and expertise, he does wear a hearing aid in one ear. I also may prefer a different sound than him. So, I'm going to try the speaker brackets tomorrow when they arrive. However, as I type this these speakers are sounding amazing. I'm thinking that the power of suggestion is having its way with me. I installed the speakers in corners with the understanding that this is generally not a good practice, and they subsequently sounded less than impressive to me. My father-in-law comes over and tells me they sound amazing, and now they are sounding pretty damned amazing. Maybe they are starting to break in? I'm going to go get a pair of socks for the bass ports and replay the stuff that didn't sound so good last night.
Thanks again all.
Edits: 09/29/16 09/29/16
It's what matters.
I'm guessing that the speakers will sound even more amazing when they are pulled out from the wall a bit but please let us know.
If that's where they also watch movies and its through the system, headphones aren't going to cut it.
Also, not everyone likes the "headphone effect". I hate it. Its unnatural. To me it sounds like some of the musicians are above the top of my head. Others claim it sounds like some of the musicians are inside their head.
I am not knocking headphones per se, but they are not for everyone.
That's why they developed Binaural, but it never really caught on, and it isn't so hot with speakers.
Jack
Not that headphones cannot be used for movie watching, but if I was in that room I'd probably stick with the TV speakers. For music purposes though, I'd definitely want better sound and I'm not sure that stereo speakers could ever be better than good headphones in that room - not even when you consider all of the supposed drawbacks of headphones.
While it's true that some people will never like headphones no matter how good they get, it is also true that many people are behind the times and simply don't realize how good the best of today's headphone systems have become. Headphones like the stupendous Sennheiser HD800 throw a huge virtual "soundstage" in stereo that, for many listeners, does NOT seem to be tied into the confines of headspace. And virtual multi-channel headphone systems like the Smyth Realiser have surprised even the most diehard fans of 5.1 loudspeaker systems. The times they are a changin'...
All I'm saying is that more people should consider the option of headphones. Some of us never bother to look beyond the confines of yesterday's loudspeaker systems and, in today's world, doing such is a shameful thing.
I recently purchased the GRADO SR80e (latest, whichever that is) and they are perfect for late night listening.
VERY comfortable even after 2 hours.
Some sound leakage doesn't matter.
These are ON EAR not IN or OVER types.
Too much is never enough
One of the things I like most about headphones (besides portability) is that I can lie down and listen.
Enjoy!
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