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In Reply to: A couple facts and some common sense. posted by Tim on April 16, 2007 at 23:22:11:
It seems awfully nutty, but it DOES work if done properly. Also, it is physically impossible to sit 90 degrees off axis to both speakers (unless they are truly back to back). It works magic for near field listening. This is NOT how my Maggies are configured, but I DID try it and I was AMAZED.
Follow Ups:
in both Tim's observation and your reaction to the side-facing orientation is just how much influence--for good or ill (and that, I suspect, depends to some degree on personal preference)--reflected sound, particularly the range of audible reflected frequencies and their dispersive pattern, has on what we hear--and maybe want to hear--in our listening rooms.
Yep, you are dead on here.One of the reasons I dig this set up is that the imaging is more realistic than a normal setup.
When you go to the symphony, it is one big bowl of sound. All the ingredients are there in that bowl.
In a normal setup, it is if there are a lot of seperate bowls of soup on little silver platters, with each of the bowls having a different performer.
In a sideways setup, it is one big bowl of soup, and to me that sounds more like live music.
It is not the "hifi" sound that some people like, but IMHO it is more real.
Hey Wazoo,There will always be ones who hide behind theories as an excuse to be lazy and dismissive.
Be glad that you are not one of them.
I thought the idea was crazy - until I tried it. I found myself eating crow when I listened to my MMGs setup this way. For lack of a better expression, I was simply blown away (just never expected to hear anything close to what I heard). I decided I'd better be more open to different ideas (and to forget the things I thought I knew). At some point, I intend to give them a good listening test turned around with the pole pieces facing me - I need to know which way I like them before proceeding with rev2 of my framing project.
Yeah, I like your attitude. I am the same way. It just floors me that the smart science types are so damn close minded. I kind of thought that science was about being open minded and doing experiments, but so much of the time it seems like just the opposite.One would think that they would be actively looking for crazy things that didn't make sense but were true. Isn't that how science really progresses?
Anyhow, on my stand (which will be months away) it is fairly simple to reverse the orientation.
FWIW, I haven't done any direct comparisons, but when I went to a sideways setup, I was listening to the backs, and maybe THAT has something to do with why I like it better? I'll listen both ways and figure out what is more important.
You don't need to toss a toaster into the tub to know it's not a good idea. OTOH, some people swear by their Bose speakers. Go figure.
To be fair, the idea sounds like shear lunacy. It violates so many principals that it has to sound like crud. That's precisely what I thought I was going to hear when I tried it (had read about it numerous times and just chuckled).It sounds quite different, but the only tonal characteristic I could lay on it was a slight decrease in midrange forwardness - a good thing with my MMGs. The amazing thing was the soundstage - it just sounded more like live music. Ultimately, however, this arrangement is unworkable for me because mine are in a system that doubles as a home theater (the space between the speakers needs to be empty).
BTW I owned a pair of Bose 901s for about 2 weeks in the early '80s. I could never get satisfying sound out of them - tried dozens of placements to no avail. They had pretty awesome midrange though.
Waz,Exactly. My listening biases are for soundstage, and this is the most realistic presentation I have found.
And yes, that it works at all is quite amazing, and another reason I dig it.
And, it is a way to get mags out from the front wall in a small room, without killing the room.
wouldn't you want to know why?Or would you just assume that the guy was dead and the whole thing was made up because the theory says it is so?
The fact is that you haven't tried it, and you really should before dismissing it.
Hence the "closed minded" comment.
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