Stereo Speaker Placement

[@blackmushi26]

After watching this video I raised the level of my speakers and it's made an incredible difference. Thank you!

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

Great to hear!

[@kaedeschulz5422]

Never seen a video ao simple yet so good at showing the problems and how to solve them. Great!

[@garyalexander5686]

Listening to Nickelback recordings requires special loudspeaker placement. Wrapping them in blankets and placing them face down on the floor will provide a satisfying experience.

[@WatchingTrainsGoBy-PassingTime]

It gets way more tricky when you can't center your listening position in the room, or within the speakers placement from the walls. ONE THING that is consistently missing from all of these videos I've seen, is EXAMPLES of the differences in sound. I have yet to find any video that does the things they are explaining in order for viewers to hear it before hand to get a real appreciation and understanding of how theses changes work in the real world. And if it's even worth moving any furniture around or buying treatments to aid in the sound.

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

Truth is, we really don't have an Examples video like you've mentioned here, but that's a great idea for an upcoming project. For now, we do have a video on Asymmetric rooms, which applies the same concept. Even if your room IS perfectly rectangular, but you have to set up off centered, the concepts in this video would apply. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYC3coZto8icnqs

[@Mickimoss]

I use a pair of horizontal 3 way speakers with the 10" woofer in the middle of the tweeter and mid. Even placing which one whether the middle or the tweeter on the inside has different sound to my ears. The tweeter will be more dominant if they're on the inside, so I prefer them on the outer side. Setting up audio can be tricky and has different case for everyone and experience.

[@NonnyStrikes]

I put a litle more on the R speaker in my room and it worked out fine. I'm limited in where I sit/move speakers.

[@rockyboy976]

Fantastic video. I am currently to a GIK consultant. However, what is the best treatment for the wall just behind the speaker? Do u have anything to recommend from the Impression series? Do u have a video on it? Not all studio speakers can be calibrated?

[@MrBonger88]

This video recommends an equilateral triangle while Jim Smith recommends an isosceles triangle (83% rule) in his book “Get Better Sound”. Try both and see which works better for you. 83% works well in my room

[@basscleaner]

No doubts, room dimensions are critically important for good sound reproduction, especially for low frequencies. Nevertheless, if we have the limited space of variables, which fully determine the sound result, it means, that among possible room dimensions for known low frequencies source position (height) there are the best, the worst and medium sets of such a room dimensions. The best room dimensions set for low frequencies is understood like for having minimal spread for amplitude-frequency dependence in range 20 - 150 Hz. Corresponding to this thesis, we can have (or not!) so-called Acoustical Dimensions for this room. Do you agree?

[@MrMontyBanks]

Well, it's all about symmetry, Ok. But how about placing near-field studio speakers? Does the distance between them matter as it's difficult to maintain an equilateral triangle quite often?

[@jdestiniibeats123]

What happens if you don't have symmetrical room 😑 I found a good spot still though

[@lightice1387]

then one needs to buy a new house to accommodate placement of these speakers 😅

[@stevenvox6549]

I think a lot of people would disagree with the advice in this video. I think you need to sit farther away for the stereo effect to come together.

[@downeys1]

May I ask that in a perfect world, the speakers would not be pointed inwards at all?

[@TecumsehSherman36]

I DIDN'T GET THE SUB WOOFER PLACEMENT PART

[@daiblaze1396]

Nice animation, great content, short video. Thank you for the reminder !

[@bindaredundat-uv6wz]

I DID EVERYTHING YOU SAID AND NICKELBACK STILL SUCKS !!!!

[@Ali_ReBORN]

Hah hah hah.. this really made me laugh bro! Let me guess, too bright and thin right? 😆

[@chuckmaddison2924]

Try headphones to check first. If that fixes it's the speakers and or room.. I had problems, my solution bought another house.

[@YuaraMeyzing]

😂

[@MrBonger88]

Lmao. Good one and I agree

[@rickya.livingston5110]

Hah ha ha

[@JC.LC.]

Great video!

[@rrchannel2464]

Human ears are fixed at about a 150 degree configuration. I have found that setting my speakers in this way rather than the equalateral(sp?) triangle is mucho better for stereo imaging.

[@jaytorr6701]

Is this specific to near field and audio monitoring? I was surprised to see the recommendation for listening position being in the first third, not back.

[@bentleygt3716]

i'm 100% with the speakers Placement, but not so much with SWEET SPOT rule . which requires too much work, and often tricky, difficult and complicated.. that's most likely the case with Enclosed type speakers. you have to find "the sweet spot" , then if you move an inch to the right or the left ? you lose that spot !!. what a PAIN. it takes the joy out of listening t music IMO.. personally i can't sit still (freeze) in one spot . i wanna be free to move around/walk around / relax while playing music. for that reason. i find the OB dipole Speakers more forgiving . more enjoyable . and better sound-stage to my ears. thanks for your video.

[@andreasenstrom7911]

but were is the acustic axis of the speaker if it is a threeway speaker?

[@Sean-fj9pn]

Same. Between tweeter and midrange driver.

[@mehdihouari]

Nice bro can i use 2 speakers behind me

[@muhamedtrumic4700]

What should I do, since my right speaker is around 40cm from right wall, and left is more than 1m, and I cant move my desk since left is door, and my room is small and already full. This is best position for my pc and desk ?

[@craighoffman6876]

Due to a mess created by reflected sound, 90% of my listening room's sound is not great to pretty awful, but it is fantastic at the sweet spot where my listening chair is, with great imaging and tonal balance. That is all that matters, and pretty typical for an untreated room I wager. Speaking of room treatment, what is it with the ridiculous cost of room treatment material? You would think the stuff is made of gold bullion. A buddy got a load of it from a failed church at fire sale prices. He may be going to Hell, but he got a good deal on very nice material ;)

[@downeys1]

Interesting. I experienced the same - as walking around the room clapping my hands, there is too much echo, yet where the listening chair is located, clapping my hands, there is zero echo. My room is slightly treated - first reflection and corner traps.

[@craighoffman6876]

@@downeys1 Similar here. I have a stereo setup and sit fairly close to the speakers also, which helps take the room out of the equation to some degree. The friend I mentioned in my post had a home theatre setup with many speakers and he spent a lot of time treating the room, measuring and doing DSP on it. I think he spent more time tuning the room than he spent finishing his whole basement. A rabbit hole for sure! It was pretty fantastic home theatre though, with twin SVS SB4000 subs that literally felt like they could make one's hair stand on end during movie scenes with deep bass. For me the program is minimal treatment, sit close to two speakers in a nice triangle, which correlates to the distance I should be from the 65" TV anyway, and carry on with my life. If one is in the back of the room, too bad for them 😆

[@jcvccp]

What happend if i am at 4.5m of my speakers? Should i have a perfect triangle between them with 4.5m too? Or can i have 2.5m between speakers and 4.5 to the sofa. I am asking that because I don't have sufficient room to open them more.

[@eetu2532]

Yep, bring your sofa 2m closer if possible! Your soundstage will improve a lot and you will also get more direct vs reflected sound resulting in more resolution.

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

@joao 2.5-4.5m variances will mean pretty narrow placement, so the imaging will not be as wide. It's a question of how much that bothers you. You can still enjoy listening to music even with suboptimal listening setups. If you are open to new setups, experimentation always wins, it's best to try multiple setups and see what sounds best if you are prioritizing sound quality in the room. Evaluate by listening to very familiar, well-recorded music and if possible by testing with REW or similar.

[@QQ-td9id]

Why to avoid the "null" center 1/3 of the room? If to sit at 1/3 of the room, also consider minimum distances A, B, C about 8 - 10' each, plus the distance behind the speaker and the distance between speaker and the side walls, then how big the room has to be ? At least 40' long? That's unrealistic!

[@MatthewWright001]

Best non "sound bro" video on this lol

[@leandrosilva6414]

Great Videos! Keep it Up GIK!!

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

Glad you like them!

[@Gedalneil]

Clear and clean. Thank you

[@cesarbadell9780]

Excellent Video !!!!❤

[@ricksalt6860]

From articles in the past , speakers should be 3 to 1 = distance to width .

[@freekwo7772]

Stereo dates from late 1950’s as a recording option. Even the Beatles didn’t record in stereo but their latest albums.

[@AshrafElziftawiMusic]

U have ur speakers behind ur desk screen, isn't that a big no no?

[@TT-df9hp]

I wished I'd have never known about peaks and nulls. It makes it so difficult to enjoy music when you can hear certain notes ring out louder than others.

[@RCSvS]

They say " Ignorance is bliss". I agree with you.

[@stevenvox6549]

I think how far apart the speakers are from each other is important and doesn't cost anything to change. I moved them closer together which keeps them away from side walls, but I don't listen to loud music.

[@TT-df9hp]

@@stevenvox6549 That can help too. Seating position is the biggest factor I've found. Just moving the desk a few feet left or right will drastically change the bass response.

[@thaexception3406]

Informative!

[@andynonimuss6298]

The "33% Rule" and "38% Rule" should no longer be used as suggestions. It's close but not accurate. 33% or 32.8% ONLY works in longer length rooms. 38% is too close to the 4th harmonic null at 37.5%. The real listening position is at 39.6%. Why? Because it's exactly in-between the 4th (37.5%) and 6th (41.7%) harmonic null. You have 37.5% + 41.7% / 2 = 39.6%. So if you are keeping your head in-between the harmonic nulls, then your possible Listening Position options between harmonic nulls will always be the same in any room: 32.8%, 39.6%, or 45.8%. Room length makes a big difference is where the Listening Position will be located. There's no way a Listening Position of 32.8% or 39.6% will work in a small length room. Small rooms will have a Listening Position of 45.8%, medium length rooms will be 39.6%, and only rooms with longer lengths will be 32.8%. Overall the 38% Rule is inaccurate, is outdated, and doesn't work for every room length.

[@ryanwilliams7166]

you seam to know your stuff! using this info on my new studio. any insights on what would be the ideal distance away from the walls for MicroMain27 in a room thats 19ft 2 inches (length) by 14ft 4 inches (width)? thank you for sharing your knowledge!! true lifesaver

[@andynonimuss6298]

​@@ryanwilliams7166 For a 14'-4" x 19'-2" room, your listening position will be at 32.8%, which will put you midway between the 5th and 7th room nodes. From the front wall to the 32.8% listening position point will be 6'-4". From the front wall to the center point of the studio monitor will be 3'-1" and from the side wall to the center point of the studio monitor will be 4'-5". Your studio monitors will be 5'-6" apart measured from monitor top center point to monitor top center point (4'-5" + 5'-6" + 4'-5" = 14'-4"). The listening distance measured from the listening position to the center point of the studio monitor will be 4'-6". The barefoot MM27 user manual states you need a minimum recommended listening distance is at least 1 meter (3'-3") so this puts you a 1'-3" over that. For the needed measurements, you will need adjustable speaker stands. I highly recommend the heavy-duty K&M Konig & Meyer 26720.

[@skularatna8136]

Not all speakers need to be toed in. Mine have much better imaging left firing straight without toe in.

[@histubeness]

This is generally good advice, but the listener should be moved much farther back in the room, while the speakers should be pulled farther out into the room, at least a third way out, if not more. You can still maintain the triangle that way, but the listener will experience much better soundstage depth perception.

[@daviddegratie9189]

Yes and only if the room is big enough, mine for instance is super small so the best option is to put the speakers closest to the wall possible to limit the accentuation of the modes from the room

[@russellparker4568]

Its all good advice but there are so many variants to consider too that most of this advice probably wont help much. If we're taking about bare rooms then its perfect.

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

There are indeed many variants to consider. We have more videos on the subject of room treatment starting with speaker positioning including non-symmetrical rooms and other variables that may change the treatment strategy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYC3coZto8icnqs

[@divyanshushakya7320]

nice ..i like it

[@kevinliu4797]

I have great stereo system but a horrible asymmetrical room that can’t do justice to my stereo system.

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

Not to fret, we have a video on this subject that might illuminate some ways to make your system sound better in your asymmetrical room. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYC3coZto8icnqs

[@RodrigoLana]

Já curto antes de assistir

[@amankataria100]

in a 12 x 12 sized room... i can not judge distance in two speaker with sound travel difference like Bats 🦇 . i can judge only if one speaker is loud then other 😂

[@kevmichael2064]

The Should Not Be Facing U....the Left Speaker Should Be Facing Straight To The Left.....The Same With The Straight To The Right..... Must Get It...So The Sound Bounce Off The Wall.... Donot Have The Speaker If Possible On The Flore....It Should Sound Good....

[@XX-qi5eu]

The best room treatment I ever got for my $5000 music system --was a $30,000 music system.

[@medonk12rs]

xD

[@gdevelek]

The most important things (after the triangle) are distance from back wall, side wall and floor, and you failed to provide any concrete advice on that.

[@johnholmes912]

"off of " is not English

[@stefannewels1823]

The PC Monitor Placement like displayed is really not that optimal..sorry 😅 Otherwise informative

[@madpedalboards]

Is it driving anyone else crazy that the speakers behind him are misaligned? 😆

[@markrigg6623]

Not being symmetrical doesn't nessecerilly mean they are mis aligned in an audio sense, due to furnishings in the room creating an uneven response.

[@garynumen13]

@@markrigg6623 While that can be true, looking at the desk he is standing in front of as the seating position, I don't think that would be the case here. I could always be wrong.

[@markrigg6623]

@@garynumen13 Yep fair enough. Personally I have to have mine symmetrical or it drives me crazy, even though it may not be the best sonically. So yes, looking at that vid does drive me crazy.

[@garynumen13]

@@markrigg6623 🤣 Me too!!

[@marcosrotllan]

Buy 3 more subs to improve your main sub.

[@Borey567]

Who has more than one subwoofer?

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

@Borey567 - See around 3:25, kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5SlYp2BqMScnLc We are working on a more focused video that answers this question more comprehensively, but the gist of it is it is a strategy that uses phase cancellation to achieve a flatter response.

[@AbsoluteFidelity]

The answer is MANY. 2 cheap subs will be better than 1 expensive sub in most cases.

[@nyny]

@@GIKAcousticsLLC Would it mitigate the need for bass traps?

[@lore88824]

I am amazed at how an acoustic treatment manufacturer can be so inaccurate about the visual cues of the informations it gives: at 1:37 you are speaking of the basic principle of the equilateral triangle speakers setup, but what you are showing on screen just isn't equilateral. I understand the image used is from a perspective angle, but that's simply the wrong way of showing it. And you keep repeating that mistake throughout the video, like at 3:00, where there isn't even perspective being the image shown from the top and, again, the triangle isn't equilateral, with speakers not even directed to the listener but straight ahead to the back wall. Bad. This way you are giving conflicting and misleading informations to the potential users, and you really should think about this.

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

I assure you, we think about our video scripts a lot. There's nothing misleading about this. The equilateral triangle model for speaker placement just means the distance between each speaker is the same as the distance between the back of your head and each speaker. The lines of the imaginary triangle should just graze your ears as it continues to the point behind your head. The photos shown are equilateral triangles, or depictions thereof. Not to worry, the concept is simple enough to understand. Regarding toe-ing in the speaker so they are angled toward the listener, that's a different issue, ie, speakers can be toed in both in an equilateral or non-equilateral triangle setup. Angling speakers like this is a common practice but it's not the only way to do it. Different speakers have different dispersion characteristics and may benefit differently (or not at all) from a toed-in setup. As always, experiment to see what works best for you. In most rooms I'd use the advice in this video as a starting point for experimentation.

[@AbsoluteFidelity]

Misleading? You are the one that seems to be confused, no one else is.

[@lore88824]

@@AbsoluteFidelity probably nobody is because the average level of comprehension of basic principles like geometry and simple acoustics is so low nowdays on social media that anything is taken for granted. And if you say so you are probably part of those, so back to your primary school to understand what an equilateral triangle is…

[@AbsoluteFidelity]

@@lore88824 ive seen many smartasses like you online trying to act all smart and shit. Go ahead, you sound real intelligent.

[@lore88824]

@@AbsoluteFidelity I know I am, don’t need to remind me, but thank you. And anyway, you came at me doing the smartass, if you can’t take comments supported by facts then just avoid embarassing yourself.

[@Djoeeeeee]

dude ur pc screen is no even in the center lol

[@robinpatterson9433]

Who has a bare room with no furniture in the way. ?

[@Goffix2009]

Speaker wire length should be equal also. Allowing signals to reach speakers at the same time.

[@JereR]

Wut? That is not a thing!

[@meomarte]

At the speed of light a small difference will not make any relevant change in sound - timewise. Speaker cables should indeed be of equal length because they dampen more high frequencies the longer they are. They shouldn´t do that differently in different speakers. Using quality cables will make this difference smaller, but it´s a good rule of thumb regardless.

[@jargero8203]

He said homogenius.... rather than homogeneous

[@physicalspecialist8944]

Stereo playback hasnt been around for over a hundred years, back in the day they only had mono systems, at least get your facts right.

[@GIKAcousticsLLC]

Clément Ader demonstrated the first two-channel audio system in Paris in 1881.

[@bradt.3555]

@@GIKAcousticsLLC , Yes but it died away, Alan Blumlien, in the 1930's is the one who really brought stereophonic sound into use as we know it, and RCA was very instrumental in bringing it to us with some of the first consumer stereo's and record's. That was around mid to late 1950's. I remember my gramp getting his first RCA stereo and still have many of his records from 1958. So stereo sound as we think of listening is more like a half century old.

[@AbsoluteFidelity]

@@bradt.3555 if the first system was shown in 1881, regardless how it died off and came back again and regardless of how many times it died off, it is still 100 over years of evolution. Being born in the year 2000 and being in a coma from 2005 - 2020 doesnt make you 6 years old in 2021.

[@bradt.3555]

@@AbsoluteFidelity , True , but you will have only accumulated 6 years of knowledge. It's not evolving if it's sitting dormant.

[@AbsoluteFidelity]

@@bradt.3555 being dormant IS and CAN be part of evolution. Somethings dont keep on progressing continuously.

[@christian.m.schneider]

Please get a better microphone for your next videos - the audio quality of these videos does not fit to the GIK products quality.