Monitor Feng Shui...

[kwami]

Hi just a quick question,

What's the best way to position my monitors, i have a small desck and have been shuffling them around, advice anyone?

A bit of EQ Feng shui needed....

[mks]

Well, they say to have them a few feet from the wall. But unfortunately, many of us live in a small apartment in a city where that is simply not feasible.

At that point, your best bet is to get to know your monitors very well by hearing how other well engineered music sounds on them and in your room. I did end up putting up a bit of acoustic treatment on my wall that the monitors are facing to reduce bounceback and phase canceling.

As far as positioning them, try to get them at ear level facing you at an angle so you get a triangle between your monitors and your listening "sweet spot".

[crutch]

easy bradley, hows glasgow going? ive heard putting them so they are equal distance from you as they are from each other is good. also that the corners of the room are a bad idea. that said i have mine in the corner at the mo.

[cloak and dagger]

Well, they say to have them a few feet from the wall. But unfortunately, many of us live in a small apartment in a city where that is simply not feasible.

At that point, your best bet is to get to know your monitors very well by hearing how other well engineered music sounds on them and in your room. I did end up putting up a bit of acoustic treatment on my wall that the monitors are facing to reduce bounceback and phase canceling.

As far as positioning them, try to get them at ear level facing you at an angle so you get a triangle between your monitors and your listening "sweet spot".

This guy said everything I was going to. Listen to his wisdom!

[karmacazee]

What's been said above, and get yer tweeters at ear level.

[wirez]

I turned mine on their sides yesterday, with the tweeters on the outside... It really increases my sense of stereo placement... Might be worth a try!

[Depone]

I turned mine on their sides yesterday, with the tweeters on the outside... It really increases my sense of stereo placement... Might be worth a try!

This has also helped my bass to become more centralised and you get a wider feel to your tracks. Sounds amazing
, but only do this if it is recommended in your speakers manual, else you might funk the sound/speakers up due to overheating amps etc...

[wirez]

I turned mine on their sides yesterday, with the tweeters on the outside... It really increases my sense of stereo placement... Might be worth a try!

This has also helped my bass to become more centralised and you get a wider feel to your tracks. Sounds amazing
, but only do this if it is recommended in your speakers manual, else you might funk the sound/speakers up due to overheating amps etc...

Hhmm I didn't think of this.... I don't have the manual for my monitors now

[wirez]

'The PM0.5 MKII was designed to be mounted vertically. This provides for the most accurate frequency response, reduces acoustic boundary interference and provides optimum cooling performance for the heat sink that is located on the back of the studio monitor. If it is not possible to mount the monitors vertically, then the monitors should be placed with the woofers inside and the monitors "toed-in" towards the listening area."

Phew, at least it does say you will get away with doing it lol, even though it recommends not to! I think it sounds better personally... Definitely makes it easier to find things a space in the stereo field.

[Depone]

Yeah definatly, and it helps my bass to 'couple' as they are a bit weak below 60hz

[kwami]

Nice one guys for the advice, I ended up turning em' on the sides, got better bass surrounding me, plus me desk is cramp, and gave me room to put my filter boxes on em....would like some stands though...

Egg box my room out too...ha

[86.]

ghana?

[decklyn]

Really eh? Turning them made them sound more spacious??

*looks at Mackies....*

[wirez]

Haha craze starter

Watch, somebody will come in the room and start commenting about how this is ballsing all our mixes up now!

[kwami]

mmm spacious, my room is now at one with sound hhhhhaaaa

[justrob]

I produce and mix between one speaker and my hd555 headphones, alot easier to focus on frequncies and comparing levels between different sounds when its only coming out of one speaker. I use my headphones for stereo placement, but i know what sounds good. I know something panned in your headphones that sounds amazing might be a little to much when you start putting them through speakers.

[Depone]

For extra bonus points, Put your speakers on the styrofoam bricks that came with the speaker boxes if you still have them. This has made my bass even tighter and stops the bass travelling thru my table and funking shit up. Its also now at perfect ear level. See this-

[hubsmoke]

or on plastic crates with t-shirts on top!



i hope you'll notice the flag, and the fact that i took the picture while browsing this very thread, checking out depone's setup

[wirez]

Or buy some acoustic treatment foam like me

[macc]

Positioning of the speakers in the room, along with the listening position, is arguably the single most important factor in room acoustics! It's all a single syetem, and placement of the speakers has a HUGE influence on the low frequency response. Measure, listen, test, move, Measure, listen, test, move, Measure, listen, test, move, Measure, listen, test, move, Measure, listen, test, move, Measure, listen, test, move, Measure, listen, test, move, Measure, listen, test, move, Measure, listen, test, move, you get it. Spent about ten hours just positioning my speakers.

So far as imaging goes, personally I wouldn't go turning vertically-designed speakers on their sides unless you absolutely must. They are designed vertically for good reason. It might make things sound wider but this is due to diminished time coherency of the incoming wavefront - think like putting a stereo widener on your master output, and the phase problems doing things like that causes. If you want a wider image, then have them farther apart, but the general equilateral triangle principle is usually best adhered to. Remember that they aren't supposed to be there to make everything sound huge; they're there to tell you the truth.

There aren't many horizontally designed speakers around though really; my K+H O300 are, and the Adam S3A... not sure in the more budget end if any of them are...