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Long Wall vs Short Wall


SWL

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I have my speakers on the long wall with very good results as far as imaging and soundstage goes. I've never tried them on the short wall partly because it would be less than optimal as far as the furniture arrangement goes but mostly because I've read that the long wall is really the way to go. Curiosity is getting the best of me so I'll probably try it.

I'm just wondering if anyone has actually had the speakers on the short wall work better....and why?

Thanks.

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Those hold their polars quite well and are fairly good in terms of being time-aligned.  There is some misalignment between the tweeters and midranges basically due to the length of the midrange horn and the crossover filter phase delay. The minimum listening distance is probably a few feet from the speakers...maybe 6-8 feet or so.  Short wall will be as good as the long wall if you sit at about the same distance and the spread angle of the speakers is about the same.

 

Chris

Edited by Chris A
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Room is 19x13

Sent from my SM-G920R4 using Tapatalk

 

 

One question does it sound like there is any sound as if there is a hole in the center ? I wouldn't think or you would have tried it on the short wall already.

 

I know it's a pain to disconnect everything to try it on the short wall but if you had some extra speaker wire you could just splice it and just move the speakers, just to try and see how it sounds. .

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Room is 19x13

Sent from my SM-G920R4 using Tapatalk

One question does it sound like there is any sound as if there is a hole in the center ? I wouldn't think or you would have tried it on the short wall already.

I know it's a pain to disconnect everything to try it on the short wall but if you had some extra speaker wire you could just splice it and just move the speakers, just to try and see how it sounds. .

That's exactly what I had in mind with the speaker wire thanks for the suggestion.

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If there is a hole in the center are your speakers to far apart? My listening room is setup speakers on short wall. What I propose as an addition each wall is the opposite of the other. Floor is thick carpet ceiling is reflective tiles. One wall on right is reflective the other absorptive back wall absorbs front reflective. Size 10x12 perfect for he R28F's? I don't know if the sound is any different then when I had them placed wider in my very "live" 13x12 room. Also here I am six feet from the center of my speakers the old setup 5 1/2 feet. I need to listen a bit more, I think the setup I have now is the best.

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If there is a hole in the center are your speakers to far apart?

 

From my experience yes,  even with them toed in they can be to far apart in some cases and they justsound like something's missing in the center. 

 

I need to listen a bit more, I think the setup I have now is the best.

 

Good idea, every room is different, but if it sounds good to you that's what's most important.  

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If there is a hole in the center are your speakers to far apart? My listening room is setup speakers on short wall. What I propose as an addition each wall is the opposite of the other. Floor is thick carpet ceiling is reflective tiles. One wall on right is reflective the other absorptive back wall absorbs front reflective. Size 10x12 perfect for he R28F's? I don't know if the sound is any different then when I had them placed wider in my very "live" 13x12 room. Also here I am six feet from the center of my speakers the old setup 5 1/2 feet. I need to listen a bit more, I think the setup I have now is the best.

 

Makes sense.   How would it sound if they are too close together ?

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Seems like nearly all home theater guys go with the short wall, it's easier to implement multiple rows and a riser like that, projector can have a longer throw, all kinds of stuff.

I went with the long wall due to my wife wanting four seats in a row. As far as sound goes, the subs may be a little more powerful the other way, but I do like the extra space for the surrounds, they're not blaring in your ear nearly as bad.

Biggest disadvantage of going with the long wall is that you kind of need at least like 10' of space behind you before you get to the back wall, or you get to play with diffusers for it to be right. When you're just a few feet away, which you normally would be in a typical size room such as this, you're getting reflections from that back wall. If you went with the short wall, your seats are probably towards the middle, and you have a ton of space behind you. Just works out better for reflections.

Edited by MetropolisLakeOutfitters
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The real problem I see is HTs with the main listening position within 3 feet (1 metre) of the rear wall.  Most people, I believe, don't understand the real issues acoustically with that sort of arrangement.  This puts you in the pressure zone of the rear wall and gives you no room for any loudspeakers behind your listening position.

 

The best that you can do in that case is to put a lot of absorption on the rear wall all the way across and above the listening sofa back height, as thick as you can get it using a very large group of corner bass traps standing off from the wall with absorption pads attached on the room side of the traps, then dispense with the rear channel loudspeakers and move the remaining two surround loudspeakers forward of the listening position to about a 70-to-80-degree from centerline position.  This will actually improve the surround sound sense of envelopment (see Toole's book for test results). 

 

Chris

Edited by Chris A
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