Speaker Positioning

[swells]

I decided that I wanted to get my heresy's off of the floor, so I designed and build a set of stand. I angled the stands so that the midrange horn was pointing directly @ ear level when sitting 13' away. After everything is setup, I sat down for an evaluation. It seams to image and sound ok, but when I stand up in the same spot everything becomes briter. Could this be my imagination, I started wondering if the Heresy's were ment to stand flat with the horns directed sligty upwards?

[lynnm]

Sound becomes more directional as it it increases in frequency. That is why subwoofers designed to reproduce very low bass need not be placed directly in between the mains for example. In the setup you describe your midranges are essentially pointed at your head and the tweeters are firing over your head. When you stand up your ears are in the path of the sound wave from the tweeters and the speakers therefore sound brighter.

Riser bases were/are available for the heresys and many other speakers and as you surmise are designed to tilt the front of the speaker upward so that the tweeters and the midranges are aimed toward the listener's head.

I hate to be a wet blanket having had various experiments go sideways on me but I doubt that your stands are going to work with the Heresey's .

[HornEd]

You can expect lynnm to give it to you straight... whatever dampness has crept into his blankie... he spends a long time each workday contemplating the great and "grater" questions that affect the lives of you and yours truly. He points out that how you should aim the height of your mains is by the tweeter... not the mid-range horn. A horn tweeter needs to be aimed like a rifle... while the mid-range takes more of a shotgun approach.

In fact, in aiming horn tweeters, I use a laser pointer (masking) taped to the side of the speaker and aim it at a piece of cardboard so that the little red dot is no more than six inches above my head when I am in a seated position. Generally, that location provides the requisite brightness for you... and any folks seated behind you.

The frequencies generated by the tweeter are extremely short, easy to absorb and don't bounce well. Mid-range speakers usually cover something between 300 Hz and 5000 Hz... and these frequencies bounce around the room with gusto... but are fairly short and usually do not have the big cancelling and reinforcement problems of the really low bass... which can crank out waves that are 75' long... or more.

Personally, I like correctly sized pedestals better than risers because risers convey less to the folks in the back of the bus... er room! (Sorry, got lost in a motorhome metaphor... now there's an acoustic challenge!) Enjoy! =HornEd

[castironandtubes]

I too got my heresys off the floor, and enjoyed the results. Mine are on stands that are around 14' high with a small stick under the front to angle them slightly upwards. Now, unlike you my listening position is quite close (6' from ear to speaker) but in that position the tweeter is pointed directly at my ears and I get beautiful soundstaging. I fully concur with the comments about aiming the tweeter. I was worried about losing bass taking them off the floor but in my room it works great how I have them.

Dave

[swells]

Stands amy be an over statement, more like risers. They raise the front to 2 3/8" and the rear 1/2" off of the floor. I went back and checked my drawing. 12'-9" and I'm looking down the barrel of the tweeter. 13'- 8" was actually a mid point or a happy medium I tought between the mid and high horn. The midrange is crosses the ear level at 14'- 8.4". Enough with the numbers, I thought that they would sound better angled upwards rather that at my knees and I wanted them off of the floor. I'll do some trial and error, maybe I'll go with a straight 3" lift. thanks for the input.