chuckears Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 We 2-channel music listeners who have expanded to home theater know all about the sweet spot... that place the perfect distance back, and exactly between the mains, to fully appreciate that live soundstage. That is my spot when watching 5.1 film material, as well... but I noticed something peculiar at a LOTR marathon we hosted last week: I sat way off-center to allow our guests the "better" spots, basically directly in front of the right main, with the right surround behind me, and at an angle to the screen. The surround info (especially from the left surround) was way more obvious from that vantage point; I heard info from my RS-3's that I had never picked up on before. The main drawback was a not-as-dominant center channel (Academy). The dialogue from sitting at that great an angle from the center was not quite as distinct. The bass was not quite as pronounced either, probably because I was sitting more in front of the sub (which is in the front right corner)... on the other hand, the sound on the opposite corner from the subwoofer is way more dominant; almost too heavy. How about it? Anyone like to sit off-center, or do you generally plant yourself right in the middle? I don't know if it's due to the design of the RS-series surrounds, but it is definitely a different experience to try. I get a kick out of the reactions of some of my relatives, when they look around to see where "that sound" came from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted June 7, 2004 Author Share Posted June 7, 2004 ...I can't believe that, 2 hours after I posted this, it received only 7 views, but there were 50 views of HondaRacing's (hopefully banned by now) horrible pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 I would have responded to you but as my setup is still in the process of being setup, there isn't much I can add to the thread. I had emailed Klipsch about H.R. post and it is gone. It was totaly not suitable for this board. If infact he is the one who posted the links (not hacked and redirected) he should be banned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 hi chuck! with music, listening solo (as usual) I am glued to that sweet spot. but with video, with the family, i'm just wherever there is a seat without a body in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 The sweet spot, of course, is best...but I now get very good performance in a wider area, thanks to having 6 Cornwalls. I had an Academy between two Cornwalls and found that it was noticeably weaker in some respects - off axis response as well as at higher SPL. Cornwalls all across the front solved that problem. I find your comments about the accentuated surround response somewhat revealing, in the respect that my experience is much different, since I use Cornwalls in the rear as well. Here, the sweet spot is the sweet spot in all respects - offering perfectly matched timbre when seated there. When I venture off to the side, the center remains anchored and balanced vs. the mains, but the off-axis response from the rears does show up some if I get too far to the left or right (I sit closer to the rears than the mains). This would be less of a problem for me in a larger room. In general though, I find the off axis response to be pretty acceptable, especially since I went against the general grain by going all monopole vs. the dipole configuration. When I give up my sweet spot to my guests, I'm still generally happy overall with the system performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted June 7, 2004 Author Share Posted June 7, 2004 Six Cornwalls?... after I wipe the drool off my keyboard... How big is your listening room? Is there a Mrs. Nectar, and what is the WAF of your setup? Do you have a sub or two, and if so, which? My current dream system consists of 6 LaScalas (I love that big midrange horn) and one or two SVS PB2+'s. All this would support the display from a nice CRT front projector, on a 100 - 120" screen. (Someone shakes chuckears awake...) I suppose I should do something productive to try and make enough money for all this gear, but I seem to be stuck in a sub-100k (combined) financial structure... ...and still manage to find happiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomac Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 ---------------- On 6/7/2004 10:33:45 AM Audible Nectar wrote: The sweet spot, of course, is best...but I now get very good performance in a wider area, thanks to having 6 Cornwalls. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Audible Nectar, so you have 3 Cornwalls across the front and 3 Cornwalls across the back or are your using 2 as surrounds, (on the sides) and one in the back, (as a rear center)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 **************************** WARNING ****************************** The following is not recommended by the Surgeon General, Klipsch Audio Technologies, the Dope From Hope, any white paper, Sam's Photofact, or any other publication I've ever read. In other words, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME. I have 2 center channel speakers at center. Why? Primarily, it is a problem installing a single SYMMETRICAL center channel, due to the 32" tube currently used as the display. I have vertical Cornwalls, and when one of those was laid on it's side, I could hear the directionality from the woofer vs. the mid and tweeter, so a symmetrical solution ultimately was best. I could have split my Belle pair to make the ideal center, but once my wife saw those, there was no splitting them, as they currently reside in the room that she has artistic control over (that should answer the WAF question). There are two speakers as surrounds - a 5.1 setup - as the room is open in the back and leads to other rooms, a rear center wasn't worth the trouble in this dwelling. This took a considerable amount of tweaking positionwise to get those two speakers placed as optimally as possible. The end result is still a focused center, but with more of a "washing" effect over the entire screen. If the two speakers aren't placed properly, it sounds messed up. Positioned symetrically from side to side with equal angles of toe in, it works acceptably. Best yet, the tonality and effortlessness of the center action is now solved (vs. the Academy that resided there before). Subwoofers are those JBL 4638 cabinets (times two), that everyone went nuts over at the JBL tent sale a couple of years ago (they were yours for the tax and shipping). They keep up with the Cornwalls very nicely, and ON THE CHEAP. The performance far exceeds the privce paid for them. This all resides in a 16 X 20 foot room. When I get a front PJ (which admittedly may be a while), I will fix the center channel issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Chuck In my HT, I do not notice much difference from sitting in the "sweet spot" as compared to sitting 4-5' to the left of right. My room is 22' wide, so it will be less for less wide room. This also may be from the fact that I have 3 K400 horns in my front. The K400 is like a laser beam to your head. What I do notice is if I sit behind the sweet spot the sound diminishes much faster than side to side. This is why I have never put in a second row in my HT. In my room, for 2CH the sweet spot is a must for true enjoyment. No Question. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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