Speaker setup – tips from a pro

Spent big money on a top hi-fi system, but it won’t sound really full and refined at home? It might be because the speakers aren’t positioned perfectly. This is how you’ll get better sound for little or no money.

More than any accessory, the right speaker setup is responsible for a good hi-fi system sound in the home.

As a consumer, unless you’re a music fan that only enjoys their favorite tracks out and about and with headphones, you'll almost always have a problem. Two problems to be precise – the two speakers for your living room or music room, there to sweeten your precious leisure time with wonderful stereo sounds. Surround sound with five or more speakers is even more intensive, but let’s keep it at two for this advice episode. Of course, just getting these right can also be difficult sometimes.

But before I bore you with long discourses about the highly complicated topic of room acoustics (a difficult subject, but one I’ll certainly try to make easier to understand later in this series) or bug you with completely unrealistic suggestions or even try to sell you crazy expensive accessories, there are a few basic principles to consider. They cost little or nothing to implement, and with the right conditions, can help you get a whole lot more out of your hi-fi system. My tips are intended to provide cleaner, “drier”, less swollen basses, more balanced delivery of the high frequencies, and better instrument and voice pinpointing.

Secure standing

For the moment I’ll just limit myself to dynamic loudspeakers, which account for over 90% of the market. These are speakers as you know them: The baffle is fitted with one or more funnel-shaped chassis (bass drivers, bass-midrange drivers or midrange drivers, depending on the task at hand) and usually a small semi-sphere curved forwards, the “dome tweeter”. These baffles work in accordance with the electrodynamic principle, which is why they are called dynamic (not because they sound especially dynamic, which they can of course). Let’s leave out dwarf Bluetooth speakers or tiny computer speakers here and limit ourselves to hi-fi speakers.

Essentially there are two types: Floor-standing speakers and compact or shelf speakers, or let’s just say – floorstand and bookshelf. And of course they differ in size. The problem with most compact speakers is: They are not (or no longer) intended for crammed-in positioning on a shelf, but usually sound better when set up free-standing. But this also means buying a couple of suitable stands. As a serious hi-fi lover, you should think about this before making your decision.

But whether on their own feet or on stands – your speakers should stand securely, so wobble-free. New models mostly come with screw-on rubber or plastic feet or pointed metal spikes. Put in that little bit extra and tare your speakers cleanly on the horizontal, with a spirit level if you need it. Spikes are usually recommended for rugs and carpets – rubber or plastic feet are better on stone, laminate or parquet. If you already have older models and the little helpers have had their day, the accessories trade has plenty of stand feet, which shouldn’t cost more than EUR 10 to start with.

But if you don’t want to pay for this either, you can improvise with adhesive window sealing strips with smooth floors – it's incredible what these things can do.

Free-standing

Be they shelf speakers or floor-standing speakers, most of them are now designed not to be placed directly against a wall or even in a corner, but rather should have a certain distance from the boundary surfaces. This applies all the more to bass reflex speakers with a kind of hole in the rear panel. They should be at least 30 cm, preferably 60 cm from the rear wall. Needless to say, free-standing doesn’t mean you should ruin your living room with two monsters standing in the middle of it. Try increasing the distance in increments of 5 cm. One’s partners in the house should of course be consulted in advance if they also use the room. Both speakers should always be the same distance from the rear wall. If bass tones that previously tended to boom now sound less obtrusive, cleaner and more contoured, you’ve already achieved quite a lot with your speaker setup.

The distances to the side walls don’t have to be or shouldn’t be the same. An asymmetrical positioning can often further optimize the sound gain achieved with the rear wall distance. But ensure the differences aren’t too big. Plus, “crooked” ratios are often just right here. Let’s say you’ve moved the speakers 60 centimeters away from the rear wall. Try putting the left speaker 87 cm and the right one 137 cm from the side wall. If it improves the sound, it’s because of the peaking of certain frequencies (pitches) in the room. The less even the dimensions are in relation to each other, the lower this will be. Sound complicated? Well only in the associated theory. Basically, it just requires a little pushing, moving and measuring, and it also applies to the room itself, but more on that in another episode. Along with the spirit level just mentioned, you’ll also need a tape measure here. And if you want to go a little further, you can get test CDs with sliding pure tones (sweeps) for checking and optimizing, which are incredibly helpful and shouldn’t cost more than EUR 50. If you want to skip and save on this, you can experiment with bass-heavy music (big organ, techno, hip-hop).

  • "The position of the speakers is crucial, and even just small adjustments can make the difference between mediocre and stunning sound."

    Lothar Brandt | Hi-fi and music journalist
  • "The position of the speakers is crucial, and even just small adjustments can make the difference between mediocre and stunning sound."

    Lothar Brandt | Hi-fi and music journalist

Standing right

Your hearing is extremely sensitive when it comes to minimum acoustic differences that the room and the speaker setup can cause. If two sound events hit you at the same time (the norm with stereo listening), a time difference of just 40 microseconds (or 1/2500 of a second!) between the two can result in a different locating and spatial impression. Your hearing, you see, is constantly trying to calculate a consistent image of your surroundings from the countless sound waves arriving, to form an idea of the room’s size, the condition of the surroundings and, above all, the directions of the arriving sound events.

Before it gets too complicated here, try another easy tip: Where possible, ensure your preferred listening spot and the speakers form an isosceles triangle. Your listening spot should be as precisely as possible at the apex of this triangle. Then get your favorite CD, ideally with vocals, and listen to how well it plays in the middle between the speakers. Only, of course, when the vocals have been mixed to the center of the stereo. The headphone controls show this when the voice appears to be singing in the middle of your head.

Now, you angle both speakers inward at different degrees. Begin by placing the speakers parallel with the rear wall, and gradually turn them until the dome tweeters aim directly at your ears.

If your speakers have removable protective grilles or something similar, take them off and shine a strong flashlight directly into the middle between the speakers. If the light is reflected equally from both domes, you have the “directly on ear” beam angle. Note the angle where your impression of the mid-point formation was best, and where the high tones weren’t too shrill. That’s your new listening spot!

If the speakers are set up correctly but the sound still isn’t just right, you have a little more to do. It just takes a little more work. The following applies in general: Large, smooth and hard surfaces are sound’s enemies. By contrast soft, absorbent surfaces, which only slightly reflect sound waves and diffuse them in every direction, support sound neutrality. Windows or balcony doors can be removed from the equation with thick curtains. A rug or carpet (not too thin) will neutralize a stone floor. Shelves filled with books and upholstered furniture also help. Even large plants in the right places will have a positive effect.

But before you start reshaping your entire living room, just try the easy speaker setup tricks first. I'm sure you'll then enjoy your speakers, and therefore your system and your music even more.

Conclusion

The right speaker setup is crucial for your hi-fi system’s best possible sound. Even just small adjustments, such as distance from walls, a secure stand or the right angle, can significantly improve the sound – sans expensive accessories. Disturbing reflections can also be dampened with curtains, carpets and furniture. So before you plan any big changes, try these easy, effective tricks and enjoy your music in a new, better quality.

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