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AUDIO SYSTEM SET-UP
Scale
The proper scale of the music soundstage is an important part of creating a realistic sense of "being there". Looking up at a large beautiful high def image begins to seem unnatural after a while if you are listening down to a knee high musical soundstage.Match the scale of the soundstage to the visual image!
Acoustic Advantages of Front Projectors
Front projectors are making huge strides in their image quality and in several years will probably be the most common method of reproducing a large video image in the mid to upper level home theatre systems.Why? Size and quality of image, ease of setup and almost certainly cost. By 2005 when volumes are higher and the manufacturing process more established, will it still be cheaper to make, ship and install a 400 pound, 3 cubic metre big screen rear projector than a briefcase sized point and shoot device? I don't think so.
This development is important to music lovers because it will get rid of that huge mass of vibrating panels and reflective surfaces between the speakers. In other words, getting rid of the big box in favour of a wall mounted screen will distinctly improve soundstage depth and focus to the benefit of both music and home theatre sound.
Tuning for Music
If you are tuning your system for music, get the main speakers as far out ahead of the plane of the TV as possible to reduce reflections. If you are listening to music with no video, you can experiment with ways to try and neutralize the degrading effects of the screen. Moving the speakers out, or draping a comforter over the TV should improve things.Remember, you are not trying to reproduce the sound of a movie theatre in your home because the sound in a movie theatre is vastly inferior to most good high end home systems. With the wide availability of line doubling rear projector TVs, the same can now be said for the video portion as well. Going to a movie may be more fun as an event but technically, the home systems are pulling away from the large theatres.
ROOM PLACEMENT
R630, R645 (Full Range)" Designed to be placed some distance out from the back wall (3’ to 6’) and the side walls (2’ to 4’). All of these distances are relative to the hardness or softness of the room. More air for hard rooms, less for soft. The ample bass output of the R645s allows them to be located far from the walls for maximum depth of stage. The listening position should be between 1 and 1.5 times from the speakers to the distance between the speakers.R58, R530
Exactly the same placement as for the R630s except these will be setup for soundstage only. The bass will come from sub-woofers which will be set up separately. This is the ultimate in flexibility. In small rooms, the R58 and R530s may well have enough bottom end for most music applications.
SUBS
The subs should provide solid bass to around 20Hz in room. The key elements in integrating a sub seamlessly are picking the location with the fewest room modes (i.e. smoothest and deepest response at the listening seat) and crossing over low enough (40-60Hz) to avoid muddy mid-bass and localization of the sub. A sophisticated electronic crossover is very valuable in this area either in your processor or in the subwoofer itself. Experiment with reversing the phase in every different location. This will help eliminate ‘fat mid-bass’ and maintain the speed of the system.
PLACEMENT - THINGS TO AVOID
Avoid placing the listener’s head close to a hard rear wall. Reflection from the wall will play havoc with both imaging and bass response. If the listening position must have a wall right behind it, cover the wall with Sonex, a heavy curtain or a tapestry laid over fiberglass or foam acoustic insulation etc. Whatever the method, the listeners ears must not be subject to a strong, direct rear reflection. Don’t place one speaker beside a reflective wall and one with open space to the side. Try to make the acoustic floor plan acoustically symmetrical for both right and left sides. If there is open space on one side try to simulate space on the other with absorbent material on the wall, plants etc. Avoid putting large objects in between the speakers. If a large TV or equipment rack (especially with glass doors is placed between the speakers, try to have the object recessed as far as possible. If the object is close to the same depth plane as the speakers, both horizontal and depth elements of the soundstage will fall short of the speakers potential.
Don’t make assumptions or expect the speakers to work well just because they are setup roughly the same way they were in a friend’s sound room, Your room is unique. It has different dimensions, furnishings and its boundary walls are made of different materials.
Once you understand the trade-offs, the key to success is experimentation. Try various positions and listen for the differences on different pieces of music. Even a change of two inches one way or the other can result in dramatic improvements at the listening position. But be careful when moving the speakers, they are tall and heavy! Don’t install the spikes until the best position is found. If you run into problems, call Newform for ideas. With the vast majority of rooms, a 90% setup can be achieved very quickly with the final 10% coming with small tweaks over the break-in period.
Once you have optimized placement, it will be possible to forget about the loudspeakers and enjoy the music to its fullest.
Happy Listening!
See also: Picking the Right Loudspeaker.
ANXIETY
AUDIO SYSTEM SET-UP
DIGITAL AMPLIFIER PACKAGES
UNPACKING & SETTING-UP YOUR RIBBON LOUDSPEAKERS
THE BREAK-IN PROCESS
THE QUICK FIX GUIDE
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