Can LCR speakers be placed against the wall if...
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You'll need thicker acouatical panels than that; probably 4"-6". A one or two inch piece of acoustical material won't reduce the frequencies boosted from the proximity effect; from about 1 kHz and down. It was a good question, and you're on the right track, but you'll need thicker panels. BTW, the sculpted foam does nothing over a slab of flat foam. It's meant to look like the walls of an anachoic chamber. 4" of open celled upholstery foam will do the trick.
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Great, I can get this as well which is suppossed to be dedicated acoustic foam. It come in thickness from 1" to 4" .
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or this,
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So by doing this I won't be compromising sound? And if I use the thick stuff do you think I could get away with placing the speakers even closer?
Great, I can get this as well which is suppossed to be dedicated acoustic foam. It come in thickness from 1" to 4" .
or this,
So by doing this I won't be compromising sound? And if I use the thick stuff do you think I could get away with placing the speakers even closer?
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You could even take the 4" foam and cover it with acoustically transparent fabric from Guilford of Maine (or other brands) to dress it up and be more "decorator" friendly if you want.
As for moving even closer than you 3"-6" estimate, I'm no acoustical expert, but I sure wouldn't. Even with the acoustic foam.
EDIT: the top photo in your post above (the lighter silvery looking foam) looks very shiny... if that's some sort of film over the foam, then I wouldn't think it's any kind of acoustical foam. That film will most likely stop the foam from absorbing any reflected energy.
As for moving even closer than you 3"-6" estimate, I'm no acoustical expert, but I sure wouldn't. Even with the acoustic foam.
EDIT: the top photo in your post above (the lighter silvery looking foam) looks very shiny... if that's some sort of film over the foam, then I wouldn't think it's any kind of acoustical foam. That film will most likely stop the foam from absorbing any reflected energy.
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I am going to have a false wall built so appearance won't matter. Really , even with foam there having them nearer the wall is not good?
BTW the foam in that pic is of the underside, it has adheisive layer applied and you just peal away the plastic and stick to where ever you want it placed.
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I am going to have a false wall built so appearance won't matter. Really , even with foam there having them nearer the wall is not good?
BTW the foam in that pic is of the underside, it has adheisive layer applied and you just peal away the plastic and stick to where ever you want it placed.
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You didn't mention which speakers you have. Ported speakers - and especially rear ported speakers may not give you the bass response they are capable of if they are too close to the wall.
I have a pair of old Infinity Interludes - IL40s that are rear ported that I use in the bedroom since I bought new speakers for the living room. They sound great now - they have breathing room of about 3'. I never had the space in the living room to let them have the room they needed. My new speakers are a sealed design and even they like being off the wall a few feet to sound their best. Wall treatments are probably in my future for better sound.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JapanDave /forum/post/16963774
I am going to have a false wall built so appearance won't matter. Really , even with foam there having them nearer the wall is not good?
BTW the foam in that pic is of the underside, it has adheisive layer applied and you just peal away the plastic and stick to where ever you want it placed.![]()
You didn't mention which speakers you have. Ported speakers - and especially rear ported speakers may not give you the bass response they are capable of if they are too close to the wall.
I have a pair of old Infinity Interludes - IL40s that are rear ported that I use in the bedroom since I bought new speakers for the living room. They sound great now - they have breathing room of about 3'. I never had the space in the living room to let them have the room they needed. My new speakers are a sealed design and even they like being off the wall a few feet to sound their best. Wall treatments are probably in my future for better sound.
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Either way, the farther away from the wall that you can get them, even using acoustical foam, is always a good idea.
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Can anyone expain in lay man terms the reasons behind having the speakers away from the wall and treatments? I have always tried to keep them out but did not hear a difference from have my Energy RC-70 6 inches or 2 feet out?
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There are many choices in that price range.
Are you willing to buy from ID companies? Emotiva, AV123, Aperion, SVS, HSU, etc. Bookshelf speakers or towers? What do you have for power? How big is your room? Lots of info to collect before answering that question.
A lot depends on the room and how soft or hard the surfaces are. Also whether you have ported speakers or sealed. I have sealed tower speakers with 8" dual woofers in each and there is some difference when I move them back and forth - but not as much as when I had rear ported speakers with a single 8" woofer in each tower.
There are many choices in that price range.
Are you willing to buy from ID companies? Emotiva, AV123, Aperion, SVS, HSU, etc. Bookshelf speakers or towers? What do you have for power? How big is your room? Lots of info to collect before answering that question.
A lot depends on the room and how soft or hard the surfaces are. Also whether you have ported speakers or sealed. I have sealed tower speakers with 8" dual woofers in each and there is some difference when I move them back and forth - but not as much as when I had rear ported speakers with a single 8" woofer in each tower.
That price range - i have decided on Axiom M80s, 150v2 Center -- you can do their factory store - "minor blemishes" for 10% off. Buy some cables and stuff 5% more off
I would also consider the RC-70 and RC-LCR if you can live with rosenut or cherry they are 50% off at Vanns
I would also consider the RC-70 and RC-LCR if you can live with rosenut or cherry they are 50% off at Vanns
Placing speakers near walls has several effects on the sound they produce. The biggest impacts are on bass and imaging.
Placing the speakers driver closer to a wall especially the same distance from two walls like near a corner makes certain bass frequencies stronger. This may be good if your looking for more bass or bad if it reinforces a frequency to much.
Near side wall placement can effect imaging causing smearing so that instead of hearing the vocalist in the center, lead guitar to the right and bass guitar to the left they may overlap or blend together. Near front wall placement can also cause smearing and can reduce the depth of the front soundstage.
Other effects include comb filtering or the strengthening and weakening of certain frequencies when the reflected sound and direct sound from the speaker arrive at nearly the same time. This is most noticeable if you move our head around a little because you will hear the loudness change as you move.
It can also effect the tone of the speaker depending on what frequencies are most absorbed or reflected. Which can be enhanced the more the speaker’s off axis frequency response differs from on axis.
I’m sure there are other effects but I think these are the main ones people worry about.
Placing speakers near walls has several effects on the sound they produce. The biggest impacts are on bass and imaging.
Placing the speakers driver closer to a wall especially the same distance from two walls like near a corner makes certain bass frequencies stronger. This may be good if your looking for more bass or bad if it reinforces a frequency to much.
Near side wall placement can effect imaging causing smearing so that instead of hearing the vocalist in the center, lead guitar to the right and bass guitar to the left they may overlap or blend together. Near front wall placement can also cause smearing and can reduce the depth of the front soundstage.
Other effects include comb filtering or the strengthening and weakening of certain frequencies when the reflected sound and direct sound from the speaker arrive at nearly the same time. This is most noticeable if you move our head around a little because you will hear the loudness change as you move.
It can also effect the tone of the speaker depending on what frequencies are most absorbed or reflected. Which can be enhanced the more the speaker’s off axis frequency response differs from on axis.
I’m sure there are other effects but I think these are the main ones people worry about.
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