Soundstage "width"

roman700

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Hi

I feel I could do with a more open, wide sound....

I have a room that is 3.3m x 2.5m approx, with an opening to the kitchen on one side of the 2.5m, and large opening to the main living room on the other side of 2.5m. Neither opening is in the middle.

My system is on the 3.3m wall, on a heavy unit/sideboard, which is next to a tall cupboard. The speakers are about 1.3m apart (the width of the unit), and my listening position is about 1.6m away. There is other furniture in this room that can't be easily rearranged ;-) I also can't turn the system round 90 degrees.

System, somewhat cobbled together, is:

Roksan Kandy KA1 Mkiii
Acoustic Energy Compact 1 speakers
Audioengine B1 bluetooth receiver
Very old NAD DVD player used for the occasional CD

Roughly, my listening is talk radio/youtube 50%, classical 25% and jazz 25%

I would like a more open sound. With low kitchen table benches positioned in front of the heavy unit where the amp etc sit and desktop speaker stands, yesterday I set up a roughly 1.8m equilateral triangle listening position as an experiment and I liked the sound more, I got that openness that I'm after.

I was thinking of getting some Atacama Moseco 7 speaker stands, that I have space for, slightly moving the furniture (acceptable) would I think give me the 1.8m triangle position again. This set up, like yesterday's, would take the speakers further away from the wall than the manual recommends, but I understand (perhaps incorrectly) that this affects bass most and I'm not so concerned about that.

Or....would better speakers sitting on the same unit give me the same result? That would be preferred as it means less stuff in the room and a cleaner look.

Budget about £200, maybe a bit more later in the year but I'm also fighting impatience!

Thanks for reading this possible ramble!
 
Put some better speakers on the front edge of the beurot with blutack. :)
 
Thanks, I'll consider this. Do you think they'll sound better, about 1.3m apart, than the current Acoustic Energy Compact on new £150 stands, positioned about 1.8m apart?
 
If you want new speakers and stands, speakers 1st, then stands to fit.
 
Roman, have you tried experimenting with speakers toe-in?
  • speakers aimed at the main listening position
  • crossing in front of the MLP
  • crossing behind the MLP
  • aimed straight
  • ...
 
Thanks. When I get some peace and quiet tonight I'll do a proper experiment with that.

I have tinkered with toe-in in the past but not thought about it recently.
 
I have tinkered with toe-in in the past but not thought about it recently.

Also, try toe-ing them out (i.e. fire straight ahead) as that sometimes opens up the sound.

Your normal listening distances and the distance between the speakers will be to the detriment of an open sound. Ideally, increase all those distances, though I appreciate that may not be possible. Seems to me the trial repositioning you carried out worked well so that shows that the current speakers are capable of producing the sound you're after.

IMO, stick with your current system and experiment a bit more with repositioning. You'll learn a lot and only then should you consider more expenditure.

I've no idea if a better speaker would give a more open sound when positioned 1.3m apart at the front edge of the sideboard than your current speakers positioned 1.8m apart. Generally, a good small budget speaker has a better chance of sounding spacious and open than a good larger budget speaker (there will likely be some exceptions).

You're correct in thinking that positioning a small speaker close to the rear wall is usually done in an attempt to produce a bassier sound at the listening position but it often has a detrimental effect on spaciouness. Space is the key to an open sound (assuming the system is up to it).
 
Thanks dogfonos. I had a good night listening and experimenting last night, I think with current equipment and room arrangement I’ve found pretty much the ideal set up. They are firing almost straight ahead. Anyway I’ll sit back and enjoy for now!
 

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