Speakers in an attic

I need help to place my speakers in an attic. the measurements are 5x3.2 meters. The highest area of the room measures 2.5 meters. They are currently located in the part of the room with the lowest ceiling. The listening point is forming an equilateral triangle and behind, there are about 1.5 meters. Is it correct or is there a tip or position to take into account?

 

Hi Manuel
There are various factors. First off, I would suggest that under the highest ceiling point might be better, to minimise reverberation off the ceiling and walls. What other furnishings do you have in the listening area? Lots of hard surfaces are bad news. But also - what make/model/size are your speakers? Floorstanding? Bookshelf? Standmounted? Is it easy to move them around and try different locations? If so, I would check any guidance which came with the speakers (or look online) - for any decent speakers the manufacturers usually suggest at least a distance between speakers and the wall behind them. 1.5 meters sounds OK. Try changing the toe-in of the speakers - it can make a difference. Try straight ahead, then gradually increase the toe-in. Also I would suggest you listen at some length to the different locations - a few days at least, and using the same source material/music.
Finally for now - a lot depends on how critically you want to listen. But you are right to consider the listening area as one of the most important components in your equipment!
Let us know how you get on.
Jeff

 

Maybe is easier with a picture....
The speakers are MA BX2 and I will shop a pair of MA Silver 200 soon.

 

Have a look at https://www.whathifi.com/advice/how-to-choose-right-speakers-part-three-set - for advice on setting up. My only comment is that your speakers are pointing straight ahead. Try angling them inwards gradually and listening to the imaging.

If you are moving to MA floorstanders (Silver 200) you need to be even more careful, because the bass should be more extended. But if you get the BX2s in the right location you should find the 200s work well there as well - just be sure there is enough space behind them.

Jeff

 

Ok. Thanks a lot. A will try to move the speakers

 

Don't forget to enjoy the music!

 

You should only have the one pair of speakers in the room or the others will act as ABR's

 

Ok thanks! My other question is about the speakers: floorstanding or standmounted? I have some models in mind:
- MA Silver 200
- Tannoy XT6f
- Q-acoustics Concept 40
Or

- Focal Aria 906

 

Hi Stefano and thanks for the "Like"! Your list of possible speakers maybe comes from What Hifi magazine reviews of speakers costing around £1000 - yes? They all seem to be well reviewed and it all comes down to a combination of personal preference as to how the speakers present the music (some are more forward than others; some are better than others for more intimate music such as chamber, small group jazz, female vocalists), what kind of music you like listening to, the rest of the system, and especially the room where they will be used.

I found this review of your current speakers the MA BX2 and found it interesting.

https://www.avforums.com/threads/my-review-monitor-audio-bx2.1437525/

See what you think! You are considering quite a big jump from these £200+ speakers to the ones on your wish-list. For that kind of jump I would expect the "new" speakers to offer much more by way of detail and truthfulness. Lesser speakers tend to make recordings of music of similar genres sound much the same. Better ones will help you distinguish immediately between (for example) different types of acoustic guitar or the age/vintage of a well known recording. Examples: Miles Davis's Kind of Blue should have that kind of 1950s New York small studio acoustic, and if you have the CD you should be able to hear very easily the difference between the two versions of Flamenco Sketches, with the two saxophones clearly distinguishable; Brubeck's Take Five should have Paul Desmond's alto sax nicely forward, Joe Morello's drums fairly quiet at first but then becoming more powerful and with plenty of detail in his fantastic solo.

I enjoy female vocalist recordings. One really good test piece is Carol Kidd's CD Dreamsville - a superb modern recording (SACD if you can play it) - where Carol's voice and her acoustic backing are superbly captured. Carol even sounds as though she has a very slight cold! By the way, good speakers will make it easy to tell straight away if an electric or acoustic bass is being played. Another good track is much older - Peggy Lee in The folks who live on the hill (recorded 1957, now on the Best of Peggy Lee CD). The best speakers will take you into the studio, display the quiet delicacy of Peggy's voice with its little catches and wonderful breathiness, and generally make you feel that you were there with the musicians, who all knew they were involved in creating a piece of musical history.

Classical music is trickier - a big orchestra and chorus can often sound congested and overwhelming. Try the last movement of a Beethoven symphony to hear how well the speakers sort out the different instruments.

You can tell I am a believer in using recordings I know extremely well when auditioning audio equipment. Speakers take time to reveal their capabilities, and the technical figures don't usually tell you very much. You have to decide which speakers work best for you in your listening area. By the way, Roxborough said remove your other speakers from the listening area - good point. You have some computer speakers in your photos and I would at least stick them away in a cupboard if you are listening to your main system. And the furnishings look a bit lacking in "soft" quality, so you might get more "echo" or resonance than is desirable. A few more rugs or cushions or fabrics would help. And is your floor solid or suspended? If you have powerful speakers on a suspended floor they can make the floor vibrate and this will make the sound muddy and confused.

So: my advice would be not to buy any speakers till you have listened carefully to them playing recordings that you know extremely well. Tale along a few CDs of your own. Don't trust dealers to "impress" you with their own choice. A really good dealer will let you try the speakers at home and enable you to return them and exchange for others if you are unhappy. Oh and another thought - brand new speakers often sound a bit thin and cold "out of the box" - they need about 50 hours for the units to loosen up and sound a bit warmer. Be ready for that.

Finally: NEVER BUY BEFORE YOU LISTEN!

But have fun.

 

Floor standers are my preference as they have greater extension and do not require ugly stands. You can pick up MA RS-6 on china-bay at real bargain prices