Hi
I bought a pair of KRK VXT6 monitors and Gravity SP3202 stands.
What angle do you recommend for the speakers to be positioned towards my ears?
I mean, some people set their speakers so that they face the back wall of the studio, others set the speakers at an angle so the speakers face the listener's ears...
Is it only a taste thing or are there any recommendations?

The equilateral triangle between me and the speakers has its sides lengths of 130cm. I have a small 3m X 3,5m room (height 2,6m).


Thanks for your help!

 

Some useful info can be found here
http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/room-setup-speaker-placement/

 

The problem I have is that the speakers are too close to my ears to be heard properly since my desk is very close to the wall. As soon as I roll my chair back it sounds better. For that reason I think if your speakers are close to your head flat should be good but if they are3 positioned a little wider, angled in towards you would be better.

 

Create an equilateral triangle with your head as the third point, the tweeters at ear level. That is the sweet spot. NEVER have I seen anyone anywhere at any time point their speakers toward the wall to mix a song.

 

I've been working on this a lot recently for a number of reasons........and I agree with SLS above, but I'd add imo that the apex of the equilateral triangle should meet just behind your head.........to check you've got the right position listen to something that has good mono compatibility like anything from Dark Side for example and when you switch to mono it will sound exactly like you've switched off your monitors and switched on one right in the middle, its like nothing you've heard before..........it should sound like a cohesive pocket of sound that feels like you could almost touch it, right in front of your face............if you don't have this try pointing the tweeters at a point maybe 6-12 " behind your head, depending on room size.

 

Last edited: Dec 28, 2017

Yup. There's a handful of problems just in that one sentence. I have some of the same issues. The speakers being close to the wall can cause excess boominess in the room, yet the speakers being too close to your ears could mean that you are inside the wavelength of the bass frequencies and can't properly hear the bass in your track.

So yeah, monitor placement is a tricky bitch

 

I'm still on learning curve. I've learnt some about this from Bobby Owsinski video series, maybe you find some useful information from his video here (I hope, just sharing) :

 

I believe I heard Bob Owsinski mention 'right behind the head' also where your ears are on the triangle line.

When using a stand like the Gravity mentioned, is isolation still a problem?

 

Huh.. i didnt realize it was so long. Maybe i was partially wrong, but i am fairly certain that sitting too close to the monitors creates a situation where the bass frequencies cannot develop in time to reach your ears

 

Lol... bastard

 

I guess that would depend on what material the stands are on, as in a wooden floor will sound a lot different than a carpeted floor with thick underlay, personally I prefer to have monitor decoupled from the floor/desk whatev with monitor isolation foam.

 

There are lot of things to take into acount related to monitor positioning. It depends most of the modes of your room respect to bass response. You should try diferent positions of both, monitor and listener, always maintaining (if possible) symmetry and taking into account the 38% rule. You can take advantage of software or tones to make a map of the room, avoiding the nulls and peaks. Also listen to music you know in depth and calibrate using a combination of both methods.

 

Same, which works out to be 60* apart. This is also the reccomended layout for L&R of ITU 5.1/7.1

 

I second the decoupling foam. There's been some argument about it a few months back, and the conclusion was that using decoupling foam will depend on personal use. In my experience, it's been very useful. The bass tightens, meaning that there's less apparent bass, but the notes are clearer. It's the best money spent lately. That and my Disto-S free update from SKnote. That review comes later.

 

Here's something that might work better and cheaper than foam which can be also used for heavy guitar cab isolation among other uses.
I got the idea from all the youtube electronic drum isolation solutions.

Tennis balls with a billiard ball carrier. Now I only use 4 balls per side instead of the pictured 6.

 

Yep, I've read your solution carefully and if you vouch for it, I take your word at face value, buddy. I tried rubber and ceramic tiles before buying the foam. In my experience, the DIY route offered a nice solution, but the purpose bought foam knocked it off its feet. BTW, I look at your picture and I can't help wondering if your monitors are prone to slipping. If not, how did you work it out?

 

This is my foam solution:

 

Pulled out for the video. Plus I never mix loud. I can't see solid rubber and ceramic tiles working at all either.
The $600 magnet system is this guys favorite. He even mentions 'squash balls'
Foam is the bare minimum since it just compresses without much resistance.

You could suspend a 100lb 4 x 12 cab with 4 tennis balls. That $45 piece of foam probably isn't rated for that?

@Triple Just trying to save you money if you are looking to isolate your monitors.
Two trays on ebay are $10. Tennis balls are about $10 for 9 balls.

good luck

 

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2017