First reflection points and toe-in

stevekale

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Aug 8, 2012
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If one has "toed-in" speakers does the first reflection point shift towards the listening position? My presumption is that it does. Also, after identifying with the aid of a mirror the start and the end of the first reflection zone (when accommodating a seating area with lateral movement, i.e. left or right of the middle, the start defined by when one can begin to see the opposite speaker in the mirror and the finish when one can see the closer speaker in the mirror) is there any benefit, if one has a panel wider than this zone, of placing the panel such that the excess is biased towards the seating position (obviously ensuring that the reflection zone is covered)?
 

dallasjustice

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Apr 12, 2011
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This is one of those it's a personal preference things. The extent to which you decide to use absorption at the points of first reflection should also depend on how close your speaker is to the sidewalls (which are the walls I assume you are talking about since there are many points of first reflection). If your speakers are within say 4 foot of the sidewall and it is a full range speaker and the sidewall is standard home sheetrock construction, you will likely have an SBIR from the sidewall. Whether you want to treat the SBIR or just leave it be is up to you and varies from room to room. You could also have some ringing, which is much easier to treat.

If your question doesn't have anything to do with low frequencies, then I would say you may want to hear your system with no treatment at the sidewall point of first reflection. There's some evidence from Toole that listeners prefer nothing there. Of course, there are much more sophisticated approaches than throwing up some fiberglass panels.

When it comes to really low frequencies and SBIR and ringing, the amount of toe-in isn't going to change the equation very much. In my room, I use modified RPG BAD Arc panels in this position. The reason is primarily related to mitigating an SBIR.

You need a microphone to figure this out.
 
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stevekale

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Aug 8, 2012
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Hi. Take a look here http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?10307-RPG-Modex-Plates-(35Hz)-placement-question/page8

Yes I am talking about the side walls. Generally I have a lot of bass to soak up. The walls are rather solid Victorian brick and plaster. I've already got two Modex Plates installed as shown in the graphic in that thread. I went for a large 1800mm x 1200mm x 100mm BAD panel for the left side. The right side is compromised by the window. A 600mm x 1200mm x 100mm BAD Panel slots almost perfectly in the gap below the window. I debated BAD Arc Panel for the left but in the end simply got the regular 100mm one as I wanted to push the absorption as far down the frequency curve as possible. Placing them in the room (just leaning against the wall for now) had a very positive audible effect although I have not measured it yet.

My question really relates to just exactly where to position the panel. I don't have a choice for the one on the right side but I do with the left.
 

dallasjustice

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Apr 12, 2011
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If you are asking where you should place the BAD panel for maximum bass absorption on sidewall. This would be pretty easy to measure. Ive also done this with BAD panels. Ive got a total of 4 2'x4' BAD panels on each sidewall for SBIR. 2 of them are 4" offset from the wall and 2 are modified with extra 3" fiberglass panel added to back, which includes the BAD arc. I figured out the best location by sending sweeps to each channel and moving the panels to see where they work best. Bass is fairly nondirectional so its best to just measure and move until you find the best spot; its tedious. :)
 
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DonH50

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Jun 22, 2010
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Depends somewhat on the speaker's horizontal dispersion (how the sound spreads from the speaker). At LF speakers are omni (at least the ones that fit in most rooms) and become more directional as frequency goes up.
 

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