Getting cornered

Most of us live in relatively small places. a few more have more generous spaces, but the majority live in apartments and space is a premium.

So here are some personal views on this which are meant for discussion and not directed at any particular setup.

No matter how small our apartments, we still like large speakers and find ways to place them in the smallest of spaces. Thats where the trouble begins.

I had helped a member not long ago, who had complained of boomy bass, and he was using a pair of floor-standers which were known for a prominent bass in his 4 room HDB apartment. And no matter what he did, it was still boomy.

The issue was simple, there was no space for his speakers and unless he converted his living room to a serious soundroom, possibly with the aid of experts like econav or joamonte, it was going to be bad. And those room treatment don't spell WAF.

Its one of the reasons why a simple pair of PC speakers can actually sound better than a much more expensive speaker.
I used a JVC sake speaker mini-compo in the same room and the member nearly fell off his chair. Sure there wasn't much bass, but the pinpoint sound from the tiny speakers drove him mad with envy.

So if you have one of these floor-standers, you may need a metre to the sides and the back, and 2-2.5 metres between them, which means that unless you have a room which is at least 4-5 m wide, there are going to be problems.

When members show their setups and its a beautiful living room with clean lines, top marks on aesthetics, But the speakers pushed all the way to the corners of the room, esp large floor-standers, then you know the speakers are usually not in the optimum position.
And you can expect the usual complaints of bass issues if the owner has a discerning ear.

So how did I resolve the member's bass issue?
Well first he got rid of the speakers, then bought a new setup based on speakers which were more room friendly. He was not willing to compromise the decor and so the priority was set.

The same will go with all members who will need to decide what matters most. Many of the most awesome setups I have heard are in dedicated sound rooms, which have been well treated for acoustics. They are not the same living rooms which appear in "Home Decor" magazines or the like. I like the sound in my room, but it looks like a bomb went off it in it.

So the choice will need to be met somehow and the sonic consequences to be faced.

Cheers.