Speaker/room interaction problem

[Dean De Furia]

Hi all,
My friend Bill just purchased a used set of Klipsch KG 5.5 speakers. They have dual 10" woofers per side and a midrange/tweeter horn. His room is 12' wide by 16' deep with a 12' high cathedral ceiling. The speakers are in the front corners of the room. All speaker and driver phases have been checked and are correct.
The problem is that he is getting very weak midbass from his listening position. Certainly much less than four 10" should produce. If you walk up toward the speakers the bass is much better when you are up-front and parallel with them. When you walk back into the room the bass disapears.
I suspect a room node cancellation problem. I just don't know how to advise him to solve this problem. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Gary Freed]

Hi Dean,

I had a similar problem with our listening room. (Check my room size profile). Our ceiling is also cathedral. There were two adjustments that made a big difference. First we add speakers two more identical speakers to the other corners of the room. We also pulled the speakers away from the walls about 3 feet. Last we added acoustical panels to the walls.
We notice an immediate improvement.

Hope this helps!:)

[lv70smusic]

I know of two ways to attempt to fix this problem:

Buy some computer software that will allow you to program in the room dimensions, furniture, etc that will then suggest the best placement(s) for the speakers.

OR

Trial and error.

I've never owned software that would help me place my speakers, so I don't know how good any of those programs are. I think that using a sound pressure meter and a test cd (or other device) to put out frequency specific warble tones is the way to get a good rough placement idea. Then listen to familiar music to make minor placement adjustments that improve imaging/soundstaging.

If your friend really has the speakers IN the front corners of the room, simply moving them away from the corners a bit is likely to change the bass dramatically.

[Henry Love]

Dean,go to Cardas.com/insights and then to room setup.The cathedral ceiling may be a problem because the setup is for a rectangular room.But it's worth a shot.It worked for me.Good luck.

[danstone]

Originally posted by lv70smusic
Buy some computer software that will allow you to program in the room dimensions, furniture, etc that will then suggest the best placement(s) for the speakers...I've never owned software that would help me place my speakers, so I don't know how good any of those programs are.

I've used RPG's Room Optimizer software and it worked wonders for me. My room does not have cathedral ceilings, however, and Room Optimizer is really designed for a standard rectangular room (which is what I have). I also read recently in an interview with Bob Ludwig which is posted on the RPG website that when he set up his mastering studio he actually used this same program to figure out his speaker placement.

In any case, a free demo to try it out is available for download at http://www.rpginc.com/products/roomoptimizer/index.htm

[Dean De Furia]

Hey Guys, I relayed your info to Bill and he's going to try the suggestions one at a time. Thanks!

[Gary Freed]

Hi Dean,

Tell your friend Bill if he has a computer to pop on in a join the fun!:) :righton: :goodie:

[Dean De Furia]

Gary, I've been telling him to join. He's a lot of fun. We'll see!

[Bill Hausmann]

Hey it's Bill. Just joined! Look'n forward to chatt'n with all you guys!

[Dave]

Well hello and welcome Bill, nice to see you here.:wave:

C'mon now Bill, don't be shy, post those interconnects and speaker cables in your profile.;)

[Gary]

Hey, Bill's a Dynaco man! Yummy stuff, Bill! Wish I still had mine....

Welcome to the forum!

[Gary Freed]

Hi Bill,

This is the place.

Welcome aboard!:)

[Bill Hausmann]

Thanx guys! Glad to be hear (nyuk-nyuk). As for the Dyna stuff. I refurbish it all myself. The st-70 uses the same stock audio circuit with an upgraded tube rectified power supply. The fm-3 and the pas are all stock. I use all Gold pinned Ei 12ax7's in the pas as well. Sound REAL smooth!! I had Polk speakers but wanted a little something that used horns. For size and sound the Klipsch 5.5's were the best all around. With my room setup, I may not get the bass that they are capable of but, I get the STAGE!! That's enough for me. Once again, it's great to be on board! Thanx all!!

-Bill Hausmann