New ELX Titan towers - best positioning?

[newbo101]

Does anyone have recommendations or articles/publications I can read on strategies for positioning these towers? I have the towers about 9’ from MLP right now and am focused on figuring out how far apart they should be, toe-in angle or not, distance from back wall if it matters.. anything. I have some degrees of freedom in positioning except that the towers flank a TV and center console, but still options. I’ll continue tinkering on my own. Thanks for any tips!

[curtis]

One thing to make sure of is the face(front baffle) of the speakers should be in front of the TV and console.

Everything matters, and a lot what matters is subjective. I would give the Towers a couple of feet from the front wall, toe-in/out to taste.

[racrawford65]

My Towers are about 9' from my MLP, 7' apart, 4' from back wall, and slightly toed in. If I could, I'd have placed them around 9' apart (equilateral triangle) but can't in my room.

[James]

After a lot of different placements/experimentation we have our Towers (old, NrT tweeter version) 19" from the back of the speaker to the back wall, and facing straight ahead.

They're about 4' apart, and we sit about 12' from them.

They work very well for us in that configuration, both for music and tv/movies, in a 2.0 set-up.

[SunByrne]

Does anyone have recommendations or articles/publications I can read on strategies for positioning these towers? I have the towers about 9’ from MLP right now and am focused on figuring out how far apart they should be, toe-in angle or not, distance from back wall if it matters.. anything. I have some degrees of freedom in positioning except that the towers flank a TV and center console, but still options. I’ll continue tinkering on my own. Thanks for any tips!

If they're about 9' from the main listening position, they should be as close as you can realistically get them to being 9' apart. Think equilateral triangle. In real rooms perfect such triangles often aren't practical but get as close as you can.

You shouldn't really need to toe-in the ELXs because their horizontal dispersion is excellent, but depending on your room you might find you like them better with just a tiny little bit of it. This is especially true if the speakers are further apart from each other than from the MLP.

[natetg57]

If they're about 9' from the main listening position, they should be as close as you can realistically get them to being 9' apart. Think equilateral triangle. In real rooms perfect such triangles often aren't practical but get as close as you can.

You shouldn't really need to toe-in the ELXs because their horizontal dispersion is excellent, but depending on your room you might find you like them better with just a tiny little bit of it. This is especially true if the speakers are further apart from each other than from the MLP.

I agree on not having toe-in if sitting directly in the center of the speakers. It seems that the soundstage would be wider and more spacious. What about when the listening area is a sofa and I'm usually sitting either a little to the left or right of center? It seems that a little toe in would help the further away speaker to sound a little louder. With no toe-in if I'm sitting off center, it seems that I'm listening mostly to the speaker that's facing directly towards me. Whatcha think?

[newbo101]

I agree on not having toe-in if sitting directly in the center of the speakers. It seems that the soundstage would be wider and more spacious. What about when the listening area is a sofa and I'm usually sitting either a little to the left or right of center? It seems that a little toe in would help the further away speaker to sound a little louder. With no toe-in if I'm sitting off center, it seems that I'm listening mostly to the speaker that's facing directly towards me. Whatcha think?

This is exactly the situation I’m trying to solve for. A fairly wide 2 cushion couch in front of the speakers with a TV and console in the middle. I noticed when sitting on the left side that I mainly hear the left speaker or at least that’s my perception. So wondering how best to make it sound fairly uniform across. I can play with horizontal alignment of all the pieces a little bit, couch, speakers, tv/console.

[curtis]

This is exactly the situation I’m trying to solve for. A fairly wide 2 cushion couch in front of the speakers with a TV and console in the middle. I noticed when sitting on the left side that I mainly hear the left speaker or at least that’s my perception. So wondering how best to make it sound fairly uniform across. I can play with horizontal alignment of all the pieces a little bit, couch, speakers, tv/console.
That's just plain physics. If you sit closer to one speaker, you are going to hear more from that speaker.

There is going to be one spot that is the primary position, any other spot will be compromised.

[natetg57]

This is exactly the situation I’m trying to solve for. A fairly wide 2 cushion couch in front of the speakers with a TV and console in the middle. I noticed when sitting on the left side that I mainly hear the left speaker or at least that’s my perception. So wondering how best to make it sound fairly uniform across. I can play with horizontal alignment of all the pieces a little bit, couch, speakers, tv/console.

I'd suggest at least trying some toe-in to see if it makes the sound a little more even across all of your primary listening positions.

[James]

This is exactly the situation I’m trying to solve for. A fairly wide 2 cushion couch in front of the speakers with a TV and console in the middle. I noticed when sitting on the left side that I mainly hear the left speaker or at least that’s my perception. So wondering how best to make it sound fairly uniform across. I can play with horizontal alignment of all the pieces a little bit, couch, speakers, tv/console.
My first thought would be to move the speakers closer together if you can - that way you'll be closer to the opposite speaker.

And/or experiment with toe-in - you might try pointing the right speaker at the left seat and vice-versa. That might help, and experimenting is fun :-)

[curtis]

My first thought would be to move the speakers closer together if you can - that way you'll be closer to the opposite speaker.
Then you lose imaging across the soundstage. It is all a compromise.

IMO, one of Ascend's greatest strengths is imaging.

[James]

Then you lose imaging across the soundstage. It is all a compromise.

IMO, one of Ascend's greatest strengths is imaging.
With the speakers 4 feet apart, we have fantastic imaging.

I strongly recommend Stereophile Editor's Choice cd. It has a number of very helpful tracks, both test tracks and music. And John Atkinson describes how he recorded all of the music tracks, with descriptions of how they should sound.

Stereophile Editor's Choice - Test CD - Music Direct (https://www.musicdirect.com/music/optical-disc/stereophile-editors-choice-test-cd/)

The best way to use the music tracks would be to listen to them without knowing how they're supposed to sound, and then read the descriptions, imho.

[James]

In case anyone's interested, there are a few things we did that noticeably improved the imaging of our system.

First we used REW and an equalizer to help remove room effects.
Then we took the bases off of the speakers and installed furniture glides directly to the speakers.
And lastly we mounted the tv on the wall, moving it behind the backs of the speakers.

With the last change, we also changed some cables, but it's hard/impossible to know how much that contributed to the improvements. My guess is that moving the tv was a bigger improvement.

[curtis]

With the speakers 4 feet apart, we have fantastic imaging.

I strongly recommend Stereophile Editor's Choice cd. It has a number of very helpful tracks, both test tracks and music. And John Atkinson describes how he recorded all of the music tracks, with descriptions of how they should sound.

Stereophile Editor's Choice - Test CD - Music Direct (https://www.musicdirect.com/music/optical-disc/stereophile-editors-choice-test-cd/)

The best way to use the music tracks would be to listen to them without knowing how they're supposed to sound, and then read the descriptions, imho.

Understood, but very narrow separation.

Like I said, we all have to make compromises for our individual situations.

[davef]

This is exactly the situation I’m trying to solve for. A fairly wide 2 cushion couch in front of the speakers with a TV and console in the middle. I noticed when sitting on the left side that I mainly hear the left speaker or at least that’s my perception. So wondering how best to make it sound fairly uniform across. I can play with horizontal alignment of all the pieces a little bit, couch, speakers, tv/console.

Please post a pic of the front of your room showing the 2 speakers and the side walls. That stated, Curtis is correct - if you are sitting closer to one of the speakers, you will hear the output from that speaker before the opposite side speaker. That is how our brain interprets what we hear and is by design so we can detect where sound comes from (directionality)

If one speaker is closer to a side-wall, this will be exaggerated because you not only hear the direct sound from the speaker, but also the reflections from your room. So, with the speaker on the left, try to move it further away from the side wall next to it, while also moving the right speaker closer to the side wall directly next to it.

Again, please post a pic as that is most helpful.

Thanks!