How far away do you sit from your SDAs?

[nms]

OK, so I'm wondering how far away from my SDAs I should sit for ideal imaging. My speakers are approx 3.5 feet apart from the inside edges of the cabs (too close I know, but I can't do anything about it). From between the midrange drivers it's a little under 5 feet.

Should my ears be 3.5 feet away from the front plane of the speakers (which seems really close), or should I sit about 5 feet away?

Thanks.

[avguytx]

My SRS II's are about 6 feet apart from inside edge to edge (7.5' center to center or so) and I sit about 12 feet away from them.

[John in MA]

I listen to 1.2TLs from about 6' away, but that's a result of my temporary situation until I can install them in a nice big room.

[hearingimpared]

My 1.2TLs are 6' 5 1/2" apart. With my head rested, my ears are about 8 1/2" away and I'm good but I notice that when I place my ears exactly 6' 5 1/2" away from dead center plain of the speakers it is pinpoint perfect!

[Dennis Gardner]

According to your placement you should sit 4.5 feet from your SDAs to complete the perfect triangle. My eyes would cross staring at mine that close.:D

Mine are 7 feet apart and I sit around 8-9 feet back even though 7 feet sounds best.

[zingo]

Mine are 6' apart and I sit about 8' away. Sounds great.

[daboyz]

Mine are about 10 miles east of me in Doug's storage but I'll let you know when I get 'em.

[ben62670]

Well mine are kinda big, and they are 7-9 feet apart, and are feed over a 1000wpc so it is best if I am about 9-11 feet away. Walk back and forth between the center of your speakers, and you will hear weird phase issues when too close. This is most noticeable when playing sine waves.

7 feet apart here.

[zingo]

I love that you listen to sine waves. But then again, who doesn't?!?

[lightman1]

Well mine are kinda big, and they are 7-9 feet apart, and are feed over a 1000wpc so it is best if I am about 9-11 feet away. Walk back and forth between the center of your speakers, and you will hear weird phase issues when too close. This is most noticeable when playing sine waves.

7 feet apart here.

F you Ben.;)

[ben62670]

F you Ben.;)

:D
My neighbors are going to hate me:o

[ben62670]

Now you understand my amp post?

[engtaz]

"F you Ben."
LOL too funny

engtaz

[nms]

Thanks guys. I did some critical listening last night with my ears about 4'1" away from the speakers and the soundstage was noticeably improved over my previous position ~ 6' away. I'll try moving back a few more inches and see what happens.

My eyes would cross staring at mine that close.

It's a little bit intimidating to be that close with the grills off, seeing a drivers jumping, and knowing with a quick flick of the wrist I'd hear nothing but ringing for the next few hours... :) But so far I haven't done that (and in all seriousness I keep the listening levels below hearing loss levels)

[heiney9]

You need to generally sit in an equilateral triangle. I sit about 6 feet away so my SDA's are about 6 feet apart. This loose formula may not work at either extreme as well but generally with SDA's this works.

One nice benefit of later generation SDA's is they seem to be much better off axis listening. Meaning even those outside the sweet spot still get a good dose of the SDA magic even though they aren't right exactly in the sweet spot. Earlier SDA's the sound stage collapses quite a bit when you move L or R of the sweet spot.

H9

EDIT: Also my couch sits up against the back wall of my listening room and this isn't ideal. I can sit forward on my couch and get a slightly better SDA experience. Not having a reflection srface directly behind where you are seated is optimum. Still where I sit I still get about 90-95% of the magic. ;)

[Marty913]

Mine are 6' apart and I sit about 8' away. Sounds great.

My setup is probably more like zingo, my 1C's are 9 feet apart and I'm 12ft away but still experimenting. I think for critical listening or dedicated 2-channel I would buy into the "perfect triangle" thing but I also think there are usually other mitigating factors (home theater & WAF are a couple). I agree with H9 that the older SDA's are a little more problematic. The soundstage on my 2's doesn't hold up nearly as well as the 1C's if I sit too far back.

I would think Ben would have a decent soundstage in a drive-in movie theater. By the way, I've checked on Amazon and the download selection on sine waves is really pitiful.

[schwarcw]

7 1/2 ft. apart, 9 feet back.

I always wondered why you should use the edge of the speaker at the measure point, why not the middle? Either case, I don't think +/- a ft does not mean a whole lot. Room reflections (proximity to the walls), nulls, etc. will have more of an affect.

[I-SIG]

My 1.2TLs are 6' 5 1/2" apart. With my head rested, my ears are about 8 1/2" away and I'm good but I notice that when I place my ears exactly 6' 5 1/2" away from dead center plain of the speakers it is pinpoint perfect!

8 and a half inches away from speakers separated by 6 and half feet!?!

You got a big damn head, Joe! No wonder you have "golden ears!"

Wes

[tonyb]

9 FT apart.....sit roughly 12 ft back.Room is roughly 24 by 24.

[nms]

EDIT: Also my couch sits up against the back wall of my listening room and this isn't ideal. I can sit forward on my couch and get a slightly better SDA experience. Not having a reflection srface directly behind where you are seated is optimum. Still where I sit I still get about 90-95% of the magic.

Get a big piece of soft foam and glue it to your wall. This will fix your reflection problems... but then again, this wouldn't pass the WAF test :)

[BobMcG]

Also a believer in an equilateral triangle, measuring speaks center to center and room to spare behind ears:
Speaks 9ft center to center, ears 9ft from speaks centers & 4ft to wall behind ears.

[Mike Reeter]

Also a believer in an equilateral triangle, measuring speaks center to center and room to spare behind ears:
Speaks 9ft center to center, ears 9ft from speaks centers & 4ft to wall behind ears.

Looks like a perfect arrangement...I wish I had that kinda space.

[schwarcw]

Also a believer in an equilateral triangle, measuring speaks center to center and room to spare behind ears:
Speaks 9ft center to center, ears 9ft from speaks centers & 4ft to wall behind ears.

Exactly! I don't like the inside edge to edge, doesn't mean too much. The middle seems to be the best reference point.

[ND13]

Mine are 8 ft apart and I sit 8 ft from them. The closest side wall is about 4 1/2 ft. They are also 8 inches from the back wall.

[NJPOLKER]

Like ND13 I also sit eight feet away from center and my speakers are eight feet apart, center to center. They are eighteen inches from the back wall.
Drew

[dorokusai]

About 25-30 feet since they have been in boxes for almost 2 years. I'm told they sound phenomenal.

[engtaz]

10' speaks are 8' apart. SDA SRS 3.1TL's


engtaz

[Joe08867]

12 feet apart, 13 foot away +or- 1ft measured with my ears not a tape measure.

I Had them closer together but then they were to far from the outside walls and lost a little something.

[BobMcG]

I Had them closer together but then they were to far from the outside walls and lost a little something.

Too far from an outside wall? I wasn't aware that was a problem unto itself.
Probably more often than not, being too close to an outside wall is a problem due to early side reflections that are created. In small rooms it's probably one of the more common problems people face. It's also one of those problems that's not always "fixable". They only have the space they have in which to work.

I'm curious, how far from the outside walls were they before and how far now?

[sda2mike]

i read this thread and realized i sit 8.5 ft from my speakers and they're 6 ft apart...last night the wife went out long enough for me to have a session;). i spread the sda's to 8.5 ft apart and 8'' from the back wall...HOLY SHIITE!! what a difference!! took some getting used to at first actually! sda effect has gone through the roof! soundstage, ditto! placement of insruments and singers, intoxicating! there was one song, i forget which, but anyway they used 'chimes'. I could hear the actual placement - left to right- of the chimes. we're talking maybe a foot! i've never heard anything like it! after some random action on the cd's, i landed on steely dan's - the royal scam...my god!! i love these speakers! i'm hearing stuff for the 1st time here:)