Floorstanding Speaker Height Adjustments

 

Silver Member
Username: Kbear

Canada

Post Number: 732
Registered: Dec-06
I'm wondering what all you folks do to get the proper height for your floorstanding speakers. Back when I bought my MA RS5, I didn't even think about this until I set them up and sat down to listen. Dammit! The tweeter is way below ear level, even on my shortest chair (I actually went out and bought a new chair). Putting them on a stack of books confirmed much better sound when they were up higher. I then proceeded to make my own wood platforms. Suffice it to say I'm not handy at all and the platforms, while very solid and heavy, had poor fit and finish.

But as far as I can tell that's about all one can do. Either buy or make your own platforms. Most tower speakers, unless you get ones with multiple woofers, tend to have the tweeter at somewhere around 35" off the floor. For my seating position I need it about 42" off the floor.

One design I quite like is the Neat Motive 1 and 2, which is a tower speaker that is tilted back so that the drivers are aiming at the listener. Seems so logical.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 15106
Registered: May-04
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Rather than hiking your speakers off the floor with Rube Goldberg braces and cantilevers, why not just tilt your speakers backward as you've noticed the NM speakers have done? This should be your first objective as it will provide a more stable platform for your speakers and, to some extent, also change the pattern of first reflections coming from the high frequency driver. By tilting you do not require that 7" of height you mentioned which is not going to; first, look very good and second, be very stable with kids in the house.


Then ask yourself why the speaker design places the tweeter well below ear level for even a normal chair. It's not like MA doesn't know how to position a tweeter for proper height.



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Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 4143
Registered: Feb-07
That's too bad the speaker height isn't working for you Dan. My RS6 are about 35" high and I find that they're the perfect height for my listening room, but I have a comfy, plush couch that I sink down into.

I've seen people do what Jan suggested with tilting the speakers back.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 13008
Registered: Feb-05
Some speaker designers have a recommended angle. My DeVores come with a guide to tell you what John believes is ideal relative to his design. To that end he provides threaded spikes with shims. He also states that whatever sounds best to you is where the speakers should go.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kbear

Canada

Post Number: 733
Registered: Dec-06
I don't have the RS5 anymore, but I know I tried tilting the speakers back by loosening the front spikes. Unfortunately it wasn't enough. I'm not sure how else to tilt it back unless I put something underneath the front of the speaker, but this doesn't do much for stability. The speaker would be very easy to tip backwards (I tried this too).

I read on another forum that some folks build a wood box and fill it with sand, using that as a very stable and inert platform on which to place each speaker.

I'm not sure why MA places the tweeter that way, Jan. I suspect that perhaps they figure it'll often be used as a home theater speaker, and so people might typically sit further away on their sofa (sofas are often low to the ground). In my room though, I am typically six feet away from the speakers and of course it's audio only. Many speakers have the tweeter this high, so it could also be that this is just the kind of design that sells. Form over function.
 

Gold Member
Username: Hawkbilly

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 1007
Registered: Jul-07
Some folks do this (tilting up) with standmounts, not just smallish floorstanders. Sometimes on a small (but thick) platform, sometimes with a couple of cones on the front edge.....sometimes both. Mapleshade makes a stand specifically for this purpose.....
http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/departments.asp?dept=61

.....theirs is pricey (looks great though) but you could make something similar for far less.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 15108
Registered: May-04
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The best (inexpensive) way to build a stand up seven inches would be head to the home improvement store and ask them to cut a piece of 3/4" MDF to the size you have determined will provide the most stability. A few inches to either side of the actual speaker dimensions would probably be a good idea. I would pick up a roll of rubber shelf/drawer liner, the thinnest you can find, cut the liner to the size of the MDF and place the liner between each layer of MDF. Lacking thin rubber shelf liner you could also use some foam core poster board found at any art supply shop as a sub between the MDF layers. Build to the minimal height required to then tilt your speakers back, aiming them at your listening position. If you want to spring for the cost of solid wood cutting boards made from rock maple, this might provide a slight sonic upgrade - or it might not.

I can't speak to MA's reasoning but a designer might choose a particular height for tweeter placement due to the off angle dispersion characteristics of the driver chosen. Placing the driver at ear level might not provide the best overall sound quality. But, they're your speakers so you get to set them up as you see fit.


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Silver Member
Username: Kbear

Canada

Post Number: 737
Registered: Dec-06
Thanks Jan. That's very useful info about building a platform.

All that I've read suggests that tweeters should usually be placed at ear level, primarily because high frequencies tend to move straight ahead and do not disperse throughout the room as lower frequencies do. In my personal experience I've found that this placement usually sounds best.
 

Gold Member
Username: Hawkbilly

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 1009
Registered: Jul-07
Right, but there is a distinction between tweeter height and direction. When a speaker is sitting level, in order to direct it near your ears, it needs to be the same level as your ears. But if the speaker is only a few inches off the floor, it can still be directed at your ears. In fact, because of the directionality of high frequencies, one could argue that having the speaker below you and tilted up removes some of the 1st reflection points that so often cause issues. When tilted up the sound bouncing off the side wall will then deflect off the ceiling, then backwall, then floor....instead of one-hopping off the sidewalls and to your ears. There would still be a first reflective bounce off of the ceiling however, but both sidewalls are covered.

My point is, "ear level" can be accomplished more than one way. I haven't tried the Mapleshade approach yet but I'm going to. It makes some sense to me.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kbear

Canada

Post Number: 738
Registered: Dec-06
Tilting sounds good, but how do you accomplish it with a floorstander? If you put something large enough under the front of the speaker to get enough of a tilt then the speaker becomes too easy to knock over.

Mapleshade's stands that are designed to tilt speakers seem to be for bookshelf designs only. They make some platforms for floorstanders but these only serve to raise the speaker a few inches off the floor. Unless I'm missing a product of theirs...
 

Gold Member
Username: Hawkbilly

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 1011
Registered: Jul-07
Floorstanders may benefit from some minor adjustment, but you're right, you couldn't tilt them at a significant angle.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kbear

Canada

Post Number: 739
Registered: Dec-06
Yeah, it's too bad that I can't seriously consider many floorstanders unless I'm also willing to invest in a platform. While I had the RS5 I was very close to buying a Mapleshade platform that is actually designed for amps but would have done the job. I'm not sure how that would have impacted the sound, so maybe it's a good thing I didn't do it. It would have been something like this...

http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/images/21x19-CP-DEPT.jpg
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 15122
Registered: May-04
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"Tilting sounds good, but how do you accomplish it with a floorstander? If you put something large enough under the front of the speaker to get enough of a tilt then the speaker becomes too easy to knock over."


That sounds a bit like, "I have these spikes and these spikes are all I have." Admittedly, no speakers I am aware of are intentionally designed for a not-at-all typical 42" ear level. So, hiking the tweeters upward 7" is quite a dramatic request to make of the speakers when there are other solutions.

Im not too interested in going through all your options - the best of which would be to move a different chair into the listening position - but there are other options. If your speakers provide for spikes to be used, then you have several options. Buying longer spikes would be one. If you can't find longer spikes, then the thread pattern for the existing spikes is a common pattern and can bolts can be substituted for spikes. If the speakers become so unstable by tilting, you can secure them to the base which can be weighted. Really, Dan, moving the chair is the easiest and most effective solution but hardly the only solution available.



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Silver Member
Username: Kbear

Canada

Post Number: 740
Registered: Dec-06
I have my system in my computer room, so I tend to listen on my computer chair. It's about 42" at it's lowest height setting. 42" up is where my ears are at relative to the floor. I checked out the official measurements for the RS5 from MA, and it puts the height of the speaker at 34". The tweeter is let's say 1" down, necessitating a boost of 9".

I actually did buy another chair Jan, the shortest one I could find at my local furniture wearhouse. The ear position on that chair is 40", still 7" too short. However, with 4" high platforms from Mapleshade it would have worked (and it did work with my roughly made platforms) though it wouldn't have been right at ear level (still 3" short). There may be chairs lower than this one but I honestly don't think they are in the majority or even close. The cushion that you'd sit on is 15" off the ground - how many chairs have a cushion 11" up? 11" is awfully low.

Right now my speaker stands are at 27", this puts the tweeter at 38.5" up, actually a few inches short of ear level. I suppose I could boost the speaker up a few inches but the highs sound good to me. I don't think 27" stands are out of the ordinary and my Quad speakers are a pretty conventional design as far as tweeter placement goes. The reason I bought the stands I did is that they are height adjustable. About 37-38" seems to be the right height for me, but I would encourage people at this forum to measure how far their ears are from the floor. I'd be shocked if it was even a few inches below 40. And I'm not a tall guy, only 5'8".

I'll take your suggestion about using longer bolts under advisement. How to weight the base I'm not sure though - are you referring to weighting the plinth that comes with the speakers, or mass loading the speaker itself, or making a new base upon which to set the speaker? I'm not sure how to do the first, but the other two make sense to me. I apologize if I'm being a pain in the butt, it's not intentional.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 15123
Registered: May-04
.

At this point I don't have a specific suggestion, just that you have a few options you can explore. You are capable of looking at the situation - which none of us are - and making a decent decision I'm sure. The more ideas you explore, the more likely one will be the right solution. Maybe have a cabinet shop construct a few outriggers which will also raise the cabinets and can be bolted to your speakers in place of the spikes. Just take that idea to a cabinet shop and they will come up with the particulars. You just need to think, Dan.


Of course, what you have focussed on is the position of the tweeter at the detriment to the woofer. Now that you're at 9" off the floor you've altered the space the woofer operates into.


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Silver Member
Username: Kbear

Canada

Post Number: 743
Registered: Dec-06
Okay, thanks Jan. As I said, I'm not the most handy person and so coming up with ideas in an area like this really isn't a strength of mine. But you've at least given me some direction if I do decide to get floorstanders again, to not only consider raising the level of the speaker relative to the floor but to try some other things as well.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 15289
Registered: Dec-04
Dan, you realize that you have to sit at the kid's table now....right?

If the speakers are not on adustable spike or feet, check the bottome for threads at the corners.
If the speakers are flat, then a support of 2 layers of plywood will do to start.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kbear

Canada

Post Number: 747
Registered: Dec-06
I can make it onto all the rides at Wonderland.

The RS5 had adjustable feet, but as mentioned no where near enough to get significant tilt. I would have had to buy different spikes or bolts, as Jan suggested to put in the threads...but then also find a way to ensure the speaker was stable. It's a lot easier to tilt a bookshelf than a tower. I shall see what happens, if I elect to get a floorstanding speaker I will at least be aware of this possible issue.
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