Operation Manual

17
The listening room
Every room has its own distinctive acoustics, which
infl uence the way we experience the sound from
a speaker. In actual fact, it's a matter of how the
room accommodates the sound and then damps
it. You can infl uence the acoustics of your listening
room in various ways.
Some of the sound you hear comes not from the
actual speakers but from refl ections from fl oor,
ceiling and walls. These refl ections are damped by
objects such as furniture, plants and carpets. If the
sound is bright, soft items such as curtains and
carpets can help. If the room has large window
panes, drawing the curtains will prevent refl ec-
tions from the glass surfaces.
Both the amount and quality of the deep bass
depend on the size and shape of the room, and
the position of the speakers. If positioned near a
side or back wall, this will accentuate the bass. A
corner location will accentuate it even more, but
will also increase the refl ections. The decision is
yours, so experiment with different positions to
fi nd which provides the ideal sound for you.
As a basic rule, try to avoid large, hard and refl ec-
tive areas in the immediate vicinity of your loud-
speakers. In the same way that a mirror refl ects
light, they will refl ect sound from the speakers at
almost full strength but with a slight delay due to
the relatively low speed of sound. This will disturb
the precision and spacial effect of sound reprodu-
ction. Try hanging a soft textile surface behind the
speaker, place a rug in front of it, or place a large
plant to the side and experience the surprisingly
large effect doing so will have on the quality and
precision of the sound.
Once you are happy with the positioning of your
speakers, it is important to ensure that they are
completely stable. For fl oor models it is essential
that you use the accompanying spikes.