In owner's manuals, they tell you that you when you place the monitors in corners or close to/flush into a wall or on a meter bridge, you must make adjustments to the EQ settings at the back of the monitor to compensate for it. But what these manuals don't define is HOW close you must get to a corner or a wall to be considered close. 3 feet? 10 inches? How do we know when we have nudged a monitor into a corner or too close to a wall?
Then there's the whole thing about placing them on meter bridges. They say that because the surface of the console is reflective, so it's better to place monitors on stands. But how does placing them on stands change anything? If you are sitting down working on the music, there must be some piece of equipment you're working with, and it's most likely placed on some kind of a table. So, even with the monitors on stands, you'd still have a "reflective" table/equipment in front of you, right? Or maybe the idea is that when you use stands, you're supposed to move the monitors back far enough so the first point of reflection won't even hit the reflective surface at all?
And one last thing. Let's say you are forced to temporarily place your monitors so that one is considered in the corner, while the other is merely close to a wall. I would assume you'd need to set EQ of the monitors individually instead of trying to match them?
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Lunatique wrote: And one last thing. Let's say you are forced to
Lunatique wrote: And one last thing. Let's say you are forced to temporarily place your monitors so that one is considered in the corner, while the other is merely close to a wall. I would assume you'd need to set EQ of the monitors individually instead of trying to match them?
That's why symmetry is so important. So you don't have to do crazy things like that to get your stereo image to be decent. It will be more than just a difference you can fix with the EQ. The echo will cause phase/frequency and time differences in the signals. Sure you can get a decent sound with an EQ, but you are building your studio ground up, don't short change yourself.
Yeah, my new studio (under construction) shouldn't have any symm
Yeah, my new studio (under construction) shouldn't have any symmetry problems, but the temporary apartment I'm staying at currently does, and I have to be here for another couple of months until the new studio is done.
So how close your monitors must be to the wall/corner to be considered "too close" depends on the size of your room? Ok, let's for example say an average room of 16x10x9 feet, with the listening position firing down the long end of the room.
(BTW I'm American. Joke understood. :) )
LOL! I guess I've been eating too much Chinese food again? You
LOL! I guess I've been eating too much Chinese food again?
You should really drop Rod a line. He's the real authority on construction acoustics. Things will also be different depending on whether your console is slanted by a few degrees or is horizontally flat, parallel to the floor. I'm really surprised no one has designed a console that has a soft furry surface like my cat. It would make mixing so much more relaxing. I've never heard anybody complain about a kitty "motorboating"?
And then there is the issue of whether monitors should be ear height aimed straight at you? Or higher, tilted slightly down toward you? That's the way I like it. Others don't. A friend of mine at his studio (with his gold records on his wall), has always preferred his monitors, ear height firing directly at you, told me I shouldn't have my monitors that way, higher tilted down. I told him I thought it sounded better, higher tilted down. He vehemently disagreed with me. Then he decided to completely renovate his control room, installing all new equipment. He decided on the British "Quested" monitors only to find that they recommend it the way I like it. Higher than your head tilted down toward you. So stick that in your monitor decisions and smoke it. That's the way his monitors are now, MY WAY. NO HIGHWAY.
I know this recommendation will open a flurry of discussion. There is no right way. Only your way. Of course, I work both ways. But prefer my way, from my broadcast days.
Hire tilted down. Fired tilted up.
Ms. Remy Ann David
Corners, shelves basically end up exaggerating the low frequency
Corners, shelves basically end up exaggerating the low frequency response. That can be both good & bad. It can work for you or against you.
Then there is the other issue. Bounces off the reflective surface of your console will cause other time delay anomalies causing a clouded sound, poor imaging, etc.. Sure, everything that's reflected is going to cause issues. There's no way around that except having speakers on stands, away from the wall & Corners and NO CONSOLE. So that's not practical. How far from the wall? You're in China, so a couple of kilometers would be good? After all you can see it from space! (That stupid American humor for you) In the room, it will vary depending on dimensions. That's what acoustical engineers, like Rod are for. I'm not one of them. And sister, does he know that!
I'm barking at the exhaust pipe on my console. Puppies for dessert.
Ms. Remy Ann David