Fine tune your tonal balance

Most audiophiles know that - by aiming a loudspeaker a bit off-axis (perhaps to crossfire behind you a foot or two) - they can take the 'edge' off the sound.  Especially when compared to aiming the speakers directly at the primary listening seat.  Here's a method of fine tuning your system's tonal balance with a few minutes of speaker setup, by Jim Smith.

For some loudspeakers, aiming straight ahead results in the best overall frequency balance.  Generally, when this is the case, the manufacturer or their dealer will make a point of advising you of this.

But did you know that stereo separation - often a matter of a few inches - can make a significant difference in perceived 'warmth?' Most audiophiles would suggest moving the speakers a bit further apart (to get closer to sidewalls for bass reinforcement) as a way of warming up the sound.

But 30 years of experience contradicts this idea. Getting a bit closer to the sidewalls may add more bass (and more unpleasant reflections), but the overall sound often gets thinner.
 
Actually, if your sound is a bit thin, and you'd like a bit more fullness, mid-range body, or warmth,
the best way is often to bring your speakers a few inches closer together. I've encountered situations where only an inch or so toward the center gave me the balance I was looking for.

Of course, when you do this, it changes your speakers' toe-in slightly.  Now they'll be aimed more to the center, so if you've already picked the best angle of your speakers for toe-in, you'll need to toe them out just slightly to accommodate for the move. And you may just find that you don't need the speakers toed as far off-axis as you thought when you originally settled on the toe-in
 
After doing this for hundreds (maybe thousands) of people, I was still baffled as to why this subtle adjustment in separation should do what it did.

About 18 years ago, I observed the effect when experimenting with spaced omni microphones. This was when I was engineering on-location symphonic recordings (where an inch or two difference in separation could yield a warmer or cooler sound).

From that experience I at least developed a theory about what's happening. We perceive warm or cool sound to some extent by the amount of energy present in the lower mid-range/upper bass. Well, the wavelengths of these frequencies are fairly long, say 2'-6' in length. If we bring our speakers a bit closer together, the reproduced sound 'couples' ever so slightly better, slightly shifting the sonic temperature to 'warmer.'

Whether the theory is correct or not (and I sure don't know), I can guarantee that you definitely can change the balance of your system with subtle changes in loudspeaker separation and toe-in.  And the same change often renders more presence as well.

Next is another related observation, that some may not agree with at all.  In this case, it definitely comes down to taste.  But hey, we're talking about mine...

In the past 30+ years, I've visited countless manufacturers, reviewers, knowledgeable audiophiles, musicans, etc.  I've also listened to hundred of systems in dealer showrooms and at various Hi-Fi shows.

On more than one occasion I've felt it necessary to ever-so-politely point out an alternative loudspeaker set-up.  I don't mean overall seating and loudspeaker placement (we'll get to that soon in this series).  No, I'm still staying with this month's topic of tuning or voicing with stereo separation.

Personally, I find that a lot of pretty darn smart audiophiles go for pin-point stereo imaging. You know what kind of sound I mean.  The stereo image is displayed precisely across the room, almost in tiny little pin-points of sound...

Instruments take up their own definite little space on the soundstage.  You may very well have your system set up that way right now. And that's fine, if that effect is your ultimate goal.

The thing is, I find that the very wide separation required to get that sort of imaging is usually too great, in the sense that it thins out the tonal palette of the music.  I know you've experienced or at least read this, but we NEVER get that pin-point imaging in any normal seats at a live concert.  So what's most important to render a musical event so compelling that you are touched by the music?

For me, and for a growing number of music lovers, after dynamics, it's presence and TONE.  And you can make an orchestra (or band or any vocals and/or instruments) sound bleached out, thin, and totally uninteresting by going too far in your quest for pin-point imaging.

Sometimes a very subtle adjustment back from pin-point can get you the best of both worlds.  But I'd rather have great dynamics, presence and tone from a mono system that tiny little pin-points of sound spread across my room that are anything but rich and engaging.  There, I said it!

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