Getting more depth out of your loudspeakers

Getting more depth out of any loudspeaker system isn't all that difficult. It is a matter of positioning. In fact, changing the position of your loudspeaker pair by only a few inches can, sometimes, net you a great deal of depth increase.

You must first setup your loudspeaker pair with a solid center image. Once achieved, depth can be enhanced by the relative front to back distance of your loudspeaker pair.

Using a familiar piece of music, preferably a single vocalist, pull the loudspeaker pair away from the rear wall in small increments (perhaps 3 to 4 inches at a time). After you pull the speakers away from the rear wall, return to your listening position and start the musical selection over, noting the increase or decrease in front to back depth.

In some cases, it may be necessary to pull the speakers out from the rear wall by as much as several feet in order to achieve lifelike depth. When properly placed, the vocalist should appear to come from behind the loudspeakers (when proper microphone recording techniques are employed on the recording) and appear to be detached from the speakers themselves.

A note of caution: if you pull the speakers too far from the rear wall, you may start to lose bass coupling. You will have to find an appropriate compromise of position if your speakers do not have controls on them to increase or decrease the bass. Alternatively, you can add a subwoofer to augment the bass.

A second note of caution: before starting the procedure outlined above, it is a good idea to use some masking tape to mark the current placement of your loudspeakers so as to maintain a reference.

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