The Most Important Space in Your Stereo Isn’t Where You Think

It’s easy to look at a stereo system and focus on all the things you can see.

The loudspeakers. The amplifier. The preamplifier. The DAC. The equipment rack. The cables connecting everything together.

But one of the most important parts of your stereo is something you can’t buy.

It’s the empty space between and behind your loudspeakers.

If you’ve been following Better Sound in 5 Minutes, you already know what we’re trying to accomplish. We want those two physical loudspeakers to disappear and leave behind the illusion of musicians performing in front of us.

This week, we’re going to give those imaginary musicians somewhere to stand.

Give The Musicians Somewhere To Play

Think back to our last exercise.

When a stereo system is working properly, the music shouldn’t appear to come directly from the left and right speakers. Instead, the performance should detach itself from those boxes and develop in the space behind them.*

* I know, crazy right? Intellectually you know the speakers push sound out front and yet we’re going to teach you how to flip that around so it appears to come from behind them. The disappearing act.

A vocalist might appear in the center. Instruments can occupy their own positions around that voice. With the right recording and setup, you can begin hearing width, depth, and a convincing sense of space.

But there’s an obvious requirement for all of that to happen.

We need to leave some space for it.

That starts with the wall behind your loudspeakers.

Get Your Speakers Away From The Front Wall

In audio, we call the wall behind your loudspeakers the front wall.

If your speakers are pushed right up against it, one of the simplest things you can experiment with is pulling them farther out into the room.

There isn’t one magic distance that works for every system. Rectangular rooms, square rooms, open living spaces, and everything in between present different challenges.

And this is still your home.

You don’t need to arrange the entire room around some theoretically perfect speaker position that makes everyday life impossible. Start with a position you’re comfortable living with.

The important part is simply giving the loudspeakers some distance from the wall behind them.

Remember what we’re asking the system to do: create the illusion of performers appearing behind those speakers.

Give them somewhere to perform.

Now Look Between Your Speakers

Once you’ve looked behind the speakers, take a look directly between them.

What’s there?

Maybe it’s a tall equipment rack. Maybe it’s a television. Furniture. A fireplace. Or perhaps you’ve already left that area mostly open.

As a general rule, avoid placing large objects between the left and right loudspeakers whenever possible.

That open area is where much of the three-dimensional image we’re trying to create is going to appear.

Filling it with a large obstruction works against what we’re trying to accomplish.

Of course, not every room gives us complete freedom. You may have a television that isn’t going anywhere. Your furniture may have to stay where it is. Moving the fireplace is probably out of the question.

That’s fine.

If something has to remain between the speakers, try to keep it as low to the floor as practical.

The goal isn’t perfection.

It’s preserving as much open space as your room reasonably allows.

Your Speaker Position Has A Starting Point

There’s one more basic guideline that can help you establish a starting position.

Your two speakers and listening area should form the general geometry described in The Audiophile’s Guide. If your left and right speakers are roughly ten feet apart, for example, your listening position might begin at around eight feet away.

We’re not trying to perfectly tune the system yet.

That comes later.

For now, we’re simply establishing a sensible relationship between the two speakers, the listening position, and the room around them.

Speaker placement isn’t just about finding two places where the cabinets fit.

We’re laying the foundation for the soundstage that will eventually appear around them.

What About All The Electronics?

Here’s where things get interesting.

If we want to keep the space between our speakers relatively clear, where do we put the amplifier, preamplifier, DAC, turntable, streamer, and everything else?

First, having electronics between your speakers is not automatically a problem.

A few power amplifiers sitting low on the floor between them can work perfectly well.

What I would avoid, if you have another option, is building a tall tower of equipment directly in the middle of that space.

At PS Audio’s Listening Lab, we actually do have equipment between the loudspeakers. Part of that is practical, and part of it is because we want visitors to see the products.

But even there, we try not to stack everything too high.

In your own system, you probably don’t have to worry about displaying the equipment for visitors.

So where practical, let performance come first.

Moving The Electronics Creates Another Choice

Moving equipment away from the center creates another problem to solve.

Cables.

If your preamplifier and power amplifier are separated, moving components may mean using longer interconnects between them.

If all your electronics stay together in another part of the room, you may instead need longer speaker cables running back to the loudspeakers.

I’ve built systems both ways, and both approaches can work.

When it’s practical, my preference is longer interconnects and shorter speaker cables.

That arrangement can give you the flexibility to move much of the equipment somewhere convenient while keeping the power amplifiers closer to the loudspeakers.

You don’t need to rebuild your entire system around this idea.

Just recognize that speaker placement and electronics placement are connected.

Sometimes improving one means reconsidering the other.

Try This In Five Minutes

Here’s this week’s exercise.

Stand up from your listening position and take a good look at your system.

First, look behind the speakers.

How much distance is there between them and the front wall?

Then look between them.

Is there a large piece of furniture, a tall equipment rack, or something else filling the space where your soundstage is supposed to develop?

Finally, look at your electronics.

If they’re stacked high between the speakers, could they be lowered or moved somewhere else without completely disrupting your system?

Now experiment.

Pull the speakers a little farther into the room if you can.

Move an unnecessary object out from between them.

If something has to remain, see whether you can get it lower.

Then sit back down and listen.

Listen To The Space You Created

Don’t focus on bass response or treble detail just yet.

Listen to the space behind the loudspeakers.

Does the performance seem to extend farther back?

Is the center image easier to locate?

Do the individual performers feel a little less attached to the physical boxes in front of you?

You may hear a dramatic change.

You may hear something subtler.

Either is fine.

What matters is beginning to understand just how much the physical space surrounding your system contributes to the illusion we’re trying to create.

Sometimes Less Is Better

Audiophiles spend a lot of time thinking about what they can add to a system.

A better amplifier.

A new DAC.

Different cables.

New speakers.

But better sound doesn’t always come from adding something.

Sometimes it comes from taking something away.

Give your loudspeakers some breathing room behind them. Preserve the space between them whenever your room allows. Keep necessary equipment low, or move it elsewhere when doing so is practical.

Then forget about the equipment for a moment and listen to what appears in the empty space you created.

Because when everything is working properly, that space isn’t really empty at all.

It’s where the musicians are.