Wall Distance Misconception?

[ALF-]

I have been looking and purving at pictures of other people's exotic speaker set ups.

I had a sudden uncomfortable thought.

Have I got it wrong, and have I had it wrong for the past 50 years or so?

When we speak of distance from the front wall, I have always taken that as being the distance that the baffle where the speakers are mounted from the wall behind the boxes.

But looking at pics, and reading comments on various forums, it seems to me that many people are talking about the distance from the back of their boxes (even if they aren't rear vented).

Have I been wrong all this time?

Am I a silly old man?

 

[zeus]

no you got it right

[anandpkumar]

Well, we are all quite silly in this hobby of ours! but you got it right - it's usually the distance from the front baffle to the wall

[betty boop]

front baffle to wall is what have always taken it as

[ALF-]

Thanks Folks - It comes as quite a relief to know that not everything in my life has been wrong!

[Mr_Gadget]

Oops, I've been doing it wrong.

[andyr]

5 hours ago, ALF said:

I have been looking and purving at pictures of other people's exotic speaker set ups.

I had a sudden uncomfortable thought.

Have I got it wrong, and have I had it wrong for the past 50 years or so?

When we speak of distance from the front wall, I have always taken that as being the distance that the baffle where the speakers are mounted from the wall behind the boxes.

But looking at pics, and reading comments on various forums, it seems to me that many people are talking about the distance from the back of their boxes (even if they aren't rear vented).

Have I been wrong all this time?

Am I a silly old man?

 

You may well be a silly old man, Anthony - I haven't met you ... so I can't comment! 

 

But, yes, as the others have posted ... what matters for box speakers is the distance from the baffle to the front wall.  But if someone was setting up their speakers to be, say, 1m from the front wall - and they took this as the distance between the (rear of the) cabinet and the wall - then this would probably make them sound better than someone who placed the same speakers the same distance from the wall, to the baffle.

 

For box-less spkrs like mine, of course, it's the same measurement (from 'front' or 'back')!

 

Andy

 

[audio_file]

When I say "distance from the rear wall or back wall" I mean from the front baffle to the wall behind them, but when I say "distance between the speaker and wall" I mean from the back of the speaker.

[nonsynchro]

2 hours ago, audio_file said:

distance from the rear wall or back wall

One man's rear wall is another man's front wall. 

[Al.M]

I don’t think it matters so much so long as it sounds the best with distance you can achieve based on practicality and appearances. If you have dedicated audio room all to your self 2m from wall can be the best but if the room is too small or you have others in the house have to walk around them then those issues prevail.

 

In my 5 x 4m room I have box speakers on the 5m end, 0.8 to 1m out and head against the wall and it sounds good enough. Ideally there should be space behind me and I have had that in other rooms which didn’t sound as good. Speakers along the 4m end don’t sound as good although that is the recommended setup.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Al.M

[audio_file]

10 minutes ago, Al.M said:

I don’t think it matters so much so long as it sounds the best with distance you can achieve based on practicality and appearances. If you have dedicated audio room all to your self 2m from wall can be the best but if the room is too small or you have others in the house have to walk around them then those issues prevail.

 

In my 5 x 4m room I have box speakers on the 5m end, 0.8 to 1m out and head against the wall and it sounds good enough. Ideally there should be space behind me and I have had that in other rooms which didn’t sound as good. Speakers along the 4m end don’t sound as good although that is the recommended setup.

My comments were specific to Dynaudio stand mount speakers, but also applies to other rear ported designs to varying degrees.

I don't have any issues with my front ported or sealed designs, and those have much less issue with being close to a rear wall.

[crtexcnndrm99]

One man's rear wall is another man's front wall. 

Nope.

[unclemack]

front baffle to wall is what have always taken it as [emoji4]

I’ve always considered it as the back of the go to the wall. I’m pushing mine back now to see what happens.

[andyr]

On 08/05/2019 at 7:58 PM, crtexcnndrm99 said:

Nope.

 

 

Que??? 

 

The front wall of the room is the wall that is behind the speakers you are looking at.

 

Whereas 'audio_file' said "distance from the rear wall or back wall ".

 

Andy

 

[andyr]

2 hours ago, unclemack said:

I’ve always considered it as the back of the go to the wall. I’m pushing mine back now to see what happens.

 

Pushing your boxes back against the (front) wall, I suggest, will:

• raise the level of bass, but
• reduce soundstage depth.

 

[Guest Muon N']

On 05/05/2019 at 10:06 PM, ALF said:

Thanks Folks - It comes as quite a relief to know that not everything in my life has been wrong!

As everyone has said........... you are correct, I'm one of the ones that often states the distance incorrectly

 

Thanks for the shake up, Alf

[I'mInterested]

Hi, Could it vary per type of speaker, as per audio_file? The Orpheus manual said at least 50cm from rear walls for its speakers. It certainly made a positive difference for me when I moved the Orpheus rear ported speakers the half metre out from the back wall...

[jt301]

I’m reading a review of the Elac Debut B6.2 speakers by Adam Smith and I quote “I started with it positioned around 30cm from my rear wall and 60cm from the sides”. The speakers themselves are nearly 27cm deep, so is Adam saying the rear of the speaker is 3cm from the rear (front) wall or  30cm?  I suspect the latter.

 

its no wonder the Op gets a bit confused.

 

 

[Uncle Seth]

22 minutes ago, jt301 said:

I’m reading a review of the Elac Debut B6.2 speakers by Adam Smith and I quote “I started with it positioned around 30cm from my rear wall and 60cm from the sides”. The speakers themselves are nearly 27cm deep, so is Adam saying the rear of the speaker is 3cm from the rear (front) wall or  30cm?  I suspect the latter.

 

its no wonder the Op gets a bit confused.

 

 

When the discussion is not specifically about speaker placement, the lay-person  thinks of  the distance measured to the rear of the speaker box.

Maybe everyone should have dipoles and avoid the confusion. 

 

Also, the baffle may not be where the drivers sit (OK, maybe only 1% of cases), so measurements should be from the wall behind the speaker to the driver.

 

Call it the rear or front wall, or what you will. No need to quibble, just specify what you mean if people are confused. 

Edited June 16, 2019 by Uncle Seth

[jt301]

My quote was from a professional review in HiFi choice magazine, not an informal review in an online discussion by Neville Nobody.

 

I guess my point is when it comes professional reviews they should be following accepted standards when making statements like this to avoid reader confusion.

[t_mike]

What part of the baffle are we referring to with say, Sovereigns? Also, with a rear ported design, the distance from the rear of the speaker to the wall may well be more important. Then we can consider speakers with rear facing tweeters, especially EMIT or SEMIT types.

 

Semantics, semantics I say.