Where you locate the loud-
speakers in your listening
room has a considerable
influence how the speakers
will sound, especially when it
comes to stereo imaging and
apparent bass response.
A generally accepted rule of
thumb for obtaining a satis-
fying stereo effect is to place
the speakers about as far apart
from each other as they are
from you. Placing the speakers
too close together will detract
from the stereo effect, while
having them too far apart
creates an undesirable "hole
in the middle" effect. Angling
the loudspeakers slightly
inward towards the main lis-
tening position is recom-
mended for best imaging. See
illustration below.
The bass response of any
loudspeaker is greatly
affected by where the speakers
are placed in relation to room
surfaces. Apparent bass out-
put almost doubles when the
speakers are located at the in-
tersection of two room
boundaries (such as on the
floor and against a wall), and
triples when you put them
where three room boundaries
intersect (such as on the floor
and in a corner). Because of
their inherently linear bass
response, Ohm loudspeakers
require only a minimum of
room boundary reinforcement.
Placing bookshelf models
directly on the floor or in cor-
ners will generally result in too
much bass output. For
smoothest bass response, we
suggest placing the loud-
speakers at least 6 inches off
the floor, with simlar dis-
tances between the loud-
speakers and the adjacent
walls (refer to illustration
above). These dissimilar
distances from room bound-
aries will help reduce standing
waves, which cause exag-
geration and/or dropout at
various bass frequencies.
Remember, as you move the
loudspeakers closer to the
room boundaries, bass output
will increase (but clarity may
diminish). As you move them
away from room boundaries,
the reverse happens.
Separate Ohm subwoofers
offer increased placement
flexibility. Since bass fre-
quencies are essentially omni-
directional, Ohm subwoofers
need not be located between
(or even equally distant
from) the high frequency
"satellite" speakers. This
means an Ohm subwoofer may
be located anywhere in the
listening room where the de-
sired balance of bass is achie-
ved. Satellite speakers may
then be located in the same
manner as bookshelf models,
at or near ear level.
Note that relatively small
changes in loudspeaker place-
mentcan cause large changes
in sound quality. So, it's worth
your while to experiment.
