Speakers/Monitors positioning

Hello David,

Here is what I have learned since I was 13 yeras old and until today, listening at friends, theirs speakers and how they are placed, talking to ”experts”, reading books, reading internet, testing at home a s o  (and I’m still not quite satisfied with my sound at home, but have to accept, living in a flat, so using mostly now headphones).

At first:
Even a good speaker sound can be ruined by a poor placement. The location has a very big impact on the sound. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and recommendations for speaker placement. There should always be a direct line of sight to the speaker from the listening position: if you can't see the speaker, you can't hear it well either. And position the speakers as symmetrically as possible in relation to the room and the listening position.

Speakers are the most important link in the audio chain in terms of sound quality.

The second most important link is the listening room. Depending on the acoustics of your room, even most of the sound we hear may be the “sound of the room,” that is, the sound reflected from its interfaces and the sum of the reflections of the speaker’s own sound. You should be able to compare the speakers in the store, but that’s not enough. The final choice of speakers should always be made at home. The speakers can and often do sound very different at home than in the listening room of a store. Ask if you can try at home, and if not, buy them and ask for returning them if not satisfied. If you can’t try them at home, or not return them, don’t buy them.

Try speakers close to the wall.
It is often recommended to place the speakers as far away from the walls as possible. However, if the speakers are placed far away - especially from the back wall - then this may make the room effortlessly (can't find word/waterly, lame....?  using google translate some places) hear the bass playing due to the so-called standing waves. So try to place the speakers primarily near the back wall. If the bass reproduction sounds too loud, you can lower its level by adjusting the tone of the amplifier. I have controls on my Presonus speakers and it helped a bit.

After many mistakes and wrong choices, I think my most important lesson have been this: The final choice of speakers should always be made at home.

Well, maybe you find something here - or not   

Best wishes,

Stig

Pianoteqenthusiast, Organteqenthusiast, Harpteqenthusiast, Harpsichordteqenthusiast, CP-80teqenthusiast and experimenter

Edit: part of this I learned from a Finnish writer Teppo Hirvikunnas

Thank you guys for the advice, I completely agree on the headphones thing, nothing beats them when it comes down to realism.

I guess I'll have to buy several models and try them out on site once settled, I'll play with angles and distances and see whether I can get some satisfying configuration.

Regards,
David