Speaker placement methods

[thumb5]

There have been a few posts mentioning speaker placement, and since it's something that's on my mind at the moment I thought it might be an idea to have a thread dedicated to it.  So...

How do you find the perfect position for your loudspeakers?

Do you use a specific method?  (Maybe post a link if possible.)

Do you use any test gear, or just your ears?

What specific music (tracks) do you use, if any?

How much compromise are you prepared to make (e.g. for the sake of appearance and/or domestic harmony)?

How fussy are your speakers about placement, anyway?

To start the ball rolling:  I used the Cardas method years ago to position my current speakers and am pleased with the results.  It puts the speakers quite far into the room away from the walls, but fortunately my better half is not overly unhappy with the way it looks.  I've had a few people visit recently to set up other speakers for a home demo and they've agreed that they work well in the same position (which was quite a relief!).

I also noticed the Master Set method deviousalet posted in the Phantom section.  I'd like to try that, when time allows, although I'm a bit concerned that it will end up with the speakers in an asymmetrical arrangement that will look a bit peculiar.

There's also a set of on-line speaker placement calculators (including Cardas) at No Audiophile.

[Pim]

I bought Jim Smith's 'Get Better Sound' book. It runs through everything audio but mostly speaker and listening seat (just as important) placement. It's a method, not a calculation he uses and that's because every room, regardless of equal size, has a different acoustic.

It requires a lot of measuring and putting tape on the floor but the end result for me was quite dramatic. The first time I used the method was with my 25+ year old B&W DM14 speakers and old Denon amp. The results blew me away. I basically came to the conclusion that I had wasted all those years listening to a not so bad system in a really bad way.

I've been to a couple of very high end shops where I ended up sitting behind or leaning forward in the listening seat that, supposedly, was set up for maximum sound quality. I found the bass too boomy in both circumstances. And I like a bit of extra bass. Anyway, that shows me that those shops use a different method in setting up than I do. Which one is right I guess will always be a personal thing.

[colonel66]

I bought Jim Smith's 'Get Better Sound' book. It runs through everything audio but mostly speaker and listening seat (just as important) placement. It's a method, not a calculation he uses and that's because every room, regardless of equal size, has a different acoustic.

It requires a lot of measuring and putting tape on the floor but the end result for me was quite dramatic. The first time I used the method was with my 25+ year old B&W DM14 speakers and old Denon amp. The results blew me away. I basically came to the conclusion that I had wasted all those years listening to a not so bad system in a really bad way.

I've been to a couple of very high end shops where I ended up sitting behind or leaning forward in the listening seat that, supposedly, was set up for maximum sound quality. I found the bass too boomy in both circumstances. And I like a bit of extra bass. Anyway, that shows me that those shops use a different method in setting up than I do. Which one is right I guess will always be a personal thing.

i can't recommend Jim Smiths GBS enough - it is a methodology rather than a fixed system - the cardas golden ratio has not proved to be the shits in my room - GBS (with some sweat and effort) was - it may end up that the results using GBS coincide with another system but then it is coincidence 

for the money (yes and your time) there is not better dollar spent than GBS

[Pim]

LOTS of time...unfortunately. But worth it.

[Cylob]

I asked an audiophile friend over. He placed them according to his personal taste.
After that I shifted them a bit to fulfill my needs (less focus, wider soundstage, a bit more backwall reflection in order to create more depth).
I marked his settings and my settings on the floor with tape.
After a week or so I repositioned them again and they wound up exactly in between his and my preferred spot.
They are still at that spot 6 months later.