Distance between wall and Monitors

[Flow Of Time]

Ok, so I have a pair of HS80s. The manual says they should be placed about 1,5 meters away from walls (because of the bass reflex system).

Do you guys actually do that? Is there anything I could put behind them to reduce that space (some kind of foam ore something)? Sorry, I don't know shit about room treatment...

 

[vespiz]

Usually, monitors are suggested to be placed as close to the front wall as possible. This way, the offending (canceling/re-enforcing) frequencies go higher up and are easier to deal with less and thinner acoustic panels and the like. The other way is to place them about 1,5 or more away from the walls, since this way the distance between the wall bounce and listener is greater and thus will not effect the direct signal from the monitors as much. But we rarely have the luxury of using such big rooms for our little studios, right? The offending frequencies between, say, 0,5m to 1,5m go really low and you'd need really massive amounts of trapping to get them sorted out.

Genelec had some nifty little documents about this, google Genelec monitor setup guide.

Also, don't use foam, unless it's the really expensive one, in which case you have more money than ... oh well, er.. anyway. Use rockwool, mineral wool or the like for making panels and other traps. There are lots of info and decent guides all over the net, yes even on Gearslutz...

 

[Flow Of Time]

I'll Google that guide. I was talking about the wall behind the monitors though...

Edit: I guess I'm beeing confused by the term "front wall".. Is ist the wall behind, or the wall infront of the monitors?

Edit 2: Nevermind, it's the wall infront of you not the wall infront of the monitors, right?^^

 

[Flow Of Time]

Ok I dont quite get it... Some spurces say it's best to place them right in front o the wall, while others say you need about 1,5 m distance :/

 

[53Crëw]

FWIW, Keep in mind that some speakers are designed differently. For example, some have a port on the back of the speaker enclosure and use the wall to reflect/reinforce bass frequencies. Others have the port on the front. I suppose it would be best to use the manufacturers recommendations for placement... At least as a starting point.

 

[Flow Of Time]

I found a site that explains ist pretty good: http://barrydiamentaudio.com/monitoring.htm

 

[Benny H]

It's about the frequency that is cancelled out/disturbed by waves bouncing back.
The further away from the wall, the lower that frequency is.
Therefore you move it far enough away that the frequency is below the speakers range.

 

[mva801]

Do what the instructions say. There's a reason they wrote them that way. However, in some small rooms/ bedroom situations, it's not always ideal to keep them farther away from the wall. In that case, smaller monitors or ones with different ports may work better.