monitor spacing

[jimwilbourne]

so I understand the concept of where to sit and how to angle your monitors for optimal listening.

but what I'm curious about is what you guys think is the best distance/space to put between the 2 monitors and your ears.
Awhile back I was trying to find a better setup position and I ended up with my monitors a good 5 feet apart and I noticed that the sounds pocket different and it's easier to tell placement and reverb & fx strength in the mix, but it's harder to tell if the sounds are masking.

I have a "standard" desk size (whatever that means) so my monitors are maybe about 2-2.5 feet apart.

have you guys played around with this?
what's your best distances & why?

 

[amarshism]

I remember reading somewhere 5ft was the optimal spacing for nearfield monitors.

 

[jimwilbourne]

if I should space further, anyone know any good solutions (besides dropping money on a huge bedroom consuming desk)?

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

if I should space further, anyone know any good solutions (besides dropping money on a huge bedroom consuming desk)?

Monitor stands.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

mine are 54" apart and 24" from the back wall on stands.

 

[Fox Mulder]

This really differs from model to model, also the size. Experiment and judge.

If the monitors are too close together you're gonna get some coloration of the sound. And if they're too far apart the (phantom) center channel would sound weak. Try out different spaces and judge.

Best thing to do would be - Play some white noise and judge 'by your ears' as to what sounds the flattest. No matter how flat a signal your room measurement mic picks up you may or may not 'perceive' a flat spectrum depending on the placement of the monitors.

I used to perceive too much midrange when my monitors were too far apart even though my room measurement mic proved otherwise :\

 

[waltz mastering]

Some people like to space monitors in an equal lateral triangle...as far as they are apart is how far each speaker is from the listening position. Tweeters at ear level toed in a bit. Symmetrical room. but, it's good to do whateverworks.

 

[jval]

i always just heard the equal triangle thing. I also heard somewhere that a lot of people have their nearfields spaced too far apart; that you get a better / more realistic image with them closer together. I think 5 ft would be on the far end of things, but you'd have to experiment and see what you like.

 

[RiF]

I am currently moving my monitors around in my room to find a "better place" for them, but I ended up having them right and left to my 24" screen, each placed on a 6 unit rack that stand on my desk (to the left and right of the screen). They are about 2.5-3 ft apart from each other and they form an isosceles triangle with my nose. Placing them further away from me behind my mixing console (4 ft apart, 4-5 ft away from me), reduced the bass response significantly and everything sounded a bit weird, but that might be induced by the acoustic treatment and odd shape of my room.

 

[Sickan]

http://www.realtraps.com/art_room-setup.htm

 

[krokit]

Thing is with monitor placement is, if you mix with them to far apart your gonna end up with the center panned elements too loud, and if you mix with them to close together, you gonna end up with the centre panned elements to quiet!

I'd get somebody to move/adjust them for you whilst you listened to a good balanced reference track. It wont take long to find the correct distance between them!

www.ascapestudios.com

 

[Nebulous]

Currently I have a 3 foot triangle between the speakers and myself. When I set up my next room I will try to make it 4 feet as I often feel that 3 is too close to my head.

 

[KillFrenzy]

The closer they are, the less the room will affect your listening experience. In my case, they are about 5' apart 'cause my room is not good - very unbalanced on the lows

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I really don't feel comfortable if the monitors are too close to my ears. My HS80's are 5' apart, which I'm quite used to.

 

[-Noodles-]

+1 on the "too close" point..

I often feel that mine are wayy too close for the size that they are.
Goddamn my small room!

 

[Nebulous]

I really don't feel comfortable if the monitors are too close to my ears. My HS80's are 5' apart, which I'm quite used to.

Agreed Jarrko. I'm glad to hear that you're happy with the HS80M's at 5 foot as that's what I was aiming for.