Loudspeaker Placement and Room Acoustics

How to position loudspeakers and treat a room so that any hi-fi system sounds its best: free, practical steps.

The room is the last component in every system, and loudspeaker placement is the cheapest upgrade there is.

Start with a triangle

Place the speakers and your listening seat at the corners of a roughly equilateral triangle, with the speakers about as far apart as you sit from them. Toe them in slightly towards the listening position, then adjust to taste.

Distance from walls

Moving a speaker closer to a wall or corner boosts bass. Too close and the bass booms and the stereo image flattens. Begin with the speakers well into the room, then move them back in small steps until the bass is full but not bloated. Avoid identical distances from the rear and side walls, which make the same bass peaks pile up.

First reflections

Sound bouncing off the side walls, floor and ceiling arrives just after the direct sound and can blur the image. A mirror trick finds the reflection points: sit in the listening chair while a friend slides a mirror along the side wall, and wherever you can see a tweeter, a rug, bookcase or absorbent panel will help.

Bass and the room

Every room has standing waves that make some bass notes loud and others thin, depending on where you sit. Moving the listening seat a little forward or back often fixes more than moving the speakers. Bass traps in corners can tame stubborn peaks.

Stands and coupling

Put stand-mounted speakers on rigid stands that bring the tweeters to ear height. Spikes or decoupling feet steady floorstanders. Choose based on the floor and what sounds tighter in your room.

Don't over-treat

A completely dead room sounds lifeless. Aim for a balance of soft furnishings, books and irregular surfaces rather than covering every wall.