(Reprinted from issue 59 of UHF Magazine. To purchase the issue, click here. Or click here to subscribe to UHF)
Listening in the Nearfield
by Albert Simon
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"I think that's about right ," whispered Pierre to himself, his eyes locked on the empty space between the speakers. Standing behind the small couch and listening intently, Daniel was not quite sure. "Standing is my reference," he had explained earlier, "I never sit when I'm setting up a pair of our speakers."
Pierre Raymond and Daniel Legault of Pierre Gabriel Acoustics had arrived an hour earlier with a pair of the superb Presence II speakers, they were lending me for an extended period. It was a bright, hot Saturday afternoon. Entering the cool log home they had paused in the 16 x 21' living room, looked up at the high cathedral ceiling, exchanged glances and smiled.
"This is my moveable listening couch," I said, pointing to a light loveseat, "you can set your speakers and the listening position wherever you feel is best." An hour later, the Presence II (nearly four feet tall on their neat little platforms) were located 4.5 feet from the back wall and spread eight feet apart. That was almost where my own Apogee Stages had been but the listening position was now much closer than it had ever been.
"Yes, I think that's about right," repeated Pierre, "why don't you try it?" I did, and I sat right next to Oscar Peterson's piano.
No matter how much I stared at each of the speakers, no music seemed to emanate from them. Instead, the musicians played and laughed just next to them, behind them and right between them, solidly occupying a wide stage.
With the speakers eight feet apart, I was sitting six feet away from the imaginary line between them, and I watched Pierre toe them in gradually until they were almost (but not quite) aimed at the listening position. The result was surprisingly good.
Being spoiled with a fairly large listening room, I've never had to sit too close to my speakers. Some people like to listen with a dentist's view of their favorite singers. Not me. I always like a good sense of space around the performers, as if I were sitting in the 10th row, say.
I discovered that Pierre, however, likes his music with his feet touching the stage and, with his careful placement I started to enjoy a very different experience. I was now sharing the musicians' performance instead of watching from the audience. With a small group there was an intimate feeling of being right beside them. With a large orchestra, it felt more like swimming among them, carried by the music.
From that nearfield location, relative depth increased and imaging was enhanced -- to "holodeck quality," as trekkies might say. That was no doubt due to the accuracy of the speakers but you might be surprised to discover a similar effect from your own speakers, even if you think they're ready for upgrade. Make more space between them and sit closer.
Here is the recipe:
1. Bring your speakers into the room, two or three feet away from the back wall, as a start.
2. Set them well apart, a minimum of six feet, I would say.
3. Set your initial listening position at the same distance away from the center as the speakers are apart. For example, if the speakers are seven feet apart, start your listening tests by sitting seven feet from the center.
4. Move gradually closer and, using well recorded music selections, listen carefully for improvement in width, depth and imaging.
5. With each move forward, toe in your speakers so that each one aims at the side of your face nearest it. Don't overdo it. You must still be able to see the inner side of each speaker.
6. Wait for that magic moment when you get maximum width and optimum depth.
If you find that sounds are coming almost exclusively from each speaker and there is a vast empty space where the stage used to be, you're definitely too close. Besides, if you look around, chances are your family are already talking about you in hushed tones.
A word of caution for those using planar speakers. Don't try toeing them in, or you might lose all the width and depth provided by the reflected sound. In my opinion, planar speakers are best left parallel to the back wall.
Another word of caution, this time about volume level. It seems obvious but here it is. Don't listen to music at the same volume level, in the nearfield, as you were used to. In this listening position, "loud" is easily reached and "louder" is rarely satisfying. It tends to shrink depth and brings performers closer to each other, reducing the feeling of air between them. Instruments and voices appear bloated and out of proportion. Not a good idea.
When it's just right, you'll feel it. It'll be as if you had moved closer to a window and discovered another dimension to the view you thought you knew so well. Try it.
Pierre Raymond and Daniel Legault of Pierre Gabriel Acoustics had arrived an hour earlier with a pair of the superb Presence II speakers, they were lending me for an extended period. It was a bright, hot Saturday afternoon. Entering the cool log home they had paused in the 16 x 21' living room, looked up at the high cathedral ceiling, exchanged glances and smiled.
"This is my moveable listening couch," I said, pointing to a light loveseat, "you can set your speakers and the listening position wherever you feel is best." An hour later, the Presence II (nearly four feet tall on their neat little platforms) were located 4.5 feet from the back wall and spread eight feet apart. That was almost where my own Apogee Stages had been but the listening position was now much closer than it had ever been.
"Yes, I think that's about right," repeated Pierre, "why don't you try it?" I did, and I sat right next to Oscar Peterson's piano.
No matter how much I stared at each of the speakers, no music seemed to emanate from them. Instead, the musicians played and laughed just next to them, behind them and right between them, solidly occupying a wide stage.
With the speakers eight feet apart, I was sitting six feet away from the imaginary line between them, and I watched Pierre toe them in gradually until they were almost (but not quite) aimed at the listening position. The result was surprisingly good.
Being spoiled with a fairly large listening room, I've never had to sit too close to my speakers. Some people like to listen with a dentist's view of their favorite singers. Not me. I always like a good sense of space around the performers, as if I were sitting in the 10th row, say.
I discovered that Pierre, however, likes his music with his feet touching the stage and, with his careful placement I started to enjoy a very different experience. I was now sharing the musicians' performance instead of watching from the audience. With a small group there was an intimate feeling of being right beside them. With a large orchestra, it felt more like swimming among them, carried by the music.
From that nearfield location, relative depth increased and imaging was enhanced -- to "holodeck quality," as trekkies might say. That was no doubt due to the accuracy of the speakers but you might be surprised to discover a similar effect from your own speakers, even if you think they're ready for upgrade. Make more space between them and sit closer.
Here is the recipe:
1. Bring your speakers into the room, two or three feet away from the back wall, as a start.
2. Set them well apart, a minimum of six feet, I would say.
3. Set your initial listening position at the same distance away from the center as the speakers are apart. For example, if the speakers are seven feet apart, start your listening tests by sitting seven feet from the center.
4. Move gradually closer and, using well recorded music selections, listen carefully for improvement in width, depth and imaging.
5. With each move forward, toe in your speakers so that each one aims at the side of your face nearest it. Don't overdo it. You must still be able to see the inner side of each speaker.
6. Wait for that magic moment when you get maximum width and optimum depth.
If you find that sounds are coming almost exclusively from each speaker and there is a vast empty space where the stage used to be, you're definitely too close. Besides, if you look around, chances are your family are already talking about you in hushed tones.
A word of caution for those using planar speakers. Don't try toeing them in, or you might lose all the width and depth provided by the reflected sound. In my opinion, planar speakers are best left parallel to the back wall.
Another word of caution, this time about volume level. It seems obvious but here it is. Don't listen to music at the same volume level, in the nearfield, as you were used to. In this listening position, "loud" is easily reached and "louder" is rarely satisfying. It tends to shrink depth and brings performers closer to each other, reducing the feeling of air between them. Instruments and voices appear bloated and out of proportion. Not a good idea.
When it's just right, you'll feel it. It'll be as if you had moved closer to a window and discovered another dimension to the view you thought you knew so well. Try it.
PARTIAL TEXT: Putting Vinyl on CD, the Montreal Show, Digital Radio, the Moon Eclipse, the Linn Genki, the Rega Jupiter and Io, the Cambridge D500, the Oskar Kithara
FULL TEXT: MaxiVision 48 film. Testing CD Players, the Linn Ikemi, Listening in the Nearfield, State of the Art