Ideal Speaker Positioning for Home Studio

[mrfye17]

Hi Great People of the world.

I am trying to find the optimal positioning for my monitors in my home studio (primarily for Mixing).

There are 2 different positions, both with a good 'Phantom Centre, Depth and Imaging.

The problem that I have is that at Position 1, the Soundstage is even and balanced but the sound from the L/R Speakers blend within the Soundstage, while in Position 2, even though the Soundstage is even and balanced as well, the sound from the L/R Speakers is distinctive - meaning that I can hear Left Spkr distinctively from the Right Spkr and vice versa.

My question is:
Should the sound blend more like Position 1 or is it better to have the separation that Position 2 offers?
Which would be a more real and accurate representation of a Mix, while Mixing for the real world?

Thanking you all in advance,
Chris

 

[DanDan]

Generally for loudspeakers we place the head about 250mm forward of an imagined apex of an equilateral triangle.
Unfortunately speaker listening is very different from headphones which do not have that solid centre which speakers create in the air between them. The biggest factor in any audio is usually LF. I would focus on optimising that. Quite often that entails placing the speakers almost touching the Front Wall.

 

[mrfye17]

Hy Dan Dan,
We've spoken before on other threads. How are you?

I have treatment and LF sorted (as much as possible).
Both these positions have a Solid centre and both are close to the front wall but wanted to get opinions on the 2 different positions as far as which would be better for mix translation outside of the studio.
Is hearing the L/R Speakers in a direct, definitive way (Position 2) netter than the blending in Position 1 or am I missing something or, it just doesn't matter?

 

[DanDan]

All good tx. Headphone listening is very wide with no interaction between L and R. So I guess position 2 if you mixes are going to the Buds crowd. Position one seems more integrated.....

 

[mrfye17]

You make a good point Dan (the buds crowd)
So I guess, by choosing this, then it should also translate nicely on a Hi-Fi system?

 

[DanDan]

Fraid not. Headphone and Speaker playback is quite different. There is a good description of The Headphone Problem here..... https://goodhertz.com/canopener-studio/

 

[mrfye17]

Hmmmmm. yes....the good'ol X-talk with headphones, or lack thereof!

 

[ddude003]

You might consider getting another set of monitors... If you have 2-way get 3-way and vice-versa... Is your target audience buds, boomboxes, Hi-Fis or Audiophiles? Use what works best for you and your workflow while mixing... Then go back and listen with multiple output systems... Adjust as necessary...