For many years in the uk the two-way 'standmount' loudspeaker has been the nation’s sweetheart. It’s still a popular choice but nowadays its dominance is coming under threat from relatively inexpensive floorstanding designs.
The key to understanding speakers and how they can be tuned for best performance relies on accepting one obvious fact. Speakers do not operate in isolation: they interact with the rest of the system and they interact with the room in which they’re used. Speakers can only do what the
amplifier tells them to do, and they can’t improve the quality of the signal coming into them. So, if you have a ropey CD player and a poor amplifier, buyingspeakers that are more revealing will make your system sound worse. That is why it is vital to get the rest of your system sorted before you start thinking about new speakers. Then think about your room. Those coffin-sized speakers might look tasty but are they going to work effectively in your confined living space? And while you might dream of bathing in gutwrenching bass, will you enjoy it when your plasterboard walls start resounding sympathetically? Be realistic when you are choosing speakers and tell the salesperson what sort of room you have. And don’t exaggerate! A small, musically rewarding speaker often makes a better long-term partner than a huge model with a higher impress-your-pals factor.
Many of today’s 'standmount' models prove conclusively that bigger isn’t necessarily better. However, there’s one area where nearly all of them are found wanting - conveying the might and scale of bass instruments. This is where the new generation of affordable floorstanders comes into the picture. Be warned, though, that while deep bass imparts a welcome sense of scale and authority to music it can also be troublesome stuff. Too much low frequency power can muddle vital midrange information.
If your system seems to suffer from this affliction, there are two possible solutions: loudspeaker stands - more of which later - and positioning. You can adjust the balance of any loudspeaker to some extent simply by altering its position in the room. To begin optimising the set-up, place your speakers twelve feet away from your chair, ensuring they are no more than twelve feet apart. The height of the speakers is also important. The general rule is to arrange them so that the high frequency drivers (tweeters) are level with your ears when you are sitting in your “listening seat”.
Now you’re ready to start fine-tuning. If your system sounds a little lightweight, try moving the speakers closer to the rear wall. Conversely, if the system sounds fat and bloated, moving the speakers further into the room will help. If your speakers have reflex ports - small cabinet openings used to tune the bass driver’s response - you can try restricting the air-fl ow through these by inserting a wad of foam or even a rolled up sock. It sounds implausible but this simple dodge can prevent wallowing bass. Whatever you do, though, do not stick any speakers in the corner of the room - that’s a guaranteed recipe for disaster. You should also ensure that each speaker is in a similar immediate environment - avoid placing one speaker along an empty section of wall while the other stands close to a fluffy sofa: this will disturb the balance of the sound and the stereo image.
Playing with the stands under 'standmount' speakers is also worthwhile. Mass loading them by filling their uprights with sand or lead-shot, for example, usually adds muscle to the speaker’s bass, while adjusting the floor-spikes to perfection will help keep those low frequencies fast and taut. Even changing the way the speakers attach to the stand can make an appreciable difference: the simple trick of placing some pointy cones between the stand and the base of the speaker can work wonders for a system’s performance. Some speakers, however, prefer being attached to the stand with Blu-Tack rather than spikes or cones. Trial and error will tell you which method works best for you.
Standmount loudspeakers
Floorstanders loudspeaker
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