Pro-Ject Strauss - Manual (Page 4)

rear wall may boost the middle bass frequencies and rob the
speaker of some transparency and precision. In general, it is
best to avoid corner placement of loudspeakers since
the
bass tends to become exaggerated and corners rarely are an
optimal placement for image quality.
NEAR WALL POSITIONING
Many people will simply find it undesirable or disruptive to
place speakers in "free space", that is well away from the
back wall. Vienna Acoustics loudspeakers may be set-up close
to a rear wall, though keep in mind that less toe-in, as
described below, will probably be needed. When working close
to a rear wall, even the tiniest movements will have a
relatively important effect on sound quality. Work slowly and
methodically, following the instructions below and good sound
quality can be achieved.
DISTANCE BETWEEN THE
SPEAKERS AND TOE-IN
Most stereo systems are set-up with their speakers too close
together. As a rough guideline, the distance between spea-
kers should be about 70 % of the room width as a star-ting
point, assuming that your speakers are aiming down the
length of the room.
Too close together and they will create "ghost" images,
double images that blur clarity and focus. Too far apart and
they will begin sounding thin and in extreme cases, will create
separate left and right soundstages. Move them inwards and
outwards, again in small movements as though you were
adjusting the image on a pair of binoculars until a single well-
unified image is obtained.