Avalon Acoustics Sentinel - Manual (Page 35)

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Room Treatment and System / Listener Position
Selecting the proper room and listener positions within your listening
environment can dramatically improve system performance. The following
points highlight the fundamental concepts in room treatment and positioning
from the in-depth discussions in Chapter 9, Room Acoustics and Speaker
Position (beginning on page 41) and in Chapter 10, Listener Position (page
55):
•
Left to right room symmetry aids in producing a balanced sound
stage.
•
Image depth is enhanced when the distance to the rear wall is
increased. This is normally easier to accomplish when the speakers are
placed along the short wall of the listening room.
•
The side wall and inter-speaker distances can be calculated using the
4 : 10 : 4 ratio.
•
The most even bass response will be attained when the distances to
the side and rear walls are not overly similar.
•
A comfortable, centered listening position at a minimum distance of
three meters from the system allows proper wave front convergence.
Toe-In
The exemplary horizontal polar response of the Sentinel Active Reference
System makes large amounts of toe-in unnecessary. The optimum toe-in
position is between two and three degrees. In situations where strong
reflections from the side walls are a problem, pointing the speakers inward up
to a maximum of five degrees can be helpful.
Apex‘ Couplers
Supplied with your Avalon Acoustics loudspeakers are twenty Apex‘
couplers, used to couple the speaker and crossover cabinets to the floor,
thereby minimizing time-smearing resonance effects. The result is an increase
in focus and solidity of the sonic images.
On hardwood floors, use a large coin, such as a quarter, to protect the floor
from the pointed spike.
Refer to the set-up procedure in Chapter 3, System Set-up (beginning on
page 15) for details of Apex‘ coupler installation.