Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grande - Manual (Page 3)

BURNING OR BREAKING IN NEW
LOUDSPEAKERS
Your loudspeakers contain a large number of precision built moving parts. These parts
require playing time initially to develop their maximum smoothness and extension.
Very audible improvements can be observed during about 30 hours of playing.
Additional improvements will be evident after 100 hours of playing time, at which
point the speakers have reached their full musical potential.
POSITIONING
Room acoustics and positioning of the speakers within the room have an important
effect on sound quality. To find the optimal position for your speakers we offer the
following hints:
FREE AIR SET-UP
If the room is large and space permits, allow a minimum of 1 meter away from the
rear wall (behind the speakers). Small movements of the speaker forwards and
backwards will establish where a speaker sits most comfortably. Find the location that
gives a full balance without sounding heavy.
Remember, in free air set-up the distance from the rear wall determines how low the
speaker will go in a room and also the depth of image. Positioning too close to a 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 speakers
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.