Bookshelf speakers on the floor sound so terrible.

[Chrisk-K]

Now that I'm into classical music again, I recently fired up my stereo system consisting of a Danon CD player, a Danon power amp and a pair of Celestion 100 bookshelf speakers. The speakers are on the wooden floor of my living room.

The system sounds awful with no clarity. Every CD I've tested sounds dull. Is it because of the speaker placement? I used to place the speakers on speaker stands but don't have them anymore.

[bassbrad]

Originally Posted by Chrisk-K

Every CD I've tested sounds dull. Is it because of the speaker placement?

Yes, but they might sound good if you were laying on the floor too.

[My name is Mudd]

Exactly. The sound was down around your ankles.

[JTE]

Duh... they're designed to throw the sound out pretty straight. The tweeters are about five feet below your ears so the highs ain't gettin' there.

John

[Pilgrim]

Search the Interwebs for information about how to place speakers. It is not that complicated...but somewhere, it probably says "bookshelf speakers on the floow sound like crap."

However, most bookshelf speakers are somewhat limited on bass, so unless you're running a sub I recommend placing them in a corner if possible. Hard flat surfaces reflect bass and the result will sound better.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

A few things come to mind.

#1 As said before, bookshelf speakers rarely work on the floor, think of them as crappy near field monitors.

#2 Those Celestions are not suitable for classical music at all IIRC.

#3 Wouldn't be the first time that someone connected an un-EQ'd source to the Phono input.

Regards
Sam

[Hawkbone]

I had B&W 301's on my desk for a couple of years and always found them too 'boomy'. Finally mounted them on wall supports and they came alive. Lesson learned!

[duff beer]

Danon or Denon???

[mmbongo]

The basic elementary step is to put the speakers at ear level when seated in your listening position.

[Hoover]

A speaker sitting on the floor is what acousticians & audio engineers refer to as a "2pi" placement...low frequencies, which tend to radiate omnidirectionally, reflect back off the floor and combine in phase with the direct sound, resulting in a disproportionate reinforcement at those frequencies.

So in addition to what everyone said about the tweeters (which are directional) firing at your knees which means you're not hearing as much treble as you should, you're hearing too much bass because of this 2pi orientation.

Not Enough Treble + Too Much Bass = Mud.

[My name is Mudd]

Originally Posted by mmbongo

The basic elementary step is to put the speakers at ear level when seated in your listening position.

And the sweet spot is about twice as far as the distance between the speakers.

Originally Posted by duff beer

Danon or Denon???

Denon.