Offset tweeters

I have a feeling this may well be a simple question with a simple answer...

For speakers that have tweeters offset from the centre like these:



Is it theoretically better for any technical reason to have the speakers positioned such that the tweeters are towards the centre or on the outer edges?

In my present setup I tried both and prefer them towards the outside since this gave a wider soundstage, but I have a nagging feeling this may strictly be the 'wrong' way round, and therefore something I should probably change when I move to a new flat in the near future with hopefully a little more space...

Cheers,

Martin

 

I guess this is a matter of taste but all the recommendations I have seen, including those for my own Castles, say that the tweeters should be on the inside as this will give the best imaging. It is often added that such speakers benefit from some toe in. Whether the lines from the tweeters should cross in front of, at or behind the listener is a matter for experimentation but this will also affect the imaging.

 

There are a number of sound design principles involved here. Its to do with dispersion of the treble wave that runs parallel to the cabinet and what it does as it defracts from the edgeof the cabinet. Disimilar distances mean that the nodes and anti node created with the defracting wave are not at the same frequency. [I think thats it]

The "normal" position is for the tweeter to be together. This should also help imaging.

Most of my DIY speakers have had this setup and out perform the same prototype with central tweeters.

 

Cheers guys.

Zanash - I understood, at least roughly, why you'd offset tweeters in the first place, but was wondering if there was any particular physical reason for having them offset towards the centre of a pair, or to the edges. I mean for instance, from a time alignment point of view I'd naively think that for a flat front baffle as shown above, it might make more sense to have the tweeters towards the outside? Looking through the pictures in the "My Kit" thread it does though look like everyone has them towards the centre. I wonder if the better imaging this way comes from merely having a just slightly narrower soundstage, or if there is more to it?

 

Most are in the middle, it's cheaper as there's only one front baffle pattern to make.

Offset tweeters, IME, can give more unpredictable results depending on the room and proximity of the side walls, but they seemed to be able to work better for imaging when they are set-up carefully. Personally I don't really give a monkeys about actual positioning or soundstage, so long as it's well projected with a decent spread.

I tended to run JBL LX20's with the tweeters on the outside in a bigger room, and inside when the walls were closer. But I'm not a good example as pinpoint imaging isn't of any interest to me.

Cheers

 

Why not ?

Why should you accept one that deficient? Would you not want every aspect of your gear to sound at its best. I'm really puzzled by this, you don't spend all that money, time and effort to miss one aspect of the musical performance. You must want to hear the music as if you were at the recording, coz if you don't whats the point ?

On the topic of tweeters, I have always had better results with them to the centre rather than to the outside. But that may be room dependent,or dependent on my room!

As they are small speakers swap them arround see which way they perform the best, it could not really be much easier!!

 

I'm SURE my Rega Ela manual says "have the tweeters on the outside"... I might well swap them around after the weekend and see what happens. I run Naim gear though so there's no soundstage anyway (well, actually, on vinyl there is loads, but...)

 

ATC recommend running them 'on the inside' in small rooms, and 'on the outside' in big ones. I have mine on the inside in a large room, purely to be perverse.

 

Ahh well you see, I just can't get excitied by it any more.

I like projection into the room, and I like a bit of spread of sound, but I'm not interested in the "is the violin 6 feet behind and to the left" etc.

Part of this of course, is the highly compromised set-up I have to use anyway, I all but sit in between the speakers much of the time (as does Isaac for instance) and although I can get further away, they are still further from each other than they are from me.

Once you get used to it, then it just stops being important, and although I do notice it at times, I often don't and have to look for it for cable testing purposes etc.

I am a closet FE'er though, so perhaps that's why

Cheers

 

That's what I've found works best empirically (never played much with ATC's though). Glad another lot agree, and it's not just me going mad. :MILD:

Cheers

 

Yup, I did, and preferred them on the outside . My current lounge is though very small, meaning that the speakers are sufficiently close together (and me close to the speakers for that matter), that the soundstage is noticeably narrower with the tweeters on the inside. I'm moving to Southampton at the end of the month (or at least I am if I can find a flat...) and with luck will then have another play in a slightly larger space. As I said, I was just interested to see if there was a 'right' way of having them, which it seems there isn't necessarily, so I'm happy .

Devil - it was the recent pictures of your rather terrifying, although no doubt excellent sounding, setup that reminded me to post this question :JPS:

 

I guess you'd need to talk with the designer to see if there was a right way, the more "normal" way is the tweets on the inside but.....as you've found there is no hard and fast.

As to imaging ..........
well it's not for me to tell people how to listen to their systems. But for me I'd miss being able to spot the lead violin or not know from which side the church the expanding heat pipes were on the "trinity sessions".

 

Good grief!