Question for the theater fanatics - continuing tests of my new fusion 12 tempests (front left/right) and fusion 8 alchemy MTM center. When running test tones and walking around the room there are noticeable/audible increases and decreases in volume (easily 5 to 10 db on my decibel meter at various positions). I've taken measurements 5, 10, 12 feet away from the speakers and across the ~18 feet of seating with consistent variations. Are these speakers more susceptible to angle and placement or did i just screw up the cabinets (didn't buy Erich's flat pack but will next time)? If so, what's the proper location/angle respective of the prime listening location/duke seat? I thought i read toe'ing the front left and ride towards the prime listening spot so they are toe'd in right now. I also had to place my center in front of the entertainment center and angled up towards the duke seat because it's too large to place inside (next upgrade coming sooner rather than later to get this under the TV)... I still have some breaking in to do; been running a 30hz tone through them but can definitely tell the woofers need some love to loosen up a bit. Hope to have my amp and Emotiva UMC-200 up again next week to truly push these speakers; right now it's my old paradigm vsx-47tx. Thus far even with my old receiver these speakers will blow my ears off if I crank it! Love it; my Paradign monitor 7's stand no chance against these even with my old receiver!
Could it be comb filtering of the center channel? It seems that can be an issue with a Mid-Tweeter-Mid design. What does everyone else think?? I'm noob to speaker design.
You toe them in farther than the duke seat. If you have a 3 seat couch and you are facing the speakers, you would aim the left channel at the seat farthest to the right on the couch, and the right channel to the seat farthest on the left (and possibly a bit further, so don't be afraid to experiment). This would make the entire couch the prime listening spot. This is one of the advantages of waveguide speakers. Here's a pretty quick read that explains further: http://libinst.com/PublicArticles/Setup%20of%20WG%20Speakers.pdf You also might want to try disconnecting the center and getting just the left and right set-up and working properly, then connect the center channel and see if anything changes. Also be sure to read the last comment in that .pdf about placing waveguide speakers close to the floor, this could be an issue with your current center placement depending on it's height in the room. Placement could be causing some of what you're describing, but unless you've treated your room, measured response and equalized everything, it's also possible that your room is responsible for what you're experiencing. What's your room size and layout like?
Thanks Iron, you the man! I toe'd them in based on what you mentioned and it worked great. No issues anymore and great sound stage! This setup is phenomenal for the dollar. It would be hard for me to go back to non-DIY speakers again...
Glad to hear you got it sorted. It's definitely an adjustment in thinking for setting these up compared to traditional speakers. I love the fact that I can move around pretty freely now without losing that sweet spot that used to be confined to a fairly narrow position.