Thiel Audio Products CS3.7 User Manual

Page 4

POSITIONING THE SPEAKERS

Because of their unipolar radiation pattern, the CS3.7s will provide good results when placed in a variety of room

locations. However, speaker placement will affect the accuracy of timbre, spatial performance, and bass perfor-

mance. Here are some guidelines to help you achieve the best sound from your speakers. (The pointed metal

stabilizer pins should not be installed until the final positioning has been determined.)

All aspects of speaker placement are dependent on the particulars of the room. Since every room is different, no

hard rules can be given, and experimentation is necessary to achieve the best results.

Distance from walls

The CS3.7s, like most speakers, sound best

if they are placed well away from all walls.

Such placement optimizes imaging charac-

teristics, and musical timbres are repro-

duced with the least coloration because the

initial sound coming from the speaker is

distinctly separated in time from the

secondary sound of wall reflections. If

reflections are heard too soon after the

primary sound, the brain tends to interpret

them as part of the initial sound, causing the

perceived timbre to be altered and the

spatial characteristics to be confused.

Figure 1 illustrates the problems caused

by early side wall reflections. When the

speaker is placed too close to side walls, the

difference in arrival times between the

primary sound waves and the reflected sound

waves is too short for the brain to discrimi-

nate between them.

Figure 2 illustrates the advantages of

placing the loudspeakers farther from side

walls. The arrival times of the primary,

forward radiating sound waves and the

secondary, reflected sound waves are well

separated, providing the proper delay needed

for faithful tonal and spatial reproduction.

There will also be a noticeable improve-

ment in openness when the speakers are even

two feet from the rear wall instead of one. If

possible, we prefer the speakers three feet or

more from the rear wall and five feet or more

from the side walls. Also, it is not desirable for large objects to be placed very near the speakers since these will also

be a source of unwanted early reflections that reduce imaging accuracy.

Figure 2. Optimum placement for reducing reflection problems

Direct sound
Reflected sound
Difference in arrival times

Figure 1. Early reflection problems caused by speakers placed
too close to side walls

Direct sound
Reflected sound
Difference in arrival times