SVS Ultra Speakers - Manual (Page 5)

4
SETTING UP YOUR ULTRA SPEAKERS ACOUSTICS & ROOM PLACEMENT
Front Left/Right Loudspeaker Placement and Room Acoustics:
Proper placement of the front left/right speakers is essential to achieve the smoothest frequency
response, optimal stereo imaging and the most spacious, three-dimensional soundstage.
Stereo imaging and soundstage are affected by loudspeaker location and the listening position,
relative to each other and room boundaries. Moving the loudspeakers away from room boundaries
will tend to improve stereo imaging and spaciousness by attenuating and delaying boundary
reflections, thus optimizing direct sound and helping to preserve spatial information in the
recording.
The amount of exposed glass, drywall and bare flooring in the room will increase the amount of
reflected sound and exacerbate problems like slap echo and ringing. Conversely, furnishings like
carpeting, drapes and upholstered furniture will reduce the amount of reflected sound in the room.
The ratio of direct-to-reflected sound and the decay characteristics of the listening environment will
have a large influence on the ultimate sound quality of any loudspeaker system. Dedicated room
treatments like absorbers, diffusers and bass traps can greatly improve the sound quality of any
listening environment, and are encouraged to extract the absolute best performance from any
high-end loudspeaker system.
SVS recommends starting with the front loudspeakers located 30-degrees to the left and right (i.e.,
a 60-degree total window) of the listening position. Toeing-in the loudspeakers 5-10 degrees can
often improve imaging, however this is also a function of the distance from nearby boundaries and
the ratio of direct-to-reflected sound, so experimentation with toe-in is recommended to obtain
optimal results.
The location of the front loudspeakers relative to nearby boundaries will excite various room modes
(a complex pattern of standing waves with associated peaks and nulls), which will affect the bass
response of the loudspeakers. Generally, placing the loudspeakers closer to room boundaries
(particularly corners) will increase the bass response. Conversely, moving the loudspeakers away
from boundaries and corners will reduce the bass response. Due to the complex interaction of the
loudspeakers with nearby boundaries/corners and your listening position, significant changes to the
bass response can occur with very small changes in either loudspeaker location or listening
position, so experimentation with both placement and listening position is recommended to obtain
optimal results.
A smaller tightly-enclosed listening room with a
high amount of 'room gain' (a naturally rising
low-end response) may cause an excessively
strong bass response from the Ultra Tower
model, regardless of its placement location in the
room. If this occurs, insert the included foam
port plugs into the port opening of each Ultra
Tower (see diagram). To obtain a good seal,
insert the foam port plug slightly below flush of
the port flare. Inserting the foam port plug
creates a low-Q sealed acoustic alignment, and
results in an earlier roll-off of the bass response.
This will often be a better complement to the
acoustics of a smaller tightly-enclosed listening
environment, resulting in a more balanced and
natural-sounding bass response.
Ultra Tower Port Tuning
Port Open
Port Sealed