Spendor S-3-E Owners manual

S3e User Manual Sheet 1 of 3

Loudspeaker positioning and room acoustics

All Spendor ‘S’ series loudspeakers are carefully engineered to suit a wide variety of listening rooms. Please use the following guidelines to ensure they are correctly positioned in your room.

The Spendor S3e is designed to be used on a rigid stand 50-60cm high. Alternatively it may also be used on an open shelf or wall bracket. When used as a surround loudspeaker (in 5.1 or 7.1 channel set-up) position the loudspeakers to the sides of the main listening area. In any normal room a significant amount of sound is heard indirectly as reflected sound. When the reflections are symmetrical for the left and right loudspeakers you will obtain the smoothest and clearest sound with the most vivid stereo image. For a stereo music system try to position the loudspeakers either side of the room main axis 2.0-2.4m apart and, if possible, at least 2.4m in front of the main seating area. See Fig 1.

Figure 1

Single fixed pos ition may be

‘Toein’ – a convenient

too restrictive for domestic listening

way to increase the listening area

As a loudspeaker is moved close to a wall or corner you will notice the bass level appears to increase. This is the result of low frequency sound reflection. Although the bass output in some frequency bands is increased, there is cancellation in the adjacent bands (Fig 2) and the sound can become uneven in character. If a loudspeaker has to be placed close to a corner the distances from each surface should differ by at least 15cm. This reduces the effect of phase (time) delays between sound reflections from the side and rear walls and the sound radiated directly by the loudspeaker to minimise peaks and dips in the sound. Tip: Ask someone to speak normally in your room. Then ask them to speak with their head close to a room corner, you will notice the sound becomes heavy and muddled. A loudspeaker is affected in exactly the same way and you will know immediately why a loudspeaker should not be positioned tight in a corner!

Optimum room position

Corner position

Figure 2 Loudspeaker Response Curves

Mid and high frequency reflections from a close wall or large reflective (hard) surface can impair the stereo image and obvious or more subtle ‘echoes’ may cause the sound to lose its clear and smooth quality. Ideally your room should have a good mix of hard and absorbent surfaces to even out and randomise any reflections and room resonances. Absorbent furnishings, drapes, carpets and wall rugs can be very effective. Do not place loudspeakers immediately adjacent to very absorbent soft furnishings or the sound may become unnaturally dull. Irregular surfaces like book shelves can help to improve the room acoustics.

As soon as you are familiar with your new loudspeakers spend a little time experimenting with different positioning while listening to some of your favourite music. A small adjustment can often result in a large improvement.

For multi-channel surround sound or home theatre installations it is often beneficial to position the loudspeakers (including the centre channel and sub-woofer) assymetrically relative to the room main axis, your Spendor dealer/installer will advise.