Having a room that doubles as an office and listening room and therefore doesn't have to abide by any WAF's I decided to play around with near field speaker placement and compare it to the more usual (at least for domestic environments) far field arrangement.
Speakers, Ergo IX) were placed around 4' from the back wall and set apart around 6' with the listening spot forming an equilateral triangle and toed in a bit. I kept the sub against the back wall.
The Ergo's throw a very pronounced soundstage so I wasn't expecting a massive change but perhaps a slightly harsher balance with the speakers being only 6 feet away. Interestingly it was the other way around, some of the harshness that is evident on certain recordings seemed reduce, soundstage was improved and every aspect of the recording felt better, not by a huge amount but certainly noticeable. I was also surprised that bass did not reduce noticeably with the Ergo's that far away form the rear wall. Overall impression was positive, and sonically seemed closer to listening with Stax electrostatic headphones.
Obviously near field setup isn't practical in most environments and my guess is that small speakers with drivers set close together are most suited.
Anyone else compared near field vs far field?
Speakers, Ergo IX) were placed around 4' from the back wall and set apart around 6' with the listening spot forming an equilateral triangle and toed in a bit. I kept the sub against the back wall.
The Ergo's throw a very pronounced soundstage so I wasn't expecting a massive change but perhaps a slightly harsher balance with the speakers being only 6 feet away. Interestingly it was the other way around, some of the harshness that is evident on certain recordings seemed reduce, soundstage was improved and every aspect of the recording felt better, not by a huge amount but certainly noticeable. I was also surprised that bass did not reduce noticeably with the Ergo's that far away form the rear wall. Overall impression was positive, and sonically seemed closer to listening with Stax electrostatic headphones.
Obviously near field setup isn't practical in most environments and my guess is that small speakers with drivers set close together are most suited.
Anyone else compared near field vs far field?