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Angle for speaker stand tops
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kcollins4
Rocking somewhere
This is my understanding also. Room sizes and listening locations are all different, but the goal is to point the tweeters at your ear level, IIRC.
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I made some crude measurements and rough estimates based on my speakers, desired height, and stuff and went with a 5 degree tilt back - also trying to get the tweeters and mid's lined up to my head.
I have JBL ARC90 speakers on stands about 6" up. The 5 degree tilt worked great for me. (My eye says that more than 5 degrees might just "look" weird.)
Let us know what you decide to go with.
I have JBL ARC90 speakers on stands about 6" up. The 5 degree tilt worked great for me. (My eye says that more than 5 degrees might just "look" weird.)
Let us know what you decide to go with.
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m4rz
Well-Known Member
Don, I think that I stole your design and used the 5 degree tilt for my Large Advents. What I did do is purchase the "gromets" (I think that is what they are called) that will allow me to put spikes on the bottom of the speaker stands. I just got them assembled today, and will be sanding, gluing and painting them over the next week. I used 2" spruce for the base and back. I made them 11" high and with the spikes I can adjust the tilt and height if I want.
I will be starting another thread with a pic of the spikes as I can't seem to get them anywhere. They originally came with my BA VR970's.
I will be starting another thread with a pic of the spikes as I can't seem to get them anywhere. They originally came with my BA VR970's.
Fast_Eddie
Upper-middle fi
I agree, that's what I go for when I tilt a speaker. Try to get the voice coil of the tweeter roughly above the voice coil of the woofer. With some speakers I've noticed an improvement in the soundstage. In others it's made little difference.
Chazb11
Vintage Human
That's pretty much my understanding. Height of stand to achieve the ear level thing and tilt for time alignment.
m4rz
Well-Known Member
I just finished 2 sets of stands. 1 for my AR91s which are roughly 7.5" off the ground with a roughly 7-8 degree tilt. I used some bricks and 1/4" wood to determine height and angle. I also finished the ones for my NLA's which are roughly 14" off the ground and are at an angle of roughly 5 degrees. I will post pics once they are sanded and painted.
Thanks for all the help, and kudos to Don for his design as that's what I used as my structure. I did change it a bit and used 2" spruce for the base and back, and 3/4 for the tops. I loved the look of Don's (I can't find the thread) stands for his JBLs.
Total build cost me $19 CA for wood and $2.50 for grommets for the spikes, however I haven't been able to find the spikes.
Thanks for all the help, and kudos to Don for his design as that's what I used as my structure. I did change it a bit and used 2" spruce for the base and back, and 3/4 for the tops. I loved the look of Don's (I can't find the thread) stands for his JBLs.
Total build cost me $19 CA for wood and $2.50 for grommets for the spikes, however I haven't been able to find the spikes.
OvenMaster
Baby, you're my winterblue
When I built some stands 20 years ago (my God, that's ancient history now...) I tilted the top plates 10° backwards. When they were level, the treble (such as it was, they were Avids...) suffered even more.
Tom
Tom
Arkay
Lunatic Member
For many speakers, getting correct time-alignment would require too much of a slant; the speaker would look as if it would tip backwards (and depending on the speaker, perhaps it might!). You would bring the drivers closer to alignment, but are unlikely to actually achieve it just with stand-tipping.
What you are mostly doing is just getting the tweeter angled towards your ears, in lieu of having it fully up at ear height. You are also reducing the effects of reflections off the floor, but aiming the speakers more up and away from it.
Why not just use a higher stand to get the tweeters to ear level? Well, you also have to consider the issue of the woofer 'coupling' to the floor. You get 'more bass' when the woofer is closer to the floor, so you don't want to move it up too high. If the speakers have the woofers at the bottom and the tweeters at the top, the cases become larger (perhaps less saleable) and there may be too wide a separation between the drivers for it to sound right (MAY be, or may not be), so most speakers don't come that way.
So keeping a lower stand that lets the bass benefit from being nearer the floor, but tipping it back so that floor reflections are lessened and the tweeter is aimed more towards the ears, is (one hopes) an optimal compromise. Plus, to some degree you are getting closer to time-alignment of the drivers.
Most of the good stands I've found don't have a built-in tilt, so I add a bit by adjusting the height of the spikes and/or putting something under the front two. Even coins of appropriate thickness will do, perhaps with a dab of blu-tac underneath. Of course, you could also try putting something under the front edge of the speaker itself, but I prefer to angle the whole stand and keep closer coupling between the speaker and the stand.
Alternatively, you could angle-cut a slab to sit under (or atop) the stand (Probably use a belt sander to angle them if wood, or have them custom-cut or just grind a bit off the back part if stone. The stand could spike to this, if it is underneath, or you could bolt/screw it to the top of the stand, under the speaker. You could add a retaining strip to the back edge of it, to help keep the speakers from sliding backwards (although they shouldn't, with such a slight angle). I haven't tried this yet, but if done nicely, it should be good.
Of course, if you are making a DIY stand, just make it with the calculated angle built-in. If you are making them for a particular speaker in a particular location, MEASURE the height of the speaker's tweeter when it would be atop the stand. Then measure the distance from it to your ears when you are in the listening spot, and the height of your ears from the floor. A bit of simple triangular geometry should tell you exactly what the optimal angle should be to point the tweeter's axis directly towards your ears. That should be the optimal angle for your application.
If you have adjustable legs (spikes) on your stands, you can use an imaginary or chalk-drawn line at tweeter level and "eyeball" the tweeters towards your ears, or just sight along the tops of the speakers towards a point just above your ears (i.e., above your ears by the same distance that the speaker top is above the tweeter's center). Best of all, get out a laser pointer and make the alignment quite exact (that's what I do; lasers are GREAT for aligning things like speakers!).
If all of that is too much work, or you are just making speaker stamds for multi-purpose use, then 5% or perhaps a few degrees more than that, should be fine.
What you are mostly doing is just getting the tweeter angled towards your ears, in lieu of having it fully up at ear height. You are also reducing the effects of reflections off the floor, but aiming the speakers more up and away from it.
Why not just use a higher stand to get the tweeters to ear level? Well, you also have to consider the issue of the woofer 'coupling' to the floor. You get 'more bass' when the woofer is closer to the floor, so you don't want to move it up too high. If the speakers have the woofers at the bottom and the tweeters at the top, the cases become larger (perhaps less saleable) and there may be too wide a separation between the drivers for it to sound right (MAY be, or may not be), so most speakers don't come that way.
So keeping a lower stand that lets the bass benefit from being nearer the floor, but tipping it back so that floor reflections are lessened and the tweeter is aimed more towards the ears, is (one hopes) an optimal compromise. Plus, to some degree you are getting closer to time-alignment of the drivers.
Most of the good stands I've found don't have a built-in tilt, so I add a bit by adjusting the height of the spikes and/or putting something under the front two. Even coins of appropriate thickness will do, perhaps with a dab of blu-tac underneath. Of course, you could also try putting something under the front edge of the speaker itself, but I prefer to angle the whole stand and keep closer coupling between the speaker and the stand.
Alternatively, you could angle-cut a slab to sit under (or atop) the stand (Probably use a belt sander to angle them if wood, or have them custom-cut or just grind a bit off the back part if stone. The stand could spike to this, if it is underneath, or you could bolt/screw it to the top of the stand, under the speaker. You could add a retaining strip to the back edge of it, to help keep the speakers from sliding backwards (although they shouldn't, with such a slight angle). I haven't tried this yet, but if done nicely, it should be good.
Of course, if you are making a DIY stand, just make it with the calculated angle built-in. If you are making them for a particular speaker in a particular location, MEASURE the height of the speaker's tweeter when it would be atop the stand. Then measure the distance from it to your ears when you are in the listening spot, and the height of your ears from the floor. A bit of simple triangular geometry should tell you exactly what the optimal angle should be to point the tweeter's axis directly towards your ears. That should be the optimal angle for your application.
If you have adjustable legs (spikes) on your stands, you can use an imaginary or chalk-drawn line at tweeter level and "eyeball" the tweeters towards your ears, or just sight along the tops of the speakers towards a point just above your ears (i.e., above your ears by the same distance that the speaker top is above the tweeter's center). Best of all, get out a laser pointer and make the alignment quite exact (that's what I do; lasers are GREAT for aligning things like speakers!).
If all of that is too much work, or you are just making speaker stamds for multi-purpose use, then 5% or perhaps a few degrees more than that, should be fine.
m4rz
Well-Known Member
That's exactly what I did. My wife thought that I was nuts when I asked her to measure my ear from the floor! I don't have the spikes yet, but they are adjustable so I could tilt the stand further back, or level the stand on uneven surfaces. I didn't want to have a stand that required filling, so I just used thicker/heavier wood. Each pair was built this way (that's why the difference). I still haven't glued or painted the stands as I want to take some time to listen to them.
I never, ever thought of using a laser pointer, but I think I will as that is a great idea.
I never, ever thought of using a laser pointer, but I think I will as that is a great idea.
