monitors placement in a small (10'x10') room

bluesfordan

bluesfordan

Member
I've read in multiple places recommending that monitors be placed at least 3 feet from the wall behind them and preferably more than that from the walls to the side. Alas I do not have that luxury. 3 feet from the wall behind them would be putting them pretty damn near the center of my tiny music room.

would I be better of not bothering with monitors? Sometimes I just want to listen (at low volumes, anyway) to something without headphones as my ears/head get weary of the pressure and weight. Would the size of the monitors make any difference? I was thinking something along the lines of the JBL LSR305.
 
I had Tannoy Reveals in a room the same size. They weren't accurate there and they aren't when I moved to a larger room. I would say that it is perfectly acceptable to use a small nearfield in a small room as long as you do as much "room treatment" as practical and use references so you know what your actual inaccuracies in playback are and mix accordingly. In other words learn your monitors and your room. You should really be checking on as many different systems as you plan to listen on anyway. Most monitors' manuals have some kind of best procedure for setup so that if you have to have them closer to a wall they will tell you what sound difference it will cause and best way to minimize the drawbacks
 
I would instead put them right up against the front wall...just don't get anything with rear ports.

Also...don't get real big ones, as the extended low end will overwhelm the small room.

And...put at leas a couple of ceiling to floor bass traps/wedges in the back corners and front ones too.
 
I should have mentioned the no rear port thing. Especially since the Reveals have a rear port that they tell you to plug if you are using them close to the wall:facepalm:
 
The JBLs will work for you - put you need bass traps behind them. My room's just a bit bigger, 11'3" x 10'6", and I have traps lined up on the front wall, with the speakers right up against them.
 
My room is also 10x10 with the JBL305's. Not much choice on placement. I did get a couple ATS panels that help. IMG_0495.JPG
 
I think you will find that most small monitors (5-6" drivers) that are any good (subjective of course) have rear-firing bass ports. It seems that in a small cabinet its hard to design a front-firing port that's effective and doesn't cause phase issues.
 
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