Tweeter/Ear-Level Condundrum

[RecordingMaster]

I am redesigning my entire studio from the ground up maybe you saw that thread.

Anywho, I will now be putting some 5-U desktop racks on my desk which will double as a place to put my monitors on top of. Now...I will be using Auralex Mopads which can either have your monitors sitting, angled down slightly, angle down more, or angle upwards.

From where I sit, (my head will be about 42" from monitors) i am wondering if I should aim the speakers down slightly or keep flat. If left flat, the tweeter is slightly higher than ear level and I am wondering at which point is too much. If I am 42" inches away (significant enough of a distance) maybe it's not a huge deal.

Or if I angle downwards slightly, when I worry they would end up pointing at a part of my head that is now LOWER than ear level, after 42". If downwards, it also narrows the sweet spot even more (even if they ARE pointing right at ear level) because the minute you move, that angle is a moot point.

Here are some pics of me in front of a mirror with ear right next to monitor to show.

What do you think?

Here it is on the mopad, flat. Tweeter is above ear level.




Here is is on the mopad, angled downards slightly. I worry by the time it gets to me (42" away) it'll be pointing at my shoulders!

 

[ashcat_lt]

Of those two pictures, I'd choose the first. Does your chair have an adjustment? Can you sit on a pillow?

 

[RecordingMaster]

Of those two pictures, I'd choose the first. Does your chair have an adjustment?

Yes my chair has an adjustment, but it is at its highest, where if I go any higher, my keyboard tray will be in the way (it's already JUST above my thighs).

Can you sit on a pillow?

Haha, what about a phone book?!

 

[ashcat_lt]

Haha, what about a phone book?!

Doesn't solve the keyboard issue, though.

If you lower the chair (or slouch), you can get the angled tweeter to blast right at your ear. As pictured, though, the shortest distance is to your earlobe, but what worries me more is the angle to the woofer. If you look at those two pictures, and draw a line from the center of the tweeter to your ear hole and then from the center of the woofer to your ear, you'll notice that the difference, or ratio, of the two distances is significantly different, with the woofer quite a bit further away (proportionately speaking) in the tilted position. That's the part that freaks me out the most. Assuming that the designers put some thought into relative phase between the two drivers, and that whatever they decided depends on having the tweeter blasting right in your ear, I think the one without the angle gets you closest to that intent. Course I didn't do any measurements...

Honestly, I never get that far into this kind of thing IRL, and I think the right way to answer the question is to try it both ways and see what feels best to you.