Yamaha MSP7Studio Owner's Manual

Also see for MSP Series: Service manual Owner's manual Service manual

Contents

English6 MSP7 STUDIO/MSP5 STUDIO/SW10 STUDIO Owner’s ManualSpeaker PlacementSpeaker placement is one of the most important consid-erations when setting up a monitor system, but it is all toooften overlooked with the result that performance is seri-ously compromised. Admittedly the obstacles to perfectspeaker positioning in the small studio are formidable.Having the space available to place your speaker system sothat it can provide optimum performance is a luxury, but itis definitely worth the time spent doing a little experimen-tation and measuring to make the most of limitedresources. The difference can be astounding. The basics arethe same whether you’re setting up a stereo or 5.1 sur-round system.Proximity to Walls and CornersFor the most accurate response your speakers should bepositioned away from walls and especially corners, whichcan play havoc with a speaker’s frequency characteristics. Aminimum of about 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) away fromwalls would be ideal, but in reality they’ll probably end upbeing placed on a desktop and pushed up against a wall.Just keep in mind that fact that the closer you get towalls and corners the more exaggerated the speaker’s bassresponse is likely to become, and some compensation —whether you compensate mentally or use some equaliza-tion — will probably be required.SymmetryAs we’ve just learned, the response of a speaker canchange drastically according to where it is placed in rela-tion to surfaces. So what happens if one of your speakers isup against a wall and the other is out in the open? Restassured that the results will not be good, and will definitelynot be conducive to producing good mixes.You’ll have totally different response from your left andright speakers, making it next to impossible to create awell-balanced mix, or even position tracks accurately in thestereo sound field. So whatever you do, if you’re seriousabout your sound make sure that your speakers are locatedas symmetrically within your listening environment as pos-sible. Use a tape measure to ensure that your speakers arethe same distance from the side and rear walls. Largeobjects can throw the acoustic symmetry of a room off bal-ance, too. It’s also important to be aware of the location ofdoors and windows. It is not always possible to achieveideal symmetry, but it’s worth getting as close as possible.