RG. Is it fair to say that you are doing less but achieving more? Are the movements and adjustments you are making smaller and more refined?
ST. Oh, absolutely. Much, much smaller. It takes me less time to achieve results, but getting the job done has also changed. In other words, my perception of what is possible and how best to achieve it has changed – pretty dramatically in fact. Partly because oof experienced and learned so much and partly because I spend my life experimenting in this huge and varied audio laboratory.
RG. You mentioned the feeler gauge. Is it more important to have the speakers level in space or the same distance off of the floor?
ST. Same distance off of the floor. It is the only common reference plane that the speaker has, in terms of distance from drivers to a fixed boundary. You could argue that the ceiling is a second common boundary, at least if it’s a single, flat plane, but the bass drivers are generally much closer to the floor than the ceiling, even in a D’Appolito design like the big Göbel. The floor is also often the most stable.
RG. Is it fair to say that height off of the floor is the least appreciated aspect of speaker set-up?
ST. I’d say that it’s not appreciated at all. It’s just not. I’d also add that speaker manufacturers don’t appreciate it. My experience has been completely consistent. Every time I raise a speaker further off of the floor than the designer intended, by using longer spikes or an after-market foot, even by a half-inch or so (12.7mm) it has a significant impact on the clarity of the bass, its release into the room. It just frees up the low-frequencies. It’s so easy to hear. You can raise a speaker by a mm at a time, or even less, using the threaded spikes that most of them come with. Each time you’ll hear a difference. It may not be a big difference, but at one point, it will be.
The fact that if the two speakers are the same height off of the floor, then they won’t be the same height in space accounts dictates not only that the two speakers will have to be at different angular attitudes, it also accounts for why those tiny angular shifts are so important. Even if you think your floor is level the speakers will still not be the same height in space. In terms of the timing that we are talking about, if we are talking five, six or seven micro-seconds, there will always be tiny mechanical errors in a speaker’s construction, the placement or angle of the drivers (as opposed to the baffle), the precise rake angle of the baffle compared to the top or base. It’s inevitable. Manufacturing tolerances simply aren’t exact enough when we are talking about such tiny differentials, distances measured at less than ten micro-seconds. That’s with a single cabinet speaker, where all of the drivers are mounted on a single baffle. Split or segmented baffles just make this problem worse. Modular designs with each driver in a separate box create the possibility of even greater error.
