Monitor Placement
Placement sets low-end, imaging and reflections. Move the speakers before reaching for EQ.
Related
The problem
The same speaker on a desk, against a wall or off-centre shifts the image and changes the bass. Most bad-speaker complaints start with placement.
Physics or room
Near a wall the speaker gets boundary gain, and its distance to the wall can cancel direct sound and create comb filtering. Asymmetry makes early reflections differ and pulls the image sideways. A tweeter below ear height loses highs. An equilateral triangle stabilises the image; a desk reflection scoops the midrange.
Practice and judgement
Place speakers symmetrically, tweeters at ear height, spacing close to the listening distance. Leave a gap to the front wall and avoid predicted cancellations; toe in so axes cross behind your head. Decouple speakers from the desk. Move before equalising.
What to listen for
Play mono voice; it should sit dead centre. If it pulls left or right, check symmetry and angle. On double bass, move your head and listen for the point where the low end locks in. Then judge reverb width, not just side-wall reflection.
Common misunderstandings
Nearfields do not remove the room, only raise the direct-to-reflected ratio. Bigger is not better when the room and distance do not suit it. Spikes and pads change vibration and height, not room modes.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- Toole, Floyd，Sound Reproduction（Focal Press）— 监听摆位与房间章节核对，未引用
- Newell, Philip，Recording Studio Design（Focal Press）— 控制室几何章节核对，未引用
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.