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Placement 11
Toe-in—Now you can begin to experiment. First begin
by toeing your speakers in towards the listening area and
then facing them straight into the room. You will notice
the tonal balance and imaging changing. You will notice
that as the speakers are toed-in, the system becomes
slightly brighter than when toed-out. This design gives you
the flexibility to compensate for a soft or bright room.
Generally it is found that the ideal listening position is with
the speakers slightly toed-in so that you are listening to the
inner third of the curved transducer section. A simple, yet
effective method to achieve proper toe involves sitting at the
listening position, holding a flashlight under your chin and
pointing it at each speaker. The reflection of the flashlight
should be within the inner third of the panel (see figure 3).
Tilting the Speakers Backwards and Forwards—As the
diagrams show in the Dispersion Interactions section of
this manual (page 15), the vertical dispersion is directional
above and below the stator panel itself. In some instances, if
you are sitting close to the floor, slight forward tilting of the
speakers can enhance clarity and precision. The Summit
X is supplied with ETC spikes that provide the ability to
adjust the rake of the speakers from –1° to 11° degrees.
See Solid Footing (pages 13–14) for more information.
Imaging—In their final location, your Summit X can have
a stage width somewhat wider than the speakers them-
selves. On well-recorded music the instruments can
extend beyond the edges of each speaker, yet a vocal-
ist should appear directly in the middle. The size of the
instruments should be neither too large nor too small,
subject to the intent and results of each unique recording.
Additionally, you should find good clues as to stage depth.
Make sure that the vertical alignment, distance from the
front wall, and toe-in is exactly the same for both speak-
ers. This will greatly enhance the quality of your imaging.
Bass Response—Your bass response should neither be
‘one note’ nor should it be too heavy. It should extend
to the deepest organ passages and yet be tight and well
defined. Kick-drums should be tight and percussive—string
bass notes should be uniform and consistent throughout
the entirety of the run without booming or thudding.
Tonal Balance—Voices should be natural and full and
cymbals should be detailed and articulate yet not bright
and piercing. Pianos should have a nice transient charac-
teristic and deep tonal registers.
Final Placement
After the full break in period, obtaining good wall treat-
ments, and the proper toe-in angle, begin to experiment
with the distance from the wall behind the speakers.
Move your speaker slightly forward into the room. What
happened to the bass response? What happened to the
imaging? If the imaging is more open and spacious and
the bass response is tightened, that is a superior posi-
tion. Move the speakers back six inches from the initial
setup position and again listen to the imaging and bass
response. There will be a position where you will have
pinpoint imaging and good bass response. That position
is the point of the optimal placement from the front wall.
Now experiment with placing the speakers farther apart.
As the speakers are positioned farther apart, listen again,
not so much for bass response but for stage width and
Figure 3. Flashlight toe-in technique.
Experimentation