Speaker Set Up - Vocals sound recessed
default -- Sun, 03/08/2009 - 20:45
My 2 channel speakers (full range Tyler Signature Speakers) sound great in all areas but one. The vocals sound recessed (or way back in the mix). I listen to classic rock. Everything else (guitars, etc.) sound great. Are ther any tricks I can use (i.e. toeing in more, etc.) that might alleviate this issue or is this a function of having listened to lousey speakers in the past that made everything sound forward? Thanks!
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Be sure that your speakers are connected in phase. You can also try inverting the absolute polarity of recordings that sound recessed in the midrange (if you have a digital source or preamp that allows you to invert absolute polarity).
Robert's right on the money when it comes to phase. While you are right on the money when you talk about speaker placement... and possibly the effect of the upgrade too. But that just scratches the surface.
You can check phase by playing a piece of music with a distinct instrument in the dead center of the mix. If that instrument's position can be clearly identified in the mix, the speakers are in phase; if you can't, they are out of phase.
Also, try checking that the speakers are not too close together (the sound of the left and right channels swamp the centre image) or too far apart (the centre image goes wide and diffuse and sounds like two mono speakers instead of a seamless stereo). Making sure the speakers are evenly placed and perfectly level helps too. Adjusting the toe-in will help focus the image and may help tonality, but if the recessed sound is very recessed, it's more likely to be something more significant.
Shifting big Tyler speakers a lot to fix positioning errors (that might come to nothing anyway) only really serves to keep chiropractors in business, so here's another little trick - play an old recording from the 1960s (like v. early Beatles recordings when the band is in one channel and vocals in another). If the vocals are less recessed when they are basically coming from the speaker, then you know it's a positioning problem.
If it's not, it might be another component in the chain, most likely the amplifier or cables.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
Hello! Do you know anyway that is possible that we can get the sound back in the left speaker because it was on and now we cant hear any sound coming out of it,but the right one is still on. We are talking about the speaker on the computer. If there is anyway you can help us thank you!
Yes but can you tell us were to go or how to get there so we can be sure that we have voice in the left speaker