Monitor positioning advice?

[8O]

Hi folks,

I'm getting closer to my aim of a stand-up studio workspace. Got my synths & controller & soundcard all in a 180cm tall x 83cm wide x 30cm deep Ikea Ivar shelf. Got my monitors (Genelec 8030A) in there at ear height.

What I'd like to do is have the speakers further apart to spread the stereo image a bit. They are very close together at the moment and though it sounds fine if I'm very close to them, a bit further out and it gets a bit mono-ish.

So the options I'm considering are:
- expanding the Ikea shelf with a couple of 42x30 units attached to either side and putting the speakers there
- buying floor stands
- buying wall mounted stands

I'm tending towards the first option as I get more distance from the back wall compared to wall-mounted stands. And as they're going to have to be up at ear level when standing, I don't see a single post stand being any more stable than a cross-braced Ikea shelf.

Anything obvious I'm missing? Any other options to consider? Cheers for any advice!

[Rave]

Isolation is important. I would get stands and primaacoustic pads for those monitors

[8O]

Good point. I think the Genelec Isopod thing will be a good enough decoupler, but think it would be good to make the shelf base as solid as possible with some extra weight.

On the other hand, going the dedicated stand route, I think these would be the stands to get:



@ €166 each...

[3phase]

there are much cheaper stands out there..

[33tetragammon]

Good point. I think the Genelec Isopod thing will be a good enough decoupler, but think it would be good to make the shelf base as solid as possible with some extra weight.

On the other hand, going the dedicated stand route, I think these would be the stands to get:



@ €166 each...

ridiculous price if you ask me.

check out the Samson ms200 monitor stands(are height adjustable),and are much,much cheaper.
or theQuik-lok BS-300.

with the money you save when not buying those Genelec stands,you could buy some isolation pads like Rave said,and maybe some additional acoustic treatment as well.
if you put some absorbers on the wall to the left and right of your listening position,your stereo imaging might very well improve drastically.

[8O]

check out the Samson ms200 monitor stands(are height adjustable),and are much,much cheaper.
or theQuik-lok BS-300.

Thanks for the suggestions - think the quik-lok won't go high enough - needs to be ear height, standing up. Not sure how high the Samson ones go.

Cheaper, but solid stands seems the way forward, though!

there are much cheaper stands out there..

Any recommendations?

[purplesnet]

Hmm, I don't think isolation pads would do any good. Genelecs already have isopods which do the same exact thing.

If I remember correctly, 8020's have screw holes on the bottom that fit mic stands. That could be one option.

I actually had a same kind of situation with 8020's and I made them tiny little shelfs and put those on the wall.
Buy a shelf from ikea, saw it to smaller pieces and attach to the wall. Cheap!

[8O]

^ yeah the 8030 have the same screw holes too. Think the best combination would be the isopods on a rock solid base plate of some kind.

Wall mounts: not sure for two reasons: lack of distance from the back wall, and not sure about the strength of the wall to be honest. It's an old house and the walls consist mostly of dust and hope.

Edit: what about putting something like paving slabs on the shelf units between the shelf and the isopods? the ivar shelf thing is open on all sides and the speaker can be forward on the shelf not to get any immediate reflections from the corner posts...

[Wunjo]

I have 2 KRK Rokit 8's sitting on top of these:

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=452067

They are buy 1 get 1 free. And I also use one live on stage next to my workstation to support my MPD32.

[8O]

I have 2 KRK Rokit 8's sitting on top of these:

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=452067

They are buy 1 get 1 free. And I also use one live on stage next to my workstation to support my MPD32.

That's impressively cheap! But not sure if I'll find that deal shipping to Germany... Anyway, how stable do you find them at max height? They go up to 5'2", right?

[Wunjo]

I have 2 KRK Rokit 8's sitting on top of these:

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=452067

They are buy 1 get 1 free. And I also use one live on stage next to my workstation to support my MPD32.

That's impressively cheap! But not sure if I'll find that deal shipping to Germany... Anyway, how stable do you find them at max height? They go up to 5'2", right?

Well I don't know how Musician's Friends' foreign shipping policy is but I don't see why it would be any different and the stands work great. I've never used them at full heighth because I only need them about 3 feet tall but the higher you go the less stable any stand will get especially if you're using bigass moniters like the Rokit 8s.

[Tarekith]

Make your own, very easy to do. Here's what I use in my "DJ area".



Probably about $30 in parts for two of them, most home depot style stores will even cut the wood for you if you don't have a saw.

[Pitch Black]

What about a stack of concrete blocks covered with a black cloth?

[8O]

...doesn't match the curtains. I've decided to get two giant marble statues of the god Anubis, each holding a flail in one hand and the Genelec in the other.

[Pitch Black]

Marble? Not dense enough for LF absorbtion.

Recommend Bavarian slate hand-cut by labourers indentured to Herr Sennheiser.