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Spcakcr
Installation
Stereo nearfield placement of the M{
Active
NOTE: We recommend that the M1 Active speakers be placed with the
tweeters to the inside. not the outside, of the listening triangle.
The "classic" studio monitor layout used to be that the tweeters be placed to the
outside of ahot'tzontally-oriented
speaker. In the past, this configuration
was actually
beneficial in time aligning the tweeter with the woofer f the cabinets were not toed-
in toward the listener. However, this configuration
is highly prone to comb filtering
effects if the listener's head is moved from side-to-side while mixing. This "comb
filtering"
causes the mid-to-high
frequency tones to get louder, then softer, then
louder again as you move your head from side-to-side, making it very confusing
when trying to mix with precision.
Some people still believe that stereo separation is "improved"
with tweeters to the
outside, but this is advice left over from the early days (the sixties) of stereo
recordings when "correct" stereo often meant a complete hard right or hard left
placement of an instrument
(or singer). As stereo mixing techniques changed toward
placing the vocalist (for exarnple) in the center, the old "tweeters-out"
orientation
would indeed widen the image f one's head were kept in the exact cmter position.
But this set-up proves to be very tiring, very quickly for the recording engineer.
And, to others who are listening to the mix from either side of the engheer, the
sound will seem to be coming primarily
from the speaker closest to them.
Fortunately, recording techniques have changed radically since the sixties. Engineers
have leamed to how to "place" an instrument or singer within the mix so that an
accurate re-creation of the actual instrument
and vocal positioning
(left-to-right
and
front-to-back)
is achieved. ln the M1 Active, advances in crossover design
technologies and improvements
in the off-axis response of tweeter domes and
woofer cone materials and profile have made the requirement for tweeters tobe
placed to the outside of the cabinet obsolete. In fact, using a non-toed-in,
tweeters-
out orientation with a modern, wide diapersion design like the M1 Active will
inctease the likelihood
of hearing unwanted first reflections and a variety of phase
anomalies in vour mix.
IT}I ACT]UE Rffi
MAilUAL
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