By properly selecting the distances to each surface, we can extend the in-room bass response of the speaker much deeper than its anechoic response. Please see Figure 8.5. This is because the bass reinforcement provides a boost which is complementary to the bass roll-off that would be present in an anechoic chamber.
Figure 8.5 - Anechoic response, and
Conversely, improper placement of the loudspeakers can result in uneven frequency response. This results in diminished bass quality. Please refer to Figure 8.6.
Figure 8.6 - Uneven frequency response caused by improper placement of the speakers. In this case, the speaker is 2.0 feet from both the side and rear walls.
In order to take full advantage of the bass reinforcement to provide the most uniform and extended bass response, the anechoic response of the speaker must be known. The Ascendant is designed so that proper bass reinforcement occurs when the speaker is placed between two and five feet from one of the walls (side or rear), and between three and ten feet from the other wall.
The measurements are made from the wall to the center of the woofer cone. The exact distances are not overly critical, although the two distances should not be within about 20% of each other. For example, if the distance to the side wall is four feet, then the distance to the rear wall should be at least five feet.
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