Strange Soffit Scenario

Here's the area I have to work with: Here's my plan: The diagram only includes the area under the shelf. The desk area actually extends 9.5 inches further out than the diagram bottom. I've drawn in 3 different speaker positions. I'll probably want them as far apart as possible, right? I will be approximately 3' away from the front of each speaker. So this won't be an equilateral triangle but an isosceles one. Is this going to create more problems than it's worth? In all the diagrams I see they are always equilateral triangles. These are Yorkville YSM1p nearfield monitors. I'm wondering if these are too close to each other in the first place. The ten degree angle should make it so they point at my head. I'm not looking for perfection, but as long as I get a decent sound without major problems I’ll be happy. I'm wondering if it's worth soffiting these in this small area or if I should just set them on the desk like i'm doing now, in a very tiny equilateral triangle of 2' sides, and put some 703 behind them and the side walls. If I soffit them, should I just leave them on the pads they're on now and cut a hole from the floor of the desk to the top of the monitor; or should I take them off the pads, build a little stand for them out of plywood, put a rubber mat on the stand, and set them in that way (just the face showing)? As far as the cavity is concerned, should I create a box to contain them within the cavity like in the pictures I’ve seen. Or should I just fill the cavity with fibre glass and not worry about building a box to contain them individually like I see in professional studios? If I soffit them, should I set the monitors to ½(against wall), ¼(corner), or full placement (out from wall center)? I was thinking 1/2 but wasn't sure. If they aren't soffited, and just placed on the desk like they are now, should they be set to ¼(corner setup)? This is my first time doing this, and books/websites don't normally have strange examples like this, so I'm full of questions. Thanks.

Hi Lex, I just read some good articles on soffit mounting on the Genelec website links someone posted. What I understand is that soffit mounting is mostly used for larger speakers, not nearfields, to control the sound (low frequencies) from the speaker cabinet itself and increase output. I don't think that in your setup with nearfields being pretty much right in front of you that you would gain anything. IMHO, if there's no way that you can use a bigger area, I think you should monitor the way you're setup now and check your mixes with a good set of phones. HTH Al

Thanks, I think i'll just leave it like this then and add some 703 to the sides.

I would do something like fill that cavit with rockwool. What you are doing is creating a LF resonator that is messing with your frequency response and the phase as well. Speakers should never sit in an open cavity. It should be sealed.

Good suggestion from lowdbrent. That got me thinking. What you might consider is gassing the top enclosed unit altogether and just mounting shelves for the speakers (and whatever you need above them). That way there's no more cavity. Al

Good ideas, I just checked to see what's under the top's floor and it's just a big hole. So if I took the top off I wouldn't have a desk. :P So would it be good to soffit them afterall to eliminate the cavity behind them? Or maybe just fibreglass or rockwool like Brent said? What can I expect with an isosceles arrangement of monitors?

Gee Lex, I thought I had problems with my 16 x 12 room! LOL Well, I think somebody with more experience might be able to help more. BTW. What's around your work station? Do you have room for anything else like instruments or anything? What I'm getting at is can you reconfigure your space somehow. It's hard to make suggestions when your picture only shows a closet -sized space. What size of room are you in? Maybe with that info we can come up with some alternatives. cheers,Al

Yeah, I can just about fit in there. Nice cozy sound. :lol: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2997 There's a link to a discussion about my room. I can post pictures too if that helps.