Hi Beolab 3 users

We have just bought a pair of Beolab 3 (among other things) for our kitchen/dining room. You can read the whole story, if you like, here:

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/t/24071.aspx

I wonder now how to use them. I am particulary concerned with the speaker placement. The speakers are wall mounted quite high up, maybe 0.5-1 m above your head when you are standing at the preferred listening position. They are distanced just above 4 m from each other at the side walls. The room continues to form an ellipse (or something) behind the speakers (does this make sence to you?). I would guess the listening positioning is about 4 m from the speakers. It is of course not possible to move the speakers, but you can tweak a bit with directions and bass levels. The installer tilted the speaker down, pointing towards the listening positioning as a start. I have not tested anything else with that yet. I have concluded that with the placement for now, the base level sounds best with "corner" settings. The other "wall" or "free" seems to be too boomy. Often with speakers they also get a better stereo listening if you direct the speaker to a spot 0.5-1m in front of you, so did this speaker (and our Beolab 8000 and the speaker before that...).

You people on this forum maybe could give me a hand how to handle this speaker setup? Do you have any tip? Should I tilt down the speaker even more? If you have the Beolab 3 with a stand, I think they are directed quite low, are there reasons for this?

With the distance that long between them, maybe I should direct them to a spot 2m in front instead or maybe 1m behind? What does your experince say?

They already sound very good, but I want to get every bit of what they can do. I know also that it is just to try different things ( as I already do), but I am most interested to hear your wisdom.

Btw, I noticed that the speaker had to "play in" themselves quite a while before thay sounded good. Something you have noticed also?

B R

Clakke

 

Clakke,

I have used the BL3 in about 10 different installations and in each instance they are best positioned where the ALT is at approximately ear level for the intended listening position. The imaging is coming mainly from these transducers and the experience will be maximized if properly placed. Aiming the BL3 "down" will place a wedge of ideal proximity at an angle to the listening position thereby limiting the region of the room where the BL3s are maximized. It is not clear what sort of listening you will be doing in a kitchen/dining room but it is likely that it will not be critical listening. Therefore the placement may not be as important. In such cases I usually specify an in-wall speaker (Beovox 1) or the BL3500 to provide ambient music. The BL3 may be overkill for your application depending upon what your expectations are. From the information you have supplied, I would install them on the wall brakets (or stands) at ear level for a sitting position at the dining table.

I have the BL3s in a very similar placement in a sitting room. I was concerned as well about the necessity of doing an unusual placement. As Affineur has already mentioned this does limit to some degree the listening area effectiveness. However, I think you will find that the BL3s are very forgiving as you move through the listening area. In my case (almost identical to what you describe) I've found that they work very well (for uncritical listening) in a seated or standing position from about 2.5-6.5m away. There are three vertical positioning screws. In your setting ( as with mine) the correct placement would probably be the third and most angled position. This was based on my own observation as well as input from the dealer and forum. On the forum TripEnglish has stated that the BL3's ALT speaker seem to have a 15-20º (degree) vertical dispersion. Alex seemed to think that the "sweet" spot was about 5-10º above 0º,the reason they are probably placed low on the stands.

It sounds, from your description, that you've got things pretty close to right. Tilted down, toed in, bass in "corner" position. I've got BeoLab 3s in a similar setup in my spa, and they are extremely satisfying. I'm not sure about the "playing in" part of it. What we (at Sausalito Audio) have noticed is that we humans have a period during which we acclimate to the effects of the Acoustic Lens - there appears to be a cognitive acquisition period. I can bore you at great length (in a bar is best) as to why this might be so, but we've observed it in ourselves and in many others. At the same time, I haven't heard big changes in the sound of any of B&O's ALT speakers as they "break in." I hope this is of interest. Best regards,

Affineur:

Clakke,

I have used the BL3 in about 10 different installations and in each instance they are best positioned where the ALT is at approximately ear level for the intended listening position. The imaging is coming mainly from these transducers and the experience will be maximized if properly placed. Aiming the BL3 "down" will place a wedge of ideal proximity at an angle to the listening position thereby limiting the region of the room where the BL3s are maximized. It is not clear what sort of listening you will be doing in a kitchen/dining room but it is likely that it will not be critical listening. Therefore the placement may not be as important. In such cases I usually specify an in-wall speaker (Beovox 1) or the BL3500 to provide ambient music. The BL3 may be overkill for your application depending upon what your expectations are. From the information you have supplied, I would install them on the wall brakets (or stands) at ear level for a sitting position at the dining table.

Hi Affineur

Thank you for your answer. The speakers are already installed as described above and I have a preferred listening point where I want to optimise the sound  so close to critical listening as possible. For the other part of the room, it is as you say not critical, but Beolab 3 can also fix ambient music . The listening point is situated at a counter (where I enjoy my Martini, or maybe a daiquiry). You are absolutely right, it is overkill to install Beolab 3 at this place (I described that in the included link above). But it is fun...

Have a good day

Clakke

mhodges:

I have the BL3s in a very similar placement in a sitting room. I was concerned as well about the necessity of doing an unusual placement. As Affineur has already mentioned this does limit to some degree the listening area effectiveness. However, I think you will find that the BL3s are very forgiving as you move through the listening area. In my case (almost identical to what you describe) I've found that they work very well (for uncritical listening) in a seated or standing position from about 2.5-6.5m away. There are three vertical positioning screws. In your setting ( as with mine) the correct placement would probably be the third and most angled position. This was based on my own observation as well as input from the dealer and forum. On the forum TripEnglish has stated that the BL3's ALT speaker seem to have a 15-20º (degree) vertical dispersion. Alex seemed to think that the "sweet" spot was about 5-10º above 0º,the reason they are probably placed low on the stands.

Hi Michael

Thank you for the answer. Then, from your description, I think they are tilted down to the lowest position already. They actually works pretty well already now for critical listening. I just want every drop...

B R

Clakke

Clakke,

I suggest that you take Dave Moulton's assessment as definitive. He likely knows more about this speaker, the associated technology, and proper placement than anyone else on this forum. From his post it would appear that you have things right. Enjoy your martini!!

Dave Moulton:

It sounds, from your description, that you've got things pretty close to right. Tilted down, toed in, bass in "corner" position. I've got BeoLab 3s in a similar setup in my spa, and they are extremely satisfying. I'm not sure about the "playing in" part of it. What we (at Sausalito Audio) have noticed is that we humans have a period during which we acclimate to the effects of the Acoustic Lens - there appears to be a cognitive acquisition period. I can bore you at great length (in a bar is best) as to why this might be so, but we've observed it in ourselves and in many others. At the same time, I haven't heard big changes in the sound of any of B&O's ALT speakers as they "break in." I hope this is of interest. Best regards,

Hi Dave

Absolutely of great interest. Thank you. Do you have any ideas around the toe in, how much?

I do not know so much about the "break in" period, just that I could hear the Beolab 3 perform better and better in the beginning. At the same time, I bought Beolab 8000 and did not heard that phenomenon there. Sometimes when you start the speakers (BL3), when the amplifiers are cold, I often think they sound a bit "odd" or dry or something. It actually sounds a while like in the beginning. Maybe I just imaging it. I have read about this thing but I have never experienced it myself until BL3. Looking forward to the bar thing about this.

When I listen to my BL8000 at their setup, I experience a better stereo perspective. Of course I can move around the BL8000 to find the best placement much more than I can do with the Beolab 3. I suspect that the distance between the BL3 maybe should have been a little shorter than about 4 m. What do you think here? it is not possible to move the speakers because of the walls, but it would be interesting to hear your opinion.

Anyway, it is a fantastic piece this BL3.

Have a nice evening

Clakke