Vertical orientation places the tweeters in line with the woofer and eliminates comb filtering. Humans have excellent side-to-side localization of sound but the same can not be said of the vertical axis. This is why monitors are typically designed to be oriented upright as it minimizes time difference between the tweeter and woofer relative to your ear, thus improving phase coherence.
"Solo6 Be and Twin6 Be are designed for near field monitoring and should be placed at a distance between 1 and 3 metres from the listener, pointing towards the listening position. They can be sitting on the console top or placed on appropriate stands. In any way it is recommended that the tweeter is at a height from the floor approximately equivalent to that of the listener’s ears. If required it can make sense to place the speakers upside down so that the previous rule is better fulfilled" - Focal Solo6 Be manual, page 11. That's literally in the manual.
@@SocietateaAscendenta How do you know the anonymous commenter wasn't there writing the manual for this guy to read, who then proceeded to just throw it into the trash without giving it as much as a glance? You can't just babysit every person out there, that's what printed documentation is for. I remember there was a PC soundcard which had a pattern of super tiny footprints silkscreened on it snaking all over the back of the card, and if you followed them, they would lead to a microscopic print which said "Please read the manual". I thought it was a neat trick. I think products need some kind of lockout where they will fore you to successfully pass a comprehension test on the manual before they let you use them. Some kind of near indestructible packaging that opens easily once you read the manual or something like that.
@@SocietateaAscendenta Im just saying that it's completely understandable if someone doesn't have basic acoustics knowledge. It's just a matter of practice and gaining knowledge... Unless that person gives tutorials on music production on RU-vid. Then it's funny.
To me it looked like the tweeters were more inline with the height of the listening position on your new setup, which is what I've always tried to do with my monitoring position, as low end is more omnidirectional and high end more directional, therefore the high mids or the vocal and snare are more pronounced. At least that's how I understand it.
Oh Yes. I studied this in my acoustics class. Some monitors Just aren't made to be set sideways, it affects how sound is dispersed through their waveguide and how much it can reflect off your desk as well. The Manual will definitely mention whether it's meant to be sideways or not. Most Budget monitors Like Yamaha's HS, JBL's LSR, Kali Audio LP Series (not the IN-8s) aren't meant to go sideways
Specifically any monitor without a vertically stacked midrange and tweeter or coaxial midrange and tweeter when laid down puts the off axis cancellation of the crossover in the horizontal plane where we are both more sensitive to it (psychoacoustically) when on axis (due to the negative effects of the cancellation on early reflections) and are more likely to move significantly, putting that cancellation on axis.
I put the monitors upside down in 1991. I forgot about that technique. So glad it was not just me thinking it sounded better! You are getting me through the pandemic. You are like the middle linebacker of hope! Thanks so much man! You deserve your own PBS show.
Thanks Martin. I've been in a strange funk of overthinking ideas for videos, and thinking that most ideas are "not worth doing". I am trying to ignore those thoughts and just go for it.
The issue with putting them upside down maybe not in your setup but for others is that it puts the tweeter closer the desk and increases reflections. Also probably the reason they sound bad on their side is that the dispersion pattern is designed to work best upright whereas I imagine the kali monitors are fairly similar dispersion being a dual concentric design.
Tweeters need to be at the height of your ears, which they weren't-- your "meter bridge" is too high. You can correct this by aiming them down some, but then you lose it for the rest of the room. Also, speakers like the focals are meant to be vertical.
So, quick question... if the only way to achieve this ear-tweeter-height-match in my studio is turning them upside down, should I do it? MIne are Yamahas H8... I have them a little inclined for better refrence, but the tweeters are 6-8 higher than my ears.... thnks!
Just get foam pads under your speakers so you can point the tweeters to your ears. As far as I can hear it makes a difference. I always set them up in a 45 degree angle pointed at the ears.
Good call. Back in the really old days, we set up a room analyzer ( white or pink noise ) and basically scoped the listening position on it where we could see frequency shifts. We then after that point used it to show bands where to leave the frequency holes for vocals etc. Was easy to display to a keyboard player or guitarist that they are playing in the same positions that make the vocal get buried. Got the idea from Elton John who said that he would spread his left and right playing position on the piano to leave a hole for his vocal range.
What a great demonstration! It's usually tough to quantify speaker-related topics when you aren't in the same room as the demo ("trust me, it sounds GREAT!")...but this was a crystal clear A/B. Thank you for sharing this!!
As an engineer and hobbyist speaker designer, I can tell you that vertical orientation in designs like this will provide the best horizontal off axis response, where as laying them on their side causes disruption when the signal meets the woofer and cancels/adds at the crossover point, is distorted, unfocused, etc. Also, most high-end speakers are very “picky” about room, placement, etc. You have to experiment with every speaker to find its unique sweet spot, where it measures best and sounds best for your needs. Between the tweeter and woofer? On axis with tweeter? Etc. I find many 2-way designs to be flattest between woofer and tweeter, but some designers use different crossover and timing compensation techniques that change this, so each needs its own space and investigation. Like one commenter said, it appears that your tweeters were way too high before when standing upright too. This causes massive phasing issues, as the sound from the woofer will reach your ear first, effectively cancelling the crossover point between the drivers and creating a big dip in the upper vocal/snare/etc. range. Why do the 8’s do so well this way, that way, in the trash can, under the console, in the bathtub etc?? Well, many things. The settings on the back are a help, but concentricity and wave guiding has most to do with it. Waveguides not only offer wider off-axis dispersion, but also the opportunity to align the voice coils of the HF and LF drivers. Add this to the concentric design of the mid/high and you have, basically, a point source that will, essentially, not cancel as you go off-axis. Vertical orientation is always suggested for such designs. NS 10’s seem to be an exception, most likely due to a passed down familiarity of technique, but you’d be hard pressed, I think, to find any high end audiophile nuts listening to either NS 10’s or two-way speakers on their side, due to the aforementioned issues. Don’t get me wrong! NS 10’s are great for telling where the vocal is and what’s messed up in that critical mid area. Also the cardboard kick drum sound can be oddly appealing to folks. I’m just saying they’re niche doodads, and your soundstage and imaging kind of collapses on two way systems when on their side. CLA loves his 10’s, (on their side too!) but he also listens in eccentric ways to super high-end monitors with his head between them like headphones from behind, in other rooms, etc. He’s also built a system of humans and machines that allows him to do the “final magic” quicker and better than anyone. CLA mixes are from a castle and court where he is king. He built it over decades, and he reigns from his throne. If you like NS 10’s, that’s cool! I actually have a pair of the minis that I use as my “trash monitors”. Perks? They’re so cute. Peace and good noises! - Jesse
Mate, love your vids. I gotta comment on this.. "learn your gear" - damn right. I use some 70s consumer grade speakers and for ages I had them on their side powered by a pioneer hifi amp on a shelf about a yard and a half apart. I always struggled to hear the bass and the bottom end but tried to take that in to consideration. I knew the speakers were less bassy so I didn't worry too much if the low end wasn't pumping like it does on a car stereo. Anyway, I moved stuff around in my attic studio and couldn't find a place for the speakers so I put them upright on the carpeted floor. Boom! All the bass response came back and it sounded full and not weedy like it had before. There are floor standing speakers, bookshelf speakers and probably loads of other designs that go with consumer grade hifi systems. I think the NS10s were originally just hifi speakers but because of their particular characteristics or frequency response they became known for monitoring. In an old Behringer manual that I have for a mixing desk it recommends using as many different types and sizes of speaker as possible to monitor your audio. The key to monitoring is that you want it to sound acceptable or as good as it can across as many speaker types as possible, so, headphones, ear buds, 5 watt radio speaker, 40 watt hi fi, 500 watt PA ... etc.
Shopping Americana Recordings I use a pair of 12'inch, 1000 watt, powered QSC floor monitors and they sound great! Like you said, the speaker itself isn't as important as knowing and understanding them.
Tried 4 positions on my speakers too. Laying down, both ways, standing up and up side down. I hear huge differences. I preferred upside down with the tweeter on level with my ears. Never though about this. Great shout!
All I've got to say is WOW. I never would have guessed that the position of the monitors would have such a major impact on the sound! I've been monitoring on the Kali LP-8's since early 2020, and have no complaints what so ever! However, if someday down the road somewhere, the monitors I'm using aren't doing it for me, I'll try this before swapping them out for something else. Thanks!
Congratulations! You've discovered that speaker dispersion lobes horizontal and vertical and off-axis are different, and therefore what you hear in terms of frequency response at a given location is different. And, near the crossover frequency in particular, there can be distinct suck out of composite frequency response relative to position, due to both drivers broadcasting the same signal out of phase. That's why the positioning of the speaker relative to your ears is absolutely critical. If you just throw them up on a shelf with no regard to that you will get these sorts of results.
Thanks for this Ryan! After watching this I did the same test and what a difference it made! Clarity in the snare and vocals, now I don’t have to the snare all the way up to hear it now!
Wow Ryan, thank you for this. I've fought with a pair of Focal CMS 65 (in a horrific room) and pretty much gave up the fight a year ago and switched to K712 headphones, thinking it was my room. You video clearly exemplifies the exact issue I've had - the snare sound in "tweeter up" or "tweeter side" position has a phasey, nasal (phasal?) HONK that I could not conquer. I thought it was the room because I did not experience the issue with headphones. I've verified that in a different room, the CMS 65's sound 10 times better - all flat default settings on back of speaker - positioned upside down than on their side or tweeter up, with the tweeter at ear position. So now I'm going to set them back up in the really bad room I record and mix in and see how they work. It will be a glorious day if the snare drum phasey, nasality is gone as well. So many old mixes to revisit! Thanks...
I have a pair of (the most affordable) M-Audio monitors that are way too bass heavy - I balanced them out (within the realm of what's possible) by flipping one upside down to get more high-end and then angling them to get a decent mix for where I sit. Perfect, no. But I can switch between headphones and monitors in a mix without thinking I'm listening to two different songs. I have lots of fancy gear, and could easily afford a nicer setup, but this channel has encouraged me to use my ears more and find clever ways to use affordable gear.
Your head/ears move in a horizontal plane in front of your monitors. Vertical alignment means when you turn/move your head the distance of the tweeter and woofer stays constant. Horizontal means you're altering the time alignment as you make the distance of the tweeters>woofer different. Depending on the crossover order, around the crossover frequency (1k-3k?) both drivers are reproducing sound, but signals arriving at the ears at different moments.
3 года назад
When the monitors are upright, the tweeters are more on-axis with the mic - so of course highs got more prominent
Just recently upgraded to the IN8s from LP6s. Smoother mid/highs but surprisingly not that much more low end in my room. Would recommend either, but Kali LP6 is awesome at price point.
I've never seen Focals on display at the music store that I visit "occasionally," but those NS-10's were being sold at the same home stereo retail shop in 1978 that I bought my first set of 3 way Avid 103 home speakers at.
In the horizontal position, on the console and hugged up to your ns10s you have effectively created a baffle, reinforcing low frequency output from the Woofer and port. Repositioned, what you have done here, is allow low frequencies to respond as the designer intended. A pair of slim speaker stands would work similarly well if not better, and allow you to position them upright. Or try a set of "invisible" stands that raise your monitors from the console a few inches. Keep reinforcing baffles away from bass radiating surfaces, specifically woofer and port.
Ive played bass since '72, and it was bqck then i started putting the tweeters on the bottom wo i could hear bass lines easier to learn them. Ive had all my home stereo and monitor speakers that way ever since. Sounds great doesnt it? My current speakers have 2 12" woofers in each box and they sound really good tweeters down.
I had a pair of alpha 80's and had to flip them upside down as well. The manual actually suggests it if you have them placed in a position that is too high for your ears to be in the center. I never had any issues with them after flipping them and focals are a fantastic reference monitor.
I wish you would have placed them in the normal position with tweeters up for comparison. I have them and the new ST6 versions so I'll have to do the heavy lifting myself. Seriously, thanks for the idea I'll give it a try.
@@shabahgeorges574 there are better options for the money. Adam t5v or the new mackie monitors. Kinda makes you an arrogant ass for saying someone who's job it is to review audio products doesn't know "anything. Sound more like you're a Rokkit guy an you're butthurt someone didn't make a glowing review for them.
Thank you so much! I'm in the process of completely rediscovering my R65s which I found to lack a bit of clarity and punch. Flipping them upside down tamed the excessive low end and revealed the high/high-mids :)
It's a crossover-phase-thingy with that Focal tweeter. When it's used in 3-way systems, it's cut off high enough to use a moderately steep HPF without compromising power handling. This same tweeter used in a two-way system needs a steep filter (with the associated phase issues) to get reasonable power handling. Normally you can compensate the phase between mid and high by placing the speakers a tad higher or lower in reference to the listening position. Since you have them already placed fairly high, putting them upside down was the only viable solution ;)
This is awesome! A good example of why you should learn and try to use all the possibilities that what you already have has to offer instead of spending money on more gear because you're not 100% satisfied with what you're hearing! This has nothing to do with monitor speakers but this reminded me of a video that I saw some time ago... A guy spent quite some money on an amp because he kept hearing/reading that this amp would be perfect for his style and for what he does. He bought the amp but after a while, he was disappointed, not because the amp didn't sound good but because he expected so much from that amp after reading all the reviews but he was never able to get it to sound like he wanted... One day, he bought the _Universal Audio Ox Amp Top Box_ , so that he could record at home without disturbing his neighbours. _(For those who don't know what it is, it's a box that you plug inbetween your amp and the speaker(s) and you can either use it to play at a very low volume or you can set it up so that nothing comes out from your speaker, going straight into your computer and record your amp with that device's cab simulation.)_ As you can play at any volume with this box, no matter how high you turn up the volume/gain of your amp, he tried to crank up his amp and then made the video that I saw, a video that he titled something like _"The day I heard how my amp really sounds like for the first time"_ . People were right, the reviews didn't lie. This amp is great and the reason why he wasn't 100% happy with it wasn't because of the amp, it was just a matter of how you setup the amp. In his case, in order to get the amp's best tone, you need to turn it way, way up but without some kind of attenuator, unless you're in a desert island, you can't really do that, especially at home! This is one more example of someone who already had what he wanted but he just needed to experiment and play around with the settings (in this case, crank the volume of the amp) instead of buying something different.
I have a pair of Focal Twin6be and on the manual it mentions that placing them upside down is another option. I totally know what you mean about how picky they are. The low end and low mids can be a nightmare if you don’t have enough treatment. Also you have to be a certain distance to really hear the low end! They’re amazing though. I treat them as hi fi speakers
Thanks for this video. Cool lighting and setup. Sounds like There's an issue with the XO and the Woofer and tweeter are not time-aligned. They must have better vertical linearity than Horizontal. They're probably canceling each other out at the XO. You should take some measurements and see what's going on. So noticeable and that was RU-vid with compression so can only imagine the stark difference in person!
this is actually my exact setup monitor wise. had to end up doing the same thing some years back. The tweeters are directional and they need to be ear at height. which can be hard to achieve with higher desks. flipping them upside down gives you the right height without putting them behind the desk a lowering the woofer. it's funny how you went through the same process of elemination.
Focal's do not have a waveguide but the inverted dome to do that job, contrary to normal dome tweeters the spread is a lot smaller and linear, more directional in a way, try to angle them towards the back of your head instead of your ears like most other monitors with standard dome tweeters, it worked for me with the alpha series (the chinese made cheaper version of these) Cheers!
Thanks so much for this! I have the Focal Twin 6 BE's and they worked great paired with my Mixcubes in my last room, but I am really struggling with the switch in my new room. This is exactly it. Great video as always Ryan. I'm going to try this out.
Haha YES! i made that discovery 4 years ago and never looked back. if you have them upside down make sure the twitter is ear level. not between the driver and the twitter, just the twitter. plus when they are upside down you get less table reflection. that might have been your entire problem. the huge table.
I bought a pair of modified Nady ribbon mics dirt cheap on Amazon ($65 for the pair) and was REALLY apprehensive about using them on my vocals due to how sensitive ribbon mics are. I’ve been using them on my vocals with a pop filter and my vocals sound WAY better. I also recently acquired a Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII and those fx may have helped as well.
I think that the speakers should be aligned at the same level with your ears, and if you put the speakers horizontally, try to put the tweeters on the interior and the big woofers on the exterior side, it maybe sound less mudy and the vocals will stand out
I flipped my bookshelf today and was wondering if I was the only one the like the sound of this set up. I believe that the woofer being in the upmost position create less bouncing sound waves from hard surfaces. Creating clearer sound.
the high range signal coming out of your tweeters is extremely directional compared to the lower frequencies coming from the main woofer. You can think about those super-high frequencies as rays more than waves. I think the main reason this is happening is that in the sideways position you effectively create a larger "listening triangle" for those high frequencies pushing the optimal listening position further back from the speakers. I imagine that pulling these tweeters further in by placing the speakers in the upright position would have a very similar effect as moving the microphone/listening position back by about a foot.
Basically, I think your listening position was too close with the original monitor configuration and those high frequencies were shooting past your head.
I've never been a fan of speakers on their sides. I understand when there's a control room window to be kept clear but if the speakers aren't actually designed for horizontal use it's nonsensical to use them that way. This is a great demonstration of that.
Impressive difference. Why do you have the NS10s with the woofers toward the center? I always set mine up so woofers were out, tweeters in. It reduces bass coupling and improves image. Jus' sayin'.
I would never place horazintally a monitor that has the tweeter on axis with the woofer, because the high end would sound scooped. On the ns10s it probably works for that reason.
cool! The bass is not as directional as the highs, so a good position for the speakers is that in which the high (Twitters) are at your ears level... better yet, at the point in the speakers where the crossover frequencies happen.
I can't stand sideways multi element speakers for this exact reason. The elements are on a vertical axis for good reason. Your head is not sideways! It depends on how the crossovers are set too. It sounds like there is a lot of the same spectrum area going to both the tweeter and woofer on those.
That's unbelievable that is. Do they translate? When you take your mixes out of this room do they sound the same as on the Focals? My buddy has similar issues with his Focals. I'll pass this on. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Have you considered a Coaxial monitor to remedy the phase issue? I have a set of Equator Audio D5's for this exact reason. I dont think theyre in production anymore but there are other brands who make a Coaxial monitor.
if you put the monitors horizontal with the tweeters to inside maybe will sound same or better, the difference is the tweeter distance between monitors and microphone....
I've been running Solo6's for about 5 years now. I have definitely noticed that placement is critical with these monitors. For me it's primarily with bass response. These love to be about 4' away from your ears. At least in my room.
2 ways usually dont like being on there side due to lobing and vertical dispersion. Just a limitation to the 2 way design, your bound to get a cancelation in the crossover frequency region.
I had a same experience with Focal Twins. I took me 2 years though 😂... I don’t recall the change been that big but it was noticable. In defence of Focal I had (as in your case) the tweeters placed too high. I’m sure if monitors were placed lower story will differ. Great vid 👍
Was the better sound simply due to the fact that the “tweeters” were now in line more with you ears...as opposed to being to high?...as the “ low bass frequencies” would still be heard all around wether they were lower or higher.? Am I correct in saying that a reasonable listening position is when the highs are level with the ear height at your listening position.?
Well while I was student @SAE institute like 10 years ago, our teachers have already described this problem, the speakers are located too wide when compared to your listening location, they get wider so you start to lose some imformation specially on the middle field of the stereo image and this problem is called "hole in the middle"..There's no problem with your Focals or any other speaker placed wrong. If you want hear them better, you should place it on the same triangle as your NS10's. But there you have the NS10's and 2 speakers can't be on same placement right? So you may use a speaker stand, place them behind the NS10's,but on a higher position where it's front panel would not directly face to the back of NS10's so they'll not block the sound coming from Focals.. You also have to give them a slope so the tweeters must look directly to your ears, max slope should be 15 degrees, if more, you'll again start to lose some information, and these Focals off-axis response is terrible so I wouldn't recommend it.
I got so much heat for posting a photo of my setup running the rokit 8s horizontally tweeters in. At my desk the center imaging is tight and clear. It took the boomyness out of the sweet spot and left a soundstage that is deep and tall. It feels like I'm zooming in on the center, like a 1.3x optical zoom on the center image. Also doesn't require as loud of a playback as upright. With the right toe in and setup, near field monitoring can be far more rewarding.
@@creativesoundlab as much as I'd like to take credit, I got the idea from Zeos Pantera of Z Reviews here on YT. He has some unorthodox ideas on surround sound placement as well as desktop/near field setups. He was the first person I'd ever seen place the speakers upside down, and when he gave his why it was a lightbulb moment for sure. It's the same conclusion you reached, ear position. 💁 At the end of the day speakers are just another tool at the end of the chain. Each pair of speakers was built for a different purpose and even then it can be further manipulated to taste and desired effect. Love your content and especially your unorthodox approach to drum micing techniques, ie. garden hose stereo reverb/echo/delay and countless others. Your creativity is constantly inspiring. Thank you for your dedication to this community and all you do for us!
Very strange how that makes a big difference on the clarity and brilliance treble wise with the Focals. so many videos you can perceive the diff and with this one it was noticeable.
This is also how the vast majority of MTM systems are designed, the upper pair of drivers forms a two-way system, and the lower driver just supports them from the bottom. Thus the neutral axis, without compensation, is slightly leaning up, rather than down, though the crossover tuning mostly straightens it at least somewhat. An actual downwards lean would be pretty bad in most situations, as you'd find yourself right in the cancellation poles. So tweeter bottom arrangement lends itself to better designs. Unfortunately it looks weird to people and they avoid it, so it's not being done so much.
I believe the Solo 6 are not meant to be laid on their side, there are monitors that are not "concentric" and some are. Depending on that you can put them on their side or not.
wonder what difference in audio when you put the tweeter on the inside side than from the outer side of the center.. my yamaha sit rather away and i put the tweeter on the inside and they works pretty well..
Most of the midrange is on the tweeter, so putting the tweeter inside just makes them acoustically closer together and less separated. There's also a diffraction like pattern of summation and cancellation poles though, so either orientation can turn out to be less problematic, and also it gets less of an issue with the distance. The pattern is alongside the midwoofer-tweeter plane so vertical is much safer, whether standard or upside down.
@@creativesoundlab Actually the space between the tweeter and the other driver is supposed to be ear level on the Focal 6 BE. I own a pair and they sound amazing but I have them setup right also.
Isn't it to do with the height positioning of the tweeter? Traditional ergonomics says have your computer monitor at eye / ear level. So having the tweeter closer to your eye/ear is going to give you direct sound. Lower frequencies are less directional. That's my thoughts. Also I liked how you did the A/B testing with the video.
Never sacrifice your listening position Δ triangle. I'm pretty sure your computer monitor is contributing to your center image via the N10's. Might be beneficial to lose the computer monitors stand and replace it a plate display stand, or depending on how handy you are. You could glue or screw "something" to the desk to prevent the monitors bottom from sliding at its angled position, and the same for what ever the monitors back will rest against. Is there something wrong with staking monitors with proper absorption ?
What's your take on mixing with old Vintage Studio Monitors? There's something about paper cone woofers and tweeters, that are more responsive to bass. Although mids and high may be lacking, its a good way to make sure the mix sits well.
I’d be curious how they sound in comparison to these two positions if you have them set upright. I know that my reference monitors don’t sound as good when on their side. There are monitors designed to be positioned this way but the monitors in question were designed to sit with the port side down and vertical. Maybe try comparing all three positions. Maybe having the monitors vertical vs being on their side is the real difference.
Really interesting video, the difference was noticeable even on my cell phone. Makes me want to try my Yamaha HS fives upside down just to see what it would sound like.
I had my Eris 10’s on the side. The switch’s on back never really gave me an option to lay them on their sides, but I thought I could hear the entire spectrum better. Well a month ago, I was mixing a pop song, and the high end was a bit phasey. I stood the Eris up right and everything came alive. I’m not saying to move your monitors for different songs but, it worked in this song. I know it’s best to know your monitors in the sweet spot, maybe the song sometimes will dictate your monitors position?
a bit off-topic, but I'm curious to see how you're using the elgato Stream Deck, been thinking of getting one just for streamlining my workflow, maybe daw shortcuts or tasks, but I'd really like to hear from someone who's implementing it already
I heard of this trick in HiFi circles back in the day. The theory is around the crossover frequency the drivers aren't time-aligned which produces a directivity. But it really shouldn't happen with a modern studio monitor. Both my budget KRKs and current Neumanns have generous sweet spots.
Thanks for this. You got me to flip my A7x's on their side (tweeters out), which has dulled the brightness (at least in my room) that has always bothered me. I'm likely to still replace them at some point soon, but they're noticeably more suitable for my needs now.
Most instruction booklets for monitors actually tells you that the tweeter should be in line/height with the listerners ears. In your setup, without any tilting of the monitors, the tweeter is way too high up. So, to sum up - read the instructions, save 12 years :)
My guess is that the crossovers of the Focals must have more overlap between drivers so when they are on their sides, your getting unintended cancellation in the overlapping mid band. But I'm curious as to why you placed the tweeters on the outsides. I always did that too but I've read old write-ups from a speaker manufacturer that said that if you have to place the speakers on their sides, then the tweeters should be on the insides. I've love to hear what all the audiophiles have to say about this.
Kind of makes sense, having your monitors vertical matches the way your ear is, also vertical. I would think laying them horizontal would increase the spread and you wouldn't be hitting your target as well, wether it's your ear or the mic in the test.
My studio had a sponsorship deal with focal. We even went out to France and visited the factory. Their monitors are immediately impressive on auditioning the first time. I find it v hard to mix on them because they’re too nice. Cant exactly explain it but they make the stereo picture sound full even with a kick drum in and nothing else.
Sounds like a lower mid bump in horizontal mode... Could it be something to do with that bass port moving away from the flat surfaces, rather than the tweeters?
So mirroring other comments two main things really, both you probably already know. This problem stems from your meter bridge. Its too high, this pushes your tweeter way above ear level and because its so directional its just passing your head. The reason the lying on the side method is better than the stood up is that the tweeters fall to ear level but your ears are also very in line with the lower cones so it feels muddy. You flip them upside down and the tweeter is at the right height so you get that clarity, the cone is firing the low energy more above your head but as low energy travels in all directions you get enough to satisfy so it resolves a particular problem. If your meter bridge is too high, try this. I however... would love your setup it looks like an amazing position to be sat at so I would probably do exactly what your doing here :D Speakers upside down.
