Rules are made to be broken and I cannot think of a better one to break than that of the Rule of Thirds.
When that rule is applied to loudspeaker setup it calls for the room to be broken up into thirds: 1/3 of the room’s longest dimension away from the front wall is where we place the speakers. That same measurement, as applied to the rear wall is where we place our seat.
What’s important to remember with this rule is that it is only a starting point. I don’t think that I have ever found a well set up system that actually adhered to the Rule of Thirds.
What this rule does, however, is emphasize the point so many of us seem to ignore. The importance of bringing the speakers out into the room.
Pushed up against the front wall, the stereo system hasn’t a chance of forming what I consider to be an acceptable soundstage.
Rules are made to be broken but only if they first serve as a starting point to which we pay attention.
Paul McGowan / PS AUDIO
