Room Analysis Mic Position?

[GrooveToad]

Hi All,

I have decided on my mix position (taking the 38% rule as a starting point) and now want to do a room analysis to see where to place the speakers. Was just wondering where the best place to position the mic when doing the room analysis. Would it be right in the center of the sweet spot or 3 inches to the right (closer to where your ear's position is) when testing the right speaker, then 3 inches to the left of the sweet spot when testing left speaker?

Also I noticed that standing close behind the mike alters the reading compared to standing a couple of feet away. Which reveals a more accurate response considering your mass is going to be in the sweet spot area when mixing?


Thanks for any help

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by GrooveToad

Hi All,

I have decided on my mix position (taking the 38% rule as a starting point) and now want to do a room analysis to see where to place the speakers. Was just wondering where the best place to position the mic when doing the room analysis. Would it be right in the center of the sweet spot or 3 inches to the right (closer to where your ear's position is) when testing the right speaker, then 3 inches to the left of the sweet spot when testing left speaker?

Also I noticed that standing close behind the mike alters the reading compared to standing a couple of feet away. Which reveals a more accurate response considering your mass is going to be in the sweet spot area when mixing?


Thanks for any help

Right in the center between the two speakers at the 38% position.

Frank

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by GrooveToad

Would it be right in the center of the sweet spot or 3 inches to the right (closer to where your ear's position is) when testing the right speaker, then 3 inches to the left of the sweet spot when testing left speaker?

You could make an argument for both methods, but I'll side with Frank and say the middle. If you want to be really anal, put the microphone exactly the same distance from each speaker to within 1/8 inch. This won't matter much at low frequencies, but at high frequencies you'll get comb filtering from even a tiny difference in spacing. This is why it's common to use 1/3 octave averaging above 400 or 500 Hz.

I'll also mention that you should measure with both speakers playing in mono, and also measure each speaker separately. Just in case something is amiss on one side.

--Ethan

[GrooveToad]

Thanks Ethan and Frank !!!