Loudspeaker toe-in is a concept as old as stereo itself. Because of an unavoidable design flaw in most loudspeakers, to get the deepest, most accurate soundstage possible some measure of toe-in was necessary. This is where the equilateral triangle setup came from. In this method, the angle of the left and right loudspeakers forms an equilateral triangle with the listener’s head. The idea was to ensure that the two loudspeakers and the listener were on the same axis, physically ensuring that the mid and high frequencies arrived at the listener at the same time. This is known as the ‘sweet spot,’ where all of the sound components are time-aligned, allowing the soundstage to fully bloom. The flaw that caused this problem? The time alignment problem between high and mid frequencies caused by the physical location of the drivers on the front baffle of the loudspeaker. Simply put, the highly directional higher frequencies left the loudspeaker at the same time as the somewhat less directional mid frequencies but since they were sourced from different physical locations so, except for a small spot in the listening room, they arrived at the listener at different times. Say hello to time-smearing distortion and the tiny little sweet spot.
KEF has been engineering solutions to the time-alignment problem since the mid-1980s, and after forty years of development and research, that unavoidable design flaw is no longer an issue. With Uni-Q more than one listener can enjoy a time-aligned soundstage, while also enjoying balance and true fidelity to every sound within a song or soundtrack. Uni-Q is truly ‘sit anywhere technology.’
KEF has been engineering solutions to the time-alignment problem since the mid-1980s, and after forty years of development and research, that unavoidable design flaw is no longer an issue. With Uni-Q more than one listener can enjoy a time-aligned soundstage, while also enjoying balance and true fidelity to every sound within a song or soundtrack. Uni-Q is truly ‘sit anywhere technology.’
When you purchase a KEF product, the user manual shows our recommendation to initially set the loudspeakers up flat from the listener’s perspective – no toe-in. Since you don’t need to be in a sweet spot to get the full time-aligned audio due to Uni-Q’s excellent off-axis response and super-wide dispersion characteristics (up to 170 degrees), starting with the loudspeakers flat (0 degrees toe-in) will generally work.
However, a slight toe-in (or toe-out) may compensate for some room variations and make the soundstage even tighter. As always, experiment to find the best sound for your particular tastes and setup. Start with zero toe-in and move each loudspeaker angle slightly inward toward the center of the imaginary triangle between you and the loudspeakers – then listen. Listen to overall tonal quality and listen for the depth of the soundstage. To easily hear differences in the soundstage, focus on one single instrument with every angle change. If you come to a spot where the sound is noticeably improved, move the loudspeakers in the same direction at least one more time – you’ll either hear an improvement or a degradation in quality. When you reach that point simply go back to the previous angle and you’re done!
If your room is not symmetrical, you may need to compensate by working the toe-in angles independently from each other. For example, if the left loudspeaker is farther from the side wall than the right loudspeaker, the reflection boundaries between each will be different so one loudspeaker may need more toe-in than the other. The opposite is also true: some installations may require one or both loudspeakers get set up in a toed-out position. This is rare but it’s always worth making sure. Experiment!
Generally, you’ll find that our Uni-Q loudspeakers require little to no toe-in, but it’s always a good idea to experiment as your mileage may very well vary.
Generally, you’ll find that our Uni-Q loudspeakers require little to no toe-in, but it’s always a good idea to experiment as your mileage may very well vary.
By Jack Sharkey for KEF
