Are My Speakers 20" From The Wall or 37"?

[James Edward]

Are the measurements taken from the front baffle or the rear of the cabinet when referring to distance from the wall? In my case, the transmission line port is in front, so no bass exits from the rear of the cabinet.

Also, when measuring the distance from the side wall to the speaker, to avoid the dreaded 'equal distance' scenario of rear to side ratio... Where to place the ruler?

In both of these examples, the differences are considerable, yet this is not spelled out in most things I read.

Thanks for any input.

[bpape]

Distance to wall behind in terms of boundary interactions is from the front baffle of the speaker.

Distance to the side is measured from the center of the drivers.

Bryan

[James Edward]

Thank you- that makes perfect sense.

Armed with that information, I spent an hour and a half moving my speakers(AZ Crescendos) around, only to wind up within an inch or two of the old location. Because of room layout(they are in the living room) and WAF, they also have an equal distance rear and side. Ironically, the bass sounds best this way compared to my other iterations.
My room is open on one side to the dining room, and the 'back wall' doesn't really exist, so maybe the 'rules' don't necessarily apply.
Thanks again!
 

[bpape]

Rules are meant to be broken sometimes.  Theory only takes you so far.  The end result given the limitation is the most important thing.

Bryan