The room into which you place your studio monitors should always be symmetrical to achieve the best imaging. Differences in the direct and reflected sound paths from each monitor will result in different frequency responses at the listening position. This can cause the image to shift slightly to the left or right at different frequencies resulting in poor imaging. Symmetry applies also to the equipment in the room, which will affect midrange imaging.

The picture above is an example from a case, where the room was symmetrical but the equipment placed in it were not. The room had almost no absorption so the reflections were strong. Because of the asymmetrical equipment positioning the soundwaves generated by the left and right monitor are not travelling similarly. Therefore, the left and right frequency responses at the listening position are different. The effect of room symmetry is presented in the following graph:

The effect of the asymmetrical equipment positioning can be seen on the blue line which represents the difference between the left and right frequency responses. Any deviation from the centre line     (0 dB on the right axis scale) means that the phantom image will shift depending on which monitor is louder. The imaging in this room could be considered to be poor.

Please also visit our Monitor Setup Guides for additional information:

https://www.genelec.com/monitor-setup