Are You Sitting Too Far From Your Studio Monitors?

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Auralex President and Founder Eric Smith yesterday.  If you are in recording or live sound, you surely know the Auralex Brand.  One thing that struck many of us by surprise, but will certainly change the way we mix is that we are usually sitting in the wrong spot!

Typically you see figures like the one below:

The Common practice is to make your head the 3rd angle of the triangle (Red Dot).  This position is actually too far back.  Mr. Smith recommends placement closer to your monitors (Green Dot).  What this does is puts your Ears, not your nose, in direct path of the sound waves.

Think about it.

You’re monitors are your sound source, sitting too far back is like putting your ear buds up your nose.  By sitting forward more you get more stereo waves than if you sit back further.  Sitting back too far let’s the sound waves crash together before they hit you, causing inaccuracies.  This is so common that even professional producers and engineers are surprised by the difference.  You may think you need better gear, but really you are just in the wrong position.

Try it in your studio and let us know what you think!