Where To Place Turntable Speakers

1. Place speakers at least 3 feet (1 meter) away from the turntable.
2. Place speakers on a separate surface from the turntable’s surface.
3. Speakers should have at least 6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 meters) between them.
4. Speakers need to be removed at least 6 feet (1 meter) from your listening position. Try creating an equilateral triangle.
5. Speakers should be placed so that their tweeters are at the same height as your ears while you’re in your listening position.
6. The ideal distance between speakers and the wall is anywhere between 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters).
7. For a record player audio setup you generally only need two or three speakers.

In this article I’m quickly and fully answering how and where to place your record player speakers. I’ll discuss ideal distances between speakers, turntables, your listening position, and walls. I’ll also go over the ideal placement in height and how many speakers you’ll need.

How Far Should Speakers Be From The Turntable

Speakers should be placed at least 3 feet (1 meter) away from the turntable. They also need to stand on a separate surface than that the turntable’s surface. This is to prevent structurally transmitted vibrations from the speakers from affecting the playing record player.

If you don’t do this you’ll notice a subtle rumbling noise at low volumes. And a howling sound feedback at higher volumes.

How Far Apart Should Speakers Be

Speakers should be at least 6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 meters) apart. It’s recommended to have at least this distance between them for getting the intended stereo effect in the audio. It’s a best practice to have both speakers on a separate surface as well.

How Much Distance Between Me And The Speakers

Speakers should be placed 6 feet (2 meters) or more away from you. A general rule of thumb is having them the same distance from you, as they are from each other to create an equilateral triangle. It’s also recommended to rotate them somewhat towards you.

Rotating the speakers towards you isn’t always necessary. This mainly depends on the speaker audio projection width. Watch the video below if you want some more visualized information about this.

How High Should Speakers Be Placed

Bookshelf and satellite speakers should be placed so that their tweeters are at the same height as your ears while you’re in your listening position. Floorstanding speakers will likely perform best when standing on the floor.

How Far Away From The Wall Should Speakers Be Placed

The ideal distance between speakers and the wall is anywhere between 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters). This is the perfect for not getting interference from the wall while still preventing the echoing effect you’d expect from placing the stereos in the middle of a large room.

How Many Speakers Are Needed

Two speakers are ideal for the standard stereo music you’d expect on vinyl records. Three speakers are recommended only if you want to listen to 2.1 audio with a subwoofer. More than three speakers is generally considered overkill for record players.

A less preferred option is using only one speaker, but it’s a nice temporary budget option. More than three speakers is often only chosen for movies and gaming.

I’ve polled 1383 members of several vinyl Facebook groups how many speakers they use in their audio setup. I’ve displayed the result in the pie chart below. The survey result indicates that having 2 speakers is the most common among vinyl enthusiasts.

Hopefully, this answer and information about speaker placement help you out. I have written a bunch of other educational vinyl articles. Check them out if you’re interested. Thanks for reading! If you have any remarks or questions, please leave a comment below and I’ll respond as quickly as I can.