Does a computer monitor between speakers cause comb filtering?

In last weeks hangout I was asked a number of questions relating to comb filtering. One of them sent in by Christopher was “What about a computer monitor in between the speakers I figured this could cause less comb filtering since the screen monitor is thinner than equipment racks so the sound has less to bounce off. Do you recommend getting the screen out from between the middle of the speakers as well?”

Okay so Christopher’s on the right track, he’s thinking about surface area. But it’s not the thickness of the monitor that’s the issue, it’s the surface area that reflections strike. Big surface area, reflections strike it so the thickness of the monitor doesn’t matter. You could have a piece of cardboard up there and if it has a large surface area that’s a surface area that middle and high frequencies can bounce off of.

So that monitor has got to be made larger, here we go consumerism can prevail here. Let’s get a larger monitor and move it to the front wall so that that distance between the speakers and the listening position, that’s our sacred ground, that’s our sound triangle, nothing in the way of that.

What do we have to live with? We have to live with our console because that’s how we make our living, but that produces comb filters too. So how do we eliminate that? We can’t, it’s just a necessary evil but we can elevate our speakers and then tilt them so that the first angle of attack of the energy hits our ears first and not the console.

What is the angle? What is the height? Unknown, it varies for each different situation. It depends on your width of the console, depends on the length of the console, depends on the volume and dimensions of the room, all variables are interrelated you can’t move one without impacting the other. So no computer screens between monitors.