Let's make a deal!

JoshK · « **on:** 29 Apr 2004, 12:45 am »

Ok, time to play let's make a deal. Life is full of compromises and anyone who share's their abode makes compromises. Let's suppose you have two choices:

1) Put your system in the main room, which is a larger room, let's say 20x30. The room is shaped well and not overcrowded. However, since this the main room in your place you have to make aesthetic compromises with your spouse. You cannot put up ugly acoustic products, your components will not be able to sit out freely on floor stands, their will be framed art on the wall (read reflective), and your speakers will not be allowed to be placed in the middle of the room. Let's just add that your seating will have to be against the rear wall.

2) You have your own room for which you can do whatever you want with it. But it is 12x14.

Which do you choose and why?

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 12:51 am »

My listening room is about 16X13 and I have made it sound pretty good now with the help of acoustic foam/8th nerve room pak/and proper speaker positioning. I'd rather have the ability to do whatever the hell I want to the lesser room.

Michael

JoshK · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 12:53 am »

maybe I should have said 12 x 10, since this is the size of most auxiliary rooms in most reasonable suburban america.

orthobiz · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 12:56 am »

No contest: My own room. I just did this: still in the process of setting up. Redid my DQ-10's and they are absolutely drop dead gorgeous. My wife hates them. If you can see the stereo or the speakers and god forbid a wire! (the power should come somehow ethereally through the stratosphere) then it's a problem.

Now, I love my wife, love my family but I'm just getting back into stereo and I need my own space. So, I shoehorned the DQ's into a 10 x 23 room with a nearfield setup on the long wall and I'm slowly tweaking away and loving it!

Only problem is, I didn't have the choice of the big room. I calculate that if I get a 9000 square foot home (never going to happen) there will probably be enough room that I would have my own BIG space. As for now, I'm perfectly content in my shoebox.

biz

zybar · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 01:05 am »

hmmm...

12x10 is pretty darn small (especially for your 40's). Might be better off going in the main room.

George

JoshK · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 01:09 am »

well...this is totally hypothetical. This isn't something I am really choosing on, I just figured it was a really relevant question for most audiophiles with regards to acoustics.

My RM40s are going in a room about 15x18 with 11 foot ceilings and open passthroughs into other rooms.

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 01:10 am »

I'd maybe put a small system in the living room- speakers that specifically don't need to be that far from the wall- Neat Acoustics, Audio Note, Spendor LS 3/5A. I'd get myself a Naim Nait 5i and a CD5 w/flatcap-use all Naim cables and let it boogie when I needed some music in the living room. On the cheap, I'd substitute Rega electronics/cables.

Michael

MaxCast · « **Reply #7 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 10:27 am »

I'd pick my own room. It dosent matter how good it sounds if others are distracting you or they want to watch the NHL playoffs while you wanted to listen to Elvis Costello's North.

rosconey · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 10:46 am »

i just set up a dedicated room myself last week-11x15 or so
its alot better than moving my speakers out of the way every time i was done listening

acoustics are very bad right now-major echo chamber-but i havent done anything but 8th nerve corners so far.

Thump553 · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 01:11 pm »

To my wife any speaker that is bigger than a handful is ugly and huge. I'm going through a battle of the wills with her now to install a home theater system.

Right now my main system is a headphone rig in the basement computer room.

Ethan Winer · « **Reply #10 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 01:38 pm »

Josh,

You need a fourth choice "New spouse" for your poll.

Seriously, an impressive sounding setup doesn't have to look unattractive. And spousal negotiation and compromise are always an option. You offer something she wants in exchange for accepting great speakers and acoustic treatment in the living room.

I guess I'm lucky that my wife enjoys good sound every bit as much as I do. Not that she didn't grimmace a little every time I announced we need "just a few more bass traps" in the living room. But in the end she appreciates the greatly improved sound.

The key is to do it in stages. Start with the speakers in the corners or flat on the walls where they intrude less in the room. Then after a few weeks you can nudge them out into the room a little. Explain that you're just doing some "experimenting" and they'll be back against the wall in a few days. Then get some acoustic panels and lay them temporarily against the walls, again just as an "experiment." Be extra nice during that period, and offer to help with the dishes etc.

--Ethan

Carlman · « **Reply #11 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 02:03 pm »

I tried the 'nudge technique' described by Ethan and it worked to a degree. Every day I'd pull them in, re-measure, etc. Eventually I'd moved them a foot into the room without being noticed!

The bad news is that they were only a foot from the rear wall.

As a person who had to actually make this choice, I did the small, 11x12x9 room. Instead of a golden ratio, I have a tin ratio.

I have nearly a cube, a large opening into a 20' hallway, and a bay window. It's a complicated room that I've treated with everything I can afford or engineer. I've been trying to learn more about acoustics and their affects.

Until I started getting really serious about room treatments, I could hear my room as much as the speakers. Before putting a room divider into the opening, I had bass suckout and latent echoes from the house re-entering. I'd consider pocket doors or something but haven't gotten that far yet. Spending thousands of dollars on a room isn't going to happen (for me). If I liked headphones, I'd do it. It makes all kinds of sense. But I don't like the experience of listening via headphones.

As it stands, I've decided to build probably the equivalent of a nice bedroom system... 2 sources, monitors, and as unobtrusive as possible. I figure the less stuff I have in the room, the more room there is for the sound.

Most importantly, I have full control over this room. I like things to be 'aesthetically pleasing' as well. So, my wife likes what I've done in that room... except for the weird pillows in the corners and the molding running up the walls... But, she actually likes the panels on the walls. It probably helped that we picked out the fabric together... ahhhh.

It's been fun but really frustrating to get this room right. I guess it's just the right challenge for an obsessed audiophile.

-C

JoshK · « **Reply #12 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 02:04 pm »

Ethan,

This has been the approach I have used so far. My wife enjoys music as much as I do, but she really wants a fancy looking living room. She told me no acoustic treatments in the living room and it will be hard to get her to bend there. But actually this isn't about my situation, its hypothetical and I figured it might help some rethink this grappling situation.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #13 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 02:42 pm »

Can you do both?

Although I do like to spend time just listening to music, I do spend a lot of time where I just have music on while I'm doing other things. In addition, we entertain a lot, and having a system in the big living room is something that is important to me. So if I had to choose, I'd choose keeping the system in the main living room. However, the caveat would be that I'd have to be able to give my speakers *some* room; they definitely can't go right up against the wall, and I'd really push for having them at least 3 feet from the front wall. In a large 20x30 room, I can't imagine that would be a problem.

Carlman · « **Reply #14 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 02:47 pm »

I guess I did both.. I setup an HT system in my main room for 'entertaining'. It's really easy to use, is small, and sounds very good. I still think of HT as sort of a 'toy' and I didn't spend much on it so, my enjoyment to cost ratio is very good.

nathanm · « **Reply #15 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 03:52 pm »

Ethan's traps could have a provision for mounting a painting\print\photograph in them couldn't they?

Daniel · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 03:52 pm »

Go for the big room and introduce your spouse to the wonders of rugs and textile decorations on the walls. With 800 lb gorillas like your RM40's, speaker placement is moot. They just go whereever they want to go.

Tyson · « **Reply #17 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 04:46 pm »

Since the 40's are more of a "sweet spot" intensive speaker, I'd put them in to a room that can be fully treated and set up with a nice comfy chair of couch in the sweet spot that I could read on or do wireless internet via a laptop, or just listen to some music & drink some expensive whisky or good coffee.

For the "main" room, I'd get a small, discreet speaker that has a very wide dispersion pattern so that people can enjoy the sound from all over the room.

And I'd still get some nice headphones no matter what, something that sounds great, is comfortable and easily portable. Like the Etymotic 4S or the Shure E5. Both of these canal phones are on par with my Senn HD600's for pure sound quality and are much more portable and discreet. Of course I'm ordering the Sensaphonic Prophonic 2X-S for the ultimate in comfort and portability. It's expensive, but if it is as good as I've been led to believe, I'll be selling off *all* of my other headphones (well, I might keep one pair around for my wife to use occasionally).

Ethan Winer · « **Reply #18 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 07:24 pm »

Nathan,

> Ethan's traps could have a provision for mounting a painting\print\photograph in them couldn't they? <

Don't laugh, some of our customers have done exactly that. And not one, but two different studios have a Jackson Pollock "splattered paint" motif already, so they just splattered a little more on the front of our traps and hung 'em up.

--Ethan

cjr888 · « **Reply #19 on:** 29 Apr 2004, 11:08 pm »

Cornerhorns.

In wall speakers as open baffle w/subwoofer built into the room so that nothing is out in the room. Electronics go in any sort of enclosure, shelving, that matches the other furniture of her choice.

Onwall Magnepans and the best you can do to hide subwoofers.

If you're going for the elegant or modern room, remember that three are plenty of speakers out there that are gorgeous enough to represent pieces of art. Pray that you like the sound, and pick out extremely expensive speakers on aesthetics. Audio can look elegant.

I say do all three. Compromised system in the big room -- use her terms. I mean a livingroom without some sort of music?

Then your den system -- treat it all you want, DIY everything if you want -- you need a cave to hide away in.

Headphone system to listen on (closed, isolated phones) and tune out the noise of her yelling at you for spending all your time in the den, and questioning you on why you never spend any time in the livingroom.

Poll

Which would you choose?

Let's make a deal!