[Vandepoelm]

Hi, i have a home theater built in my living room, this is somewhat a middleground between living room and dedicated room, i live alone so i can do what i want with the room, but i still want it to look somewhat like a normal living space.




Background: only read if you need all the details.
i bought this house in 2021, and i didnt check the standing waves beforehand. the standing waves resulted in big problems around the 60Hz range, i contacted a pro-calibrator, and he fixed most of my problems by moving my couch further back away from the 60hz standing wave. we tried multiple locations for the subs, but the front 2 corners gave the best frequency response.

Dimensions:
Length: 8m39 ; 27.5  ft
Width:  4m04 ; 13.25 ft
Height: 2m63 ;   8.6   ft



Standing Waves:
the 60Hz problem is manageable if i put the MLP at 3.9m


Acoustic Treatment:
for now i  have 5 DIY panels with Rockwool (Rocksono) on the left wall. (2,1m * 0,6m * 10cm) for a total of 6.3m² (68ft²)

i will add one panel on the right wall later, and maybe 2D diffusors on the first reflection point left and right.

System:
Denon x3800h
Focal Aria 906 + CC900
Focal Sib Surrounds
2 Monoprice Monolith 15"

Frequency response after calibration:


RT60:

above 25Hz it looks ok, i think i dont need much more absorption.
below 25Hz, its still quite high, is this the source of my problems?

The problem:
i cant get the bass to a level where i am pleased with the sound. either its drowning out everything, or i miss punch in the music.
i tried manually EQ'ing the Bass response in the Mult-EQ app, but it doesnt really help much.
it think the bass just lingers too long in the room, its sounds muddy or something, i dont know how to describe it.

has this to do with the standingwaves around 60Hz? or might it be the long RT of 24Hz and below.



Solutions:
1) Add Bass traps
               - Which ones (Soffit, Tritraps, turbo Traps)
               - How many (2,4,6 or more?)
               - Where?

2) add 3rd sub (the Denon supports 4 seperate Subwoofers) (or maybe with a minidsp)
               - in back corner or Next to the couch
               - could this be a smaller sub like a PB1000 or an Arendal 1961?



more Pictures of the room:

[JWL.GIK]

Hi Vandepoelm,

First off, if you are thinking of using GIK products to treat the space then I'd contact us directly so we can help you one on one. The best place place to start with that is with our Free Acoustics Advice form on the website. That way you can upload photos etc., and answer all the questions about the room/system so we have everything in one place, and can refer to it down the road.

That said, no I don't think the 25Hz thing is the source of your problem. It could be improved perhaps, but in most music there's not much energy that low. I'm much more concerned with the uneven response and inconsistent decay times (the "ridges" coming forward in the graph) throughout the bass range. There are 2 ways to improve the bass response -- one is with placement tweaks (speaker and listening position), and the other is with bass trapping. A great bass trapping strategy will be a bit of a commitment, ie, you need a lot of thick panels in the room which take up space, and definitely affect the aesthetics of the room. Getting that balance right is critical for each room.

But even smaller bass traps (something like Tri Traps in the corners, are 4" panels used throughout the room) is still enough to get in your foot in the door with bass trapping, with really good results in the top half of the bass range (the most important part for most applications).

[WGH]

it think the bass just lingers too long in the room, its sounds muddy or something....

In all likelihood you are hearing exactly what the Monoprice Monolith 15" are designed to sound like. Big bass with no definition, those three big ports indicate a full sounding slow bass response that is slow to start and slower to stop along with huge distortion numbers based on the chart on the Monoprice Monolith website.

I would recommend a pair of REL subs, they have models for both stereo and home theater. In your situation I suggest you call REL support before buying, they have friendly excellent pre-sales advise, I have talked to them a couple of times. Subs are all REL makes, they will have a lot more experience recommending a sub for your setup than anyone else.



If your setup is strictly home theater then their HT/1510 Predator II is a possibility. The 15" sub is sealed, resulting in a faster stop and start minimizing the bass overhang you are experiencing.
https://rel.net/shop/powered-subwoofers/serie-ht/ht-1510-predator/

The Music Room is also an Authorized REL Dealer and would give you a trade in for the Monolith's.
https://tmraudio.com/speakers/subwoofers/rel-ht-1510-predator-ii-subwoofer/

[S Clark]

In all likelihood you are hearing exactly what the Monoprice Monolith 15" are designed to sound like.

I think he's got it.   Rel makes fine subwoofers.  Rythmik is another brand to research- the exact opposite of muddy.