[Jaytor]

I'm considering building a pair of Danny's speakers - either the NX-Oticas with dual or triple stack subs, or Super-7s. But I'm concerned about how well dipole speakers will work in my rec room that I'm planning to convert into a listening room. The room is 17' x 27' x 8', with the 17' wall being the front-wall (behind the speakers). This is the only wall I can use with enough room to get some distance behind the speakers.

The concern I have is that this wall has 12.5 ft of floor to ceiling glass (french doors with window lights on either side) centered on the wall. I can easily hang drapes (either light or heavy) or some kind of blinds (roman shades, wood slats, etc.) but I don't want to completely block the doors.

I've had other listening rooms in the past with glass behind the speakers, but this was not with dipoles. Does anyone have experience setting up OB speakers with a reflective wall behind them? How did you treat the wall?

Thanks,
Jay

[Tyson]

For glass, medium to heavy drapes are best.  Blinds don't really do anything to help.  I have a fairly large glass window behind my Super 7s.  I did a heavy roman shade and it was way better than the wood slotted blinds I had prior. 

[BPT]

Yes, full length, wide heavy drapes are best. In addition you can stack thick acoustic wedges or cylinder behind each speaker. These will slightly change tonal balance, so play around with them a little to get best sound. When you attenuate the back of OB, overall soundstage imaging will be better defined.
CJH

[Wind Chaser]

Hi Jay,

Based on the size and description of your room, I’d try a few things including positioning the speakers along the long wall. This arrangement would allow for plenty of distance between the speakers and the side walls; and with 17’ of depth, you should be able put 5’ between the speakers and the front wall. Try this arrangement with the listening position situated 5’ away from the back wall using an equilateral triangle.

If you like what you hear, incrementally increase the distance between the speakers; as you move them further apart, you will notice the soundstage becoming bigger and more expansive. There’s no substitute for having a huge soundstage if you value three dimensional holographic imaging. The illusion of “being there” is far more convincing when the stage has adequate room for all the musicians to appear without being too crowded. The idea is to create enough space between each musician/instrument with sufficient room to breathe in between.

You still might want to address certain issues in your room with either absorption or diffusion, especially when it comes to having large glass surfaces. But I think you have fairly decent room with lots of potential

[Jaytor]

Thanks for the replies.

Placing the speakers along the long wall isn't really an option, at least not one I like. There is a fireplace on one side, and the other has wide opening into an adjoining room at the end of the wall. The fireplace is roughly in the center of the long wall on the right (based on the orientation I'd like to use), but there is a built in book case which fills the rest of the wall to the right of the fireplace which sticks about 15".  So this would result in quite different acoustic properties between the two channels, and I'd end up with a listening position very close to the speakers. I generally prefer a seating position 10-12 ft from the speakers, and there just isn't room to do this with the speakers along the long wall.

Heavy drapes is certainly an option, and I can put diffusors & bass traps in the two front corners.

[Tyson]

Diffusion is always good.  However, bass traps may not be necessary.  OB bass has the advantage of not exciting the room like a box speaker does.  I find I stopped needing bass traps when I moved to the Super 7s.

[Jaytor]

Thanks Tyson. Assuming I go with the Super 7 (or the NX-Otica), I'll definitely try them out in the room before making a lot of investment in treatments to get a better feel for what I'll need. I have a couple of DIY tube traps (15" x 6') and a couple of 4" GIK diffusors that I can play around with.

I have to say that the Super-7s are at the top of my list, but it will be at least a couple months before I can make a decision. I am hoping that Danny will have good news about his Neo-10s by then.  I'm not sure if I can handle $370 per driver from parts express.