[fsimms]

A few people have had SoundScapes for a while.  What techniques do you use for adjusting the amount of stuffing in the midrange chamber?

With me, the problem seems to be that if you use too little stuffing the clarity is less and the spoken voice has more ambiances than I prefer.  Too much stuffing and some music sounds lifeless.

Over the time I have had them; I have evolved in my preference.  At first I used too much stuffing to make the voices as clear as I could while keeping some bloom on music.  Now I test music with the midrange chamber closed and then open the back to let the music bloom.   I remove stuffing until I think there is a very dramatic increase in the excitement of the music.  As an example, I listened to the Lawrence Welk show and pulled out enough stuffing to where the music was very enjoyable.  Closing the midrange chamber made the music unlistenable.   I never have liked the Lawrence Welk show.   Listening to other music, I pulled the midrange back off and the music improved, but not dramatically.  I then pulled out more stuffing so that when I pulled off the back there was a dramatic increase in excitement.

Anybody have any other tricks?  What works for you?

Bob

[highfilter]

My preference in my current room is to have no stuffing, with absorption acoustical panels behind each speaker, and then QRD Diffusers in front of the absorption panels. Have the same behind the listening position.

I never have the itch to get up and move or replacement anything, so I've found the balance in my room.

I tried early on with different amounts of stuffing / closing the midrange off completely, but didn't like how direct the sound was, and missed the atmosphere / feeling of the recording. I feel the acoustical treatment balances everything out in my room and each recording / sound brings its natural unique characteristics.

You might find better results in moving the speakers / listening position or moving around acoustical treatments, than just altering the stuffing. All of these things alter the sound, and maybe they all need to be tweaked a little to get the perfect combination in your room.

But damn, I love these SoundScapes! 

[fsimms]

Thanks Highflier for the tips.  Based on your comments I decided to change my optimization procedure.  I have been erring on the side of too much stuffing.  I took out all of my stuffing but a little puff and played music.  When I played a song that sounded a little loose with too much ambiance, I added a little more stuffing until the music started sounding clean.  I played more music and found another song that sounded sloppy and added more stuffing until it also played clean.  I have about 1/3 less stuffing now than what I had with my other technique.  Music now sounds much livelier!  News casts still sound good and the anchors don’t sound like they are in a barn. 

I do have absorption/diffusion on the wall behind my SoundScapes.  I do agree that it makes a tremendous difference.

I love the damn SoundScapes too!   

Thanks again,

Bob

[highfilter]

Glad to hear it.

I really like how flexible the SoundScapes are. Since moving, I was initially in horror how bad the sound was compared to my previous room. But after adjusting the treatments, speaker placement etc, the smile is back.

[Austin08]

My preference in my current room is to have no stuffing, with absorption acoustical panels behind each speaker, and then QRD Diffusers in front of the absorption panels. Have the same behind the listening position.

I never have the itch to get up and move or replacement anything, so I've found the balance in my room.

I tried early on with different amounts of stuffing / closing the midrange off completely, but didn't like how direct the sound was, and missed the atmosphere / feeling of the recording. I feel the acoustical treatment balances everything out in my room and each recording / sound brings its natural unique characteristics.

You might find better results in moving the speakers / listening position or moving around acoustical treatments, than just altering the stuffing. All of these things alter the sound, and maybe they all need to be tweaked a little to get the perfect combination in your room.

But damn, I love these SoundScapes! 

I am thinking the same way. The acoustic panel behind the speaker is doing a fine job. What I need is 2 sound diffusor behind each speaker and an additional removeable acoustic panel infront of my tv ( my big tv cause harsh vocal on some bright recording). So far, I am looking at GIK and Auralex product. Which diffusor brand are you using?

[fsimms]

You can see what I use from the picture below.  I have a Realtraps diffuser/absorber behind my speakers and a couple of GIK D1 diffusers below the TV.  The music even sounds good on the couch to the left of the picture.  Please forgive the bluriness of the photograph.  I hope to take a better one later.




Bob

[highfilter]

I am thinking the same way. The acoustic panel behind the speaker is doing a fine job. What I need is 2 sound diffusor behind each speaker and an additional removeable acoustic panel infront of my tv ( my big tv cause harsh vocal on some bright recording). So far, I am looking at GIK and Auralex product. Which diffusor brand are you using?

I'll recommend GIK until the cows come home. Totally transformed my listening experience. I have 16 different GIK treatments and probably more in the future once I get a larger room.

I am using a GIK QRD Monster Diffusor behind each speaker. It's their Monster Bass Trap built in behind their QRD Diffusor, all wrapped in a wooden frame. So you get fantastic absorption with the bonus diffusion. Match made in heaven if you ask me! And they look awesome too.

I'm also using diffusors from PI Audio Group behind my listening position. They are just diffusers, so I have GIK Monster Bass Traps along my back wall and then the PI Audio diffusors in front of them.

I recommend both GIK and PI Audio diffusors - as they both have great products with great support. The PI Audio diffusors cost less and are extremely light, but are not as durable as the GIK products (who wrestles with treatments anyway, but just saying). Both offer different diffusor patterns, so they offer different but both effective performance. Either way, you can't go wrong. I'd contact both to go over their different options and see what you think would suit your needs best.

[Austin08]

Thanks for the tips. I will give GIK a call after coming back from business trip in asia.