[oskar]

I'm thinking of adding some room treatments to my system although I don't know where to start. I'd like to get better bass like I hear when I'm standing near the back wall where the sound is fuller and richer. My system sounds good otherwise although I'm sure there's ways to get more fidelity. It's my living room in my condo that has concrete floors and walls. Basically an open concept space with with full height windows as one wall. Ceiling is 10" up. Thinking of adding subs too but thats another story.
Thanks.

[Devil Doc]

Before I spent any money, I might try removing my gear from between my speakers or at the very least moving my speakers further out into the room. You'd be surprised at the improvement that's made.

Doc

[bpape]

Looks to me like you're sitting pretty close to center front to back in the room. That will put you in the major axial nulls of that length.  Moving forward or back pending where you are and how much flexibility you have will help. 

That said, the treatment is still a good idea for controlling decay time and resulting cancellations.  The front left corner is a prime location since the system is set up in an asymmetric manner and the left speaker is pretty much corner loaded while the right is not.

Bryan

[oskar]

Well Doc I did move the speakers out another 6" and it does improve image and stage. So thats a plus. Didn't help the bass response tho.
Yes Bryan I thought that corner was probably an issue. I thought a bigger issue is the wall of glass. I will be getting window treatments soon but how much they'll help I dunno. What do you recommend for that corner? How about the back wall? Would an absorption panel help? Thanks.

[bpape]

Thick panels on the wall behind the seat will help with cancellations off that wall as well as overall decay time control. The front corner would work well with something like our Pillar Trap.

Bryan

[oskar]

Hi Bryan, I checked your website but did not see the Pillar Traps you mentioned. What are the dimensions? Are they round? Is there any point in setting a panel behind the right speaker? Thanks.

[bpape]

Sorry.  Mistyped. I meant the Soffit Trap.

I wouldn't worry about behind the right speaker at this point unless SBIR becomes an issue on the front wall at which point we'd do behind both of them.

Bryan

[oskar]

OK thanks Bryan. Been trying to decode SBIR but..... I'm drawing blank????

[bpape]

It has to do with how bass waves propagate spherically in 3 dimensions.  The wave can come off the wall behind the speakers and cause interference, either constructive or destructive, with the direct sound causing peaks and dips in response.

Bryan

[Ethan Winer]

Been trying to decode SBIR

Speaker Boundary Interference Response. Reflections from boundaries near the speaker collide with the direct sound from the speakers, and with other reflections, to create peaks and dips at bass frequencies. The frequencies are related to those distances, with closer boundaries creating peaks and dips at higher frequencies. This is a good reason not to follow the common advice to put speakers far from the walls. When the speakers are closer, the reflections are easier to treat.

--Ethan

[oskar]

Thanks Ethan. I'm at the bottom of the learning curve here so I welcome all info.  I know my room is robbing the bass but I really need to make this set up work. So absorbers behind speakers tighten low frequencies coming from the drivers?

[Ethan Winer]

So absorbers behind speakers tighten low frequencies coming from the drivers?

Sure, but absorbers are needed in other places too. All corners in a room are the first line of attack, but other places are valid too. This short article explains the basics in plain English:

Acoustic Basics

--Ethan

[oskar]

Ok thanks. I'm beginning to see the light.