[Maritan]

Hello all,

I have tapped into the collective wisdom of many of the Circle members regarding speakers, turntables and tube amps. It is now time to figure out my room acoustics. This started when I went to a local hi-fi store and heard beautiful imaging/ soundstaging for the first time since I started out on this audiophile path. I now know what I want to hear. That said, here's the "room" I have that I'm clearing/ cleaning out:



Listening position can be up to 10 feet from the point in the center of the line drawn between the two Magnepan MMGs.

I will be putting curtains up on all the three windows, but am not sure what I'm going to do with the arch window on top yet. The curtains will not be very heavy, but they will not be flat panels and will have waves (I don't know how to describe it). Basically the panels will be wider than needed, so they'll be "ruffled up" and will not provide a flat reflective surface. The space on the floor behind the speakers I'm not sure what to do.

Plants? Bass traps in the "corners"? What would you folks suggest I put there to ensure better sound quality? Do I even need to put anything there?

What about the wall right next to and just behind the speakers (and in front of the right side speaker)? Should I put some absorption panels on there?

Behind me, I have the entire wall covered by book cases - two of which have glass doors, and the other one is open with books in it. Maybe I can just leave the doors open when I listen to music, but I can place any kind of panels upright on the floor resting against the book cases if that will help.

Finally, above me, is a vaulted ceiling that slopes from about 8 feet on the right side to about 13 feet on the left side. Am I supposed to put stuff on the ceiling too?

I'm an audiophool newbie, so please be gentle. Anybody that can help, thank you. 

[Napalm]

Seeing the room, the only treatment I could think of is DEM50. 

Now seriously. How about bookshelves + sub, this kind of combo is much easier to control than big speakers, pick a sub that allows for "room corrections", install curtains to tame treble and you're pretty much done.

[jimdgoulding]

For starters, I would say that your proposed speaker placement is very good.  About 7' apart, center to center, I gather.  Other members will chime in with the rest. 

[Maritan]

Napalm - Sorry, but that DEM50 joke was lost on me. 

I already have a sub - Rel T2, so I don't know if that does room corrections.

Any others with inputs?

[Napalm]

Napalm - Sorry, but that DEM50 joke was lost on me. 

Googling for it will bring you some nice pics of a very efficient demolition Caterpillar 

[drummermitchell]

Bryan or Ethan should be able to assist you when it comes to your room whether DIY or purchase.
I even googled that and didn't get it either.

[bpape]

I would use some diffusion on the angled walls behind the Maggies to help with the soundstage and scatter the rear wave instead of just being full specular reflections. I would probably also do some thick broadband bass control across the wall/floor junction centered behind them.

The ceiling is a bit problematic being uneven as is the near wall without the left one. Not really a lot you can do on the ceiling other than a couple of 244's over your head to address the 70ish Hz problems known to 8' ceilings.

I would also add diffusion on the right hand wall to try to balance out the lack of reflections on the other side without having to damp it.

Bryan

[Maritan]

Napalm - Why you little!  I did Google it, and I did see some hits for Caterpillar but didn't put 2 and 2 together. I really hope that my space isn't that bad.

Bryan - I was hoping diffusion would be provided on the angled walls with the curtains I'm planning on putting up on the windows. Do you suggest additional diffusion?

Now the thick broadband bass control, and diffusion panel on the right hand wall - I'll look it up on your website.

Also the 244's on the ceiling - should they be placed where the first reflection point is, or should it be directly above the listening position? Just in case I didn't mention it earlier, the ceiling goes up to 13 feet on the left side of the picture. I don't know if that changes anything you've recommended.

Thanks for all your input so far folks.

[jimdgoulding]

Bryan, hi,  Do you really think overhead reflection will be a problem with his MMG's? 

[Alex Reynolds]

Bryan, hi,  Do you really think overhead reflection will be a problem with his MMG's?

Bryan's comment about treating the ceiling was to address room modes, not specular reflections. Low frequencies are omnidirectional regardless of the speaker. 

Maritan,

Considering the treatment on the ceiling was recommend for bass absorption, it can really go anywhere. Bryan's suggestion was directly over seating position. We've tested this set up (panels overhead) many times in our room and it typically does the best job of affecting the height mode at seating position. Though it wouldn't be a bad idea to use them at first reflection points either, you might get a little bit better bass performance with them overhead.

[jimdgoulding]

Thanks, Alex.  I hadn't given that a thought.  His ceiling is fragmented is one reason and we're talkin very long waveforms, I imagine.  Am I to take it that a flat ceiling is an even better candidate?  Especially a pince 8' one?  Please advise.  Thanks.

[jk@home]

To the OP... I run MMGs in a standard rectangular 11/6 x 14/6 room, on the short wall. 5' from the back wall and 2' from the side walls. One thing you want to try is whether the speakers sound better in their stock tilted position, or raised on aftermaket / diy stands. It's not cut and dry, in some situations the former works better.

With Maggies it's all about managing the rear wave, the sides output aren't that important (cause their nulled). Espeacially with the MMGs. They beam their output, which is why they have that "head in a vise" sweet spot. Bad in one way, but good when it comes to room acoustics.

Also try with tweeters on the inside vs outside. If you are not running subs with these, you may not actually need bass traps, although the center absorptive panel that GIK recommended is a standard treatment for panel speakers. I feel when it came to absorption in my room, that addition made the most improvement (over the corner traps). Since my speaker's rear wave partially shoot into the corners, I had to add reflection the the corner traps or the rear wave became too attenuated.

Lastly I suggest you repost this on the planar circle, imagine you will get more responses there.

[bpape]

Thanks, Alex.  I hadn't given that a thought.  His ceiling is fragmented is one reason and we're talkin very long waveforms, I imagine.  Am I to take it that a flat ceiling is an even better candidate?  Especially a pince 8' one?  Please advise.  Thanks.

Sorry - been absolutely swamped at work and not  here as much as I'd like to be.

Flat ceilings can certainly yield SBIR problems and bigger direct axial height mode problems. The height modes obviously depend more on the actual height vs seating height.

Bryan

[rooze]

How about a used Lyngdorf RP1 or a PARC even? You have some symmetry issues with the layout that might benefit from electronic correction...just a thought.

[jimdgoulding]

Sorry - been absolutely swamped at work and not  here as much as I'd like to be.

Flat ceilings can certainly yield SBIR problems and bigger direct axial height mode problems. The height modes obviously depend more on the actual height vs seating height.

Bryan

Appreciate your reply, B. Thanks