Help Setting Up Room

lextek · « **on:** 16 Aug 2004, 04:26 pm »

This room is roughly 16x22x8. As you can seen it is a "hard" sounding room. Any suggestions are welcome. Remember the WAF (wife acceptance factor).

Mike82 · « **Reply #1 on:** 16 Aug 2004, 04:52 pm »

I see only 2 small monitors, so I'll assume you don't have a sub. If you want to DIY, and since WAF is a factor, I'd recommend some fabric covered fiberglass panels. The Owens-Corning 703 2' x 4' panels get a lot of recommendations here.

Finished products might include Echobusters which have some nice fabric options or RealTraps Micro which you can cover with a colored or patterned fabric if need be.

Drawing the curtains when listening can help with some of the slap echo. I'd add a couple panels behind the speakers (at least 2' x 2'- preferably larger). A couple absorbing panels on the wall behind the sofa would help too. Corner tunes ar the wall/ceiling would also help, but they are noticable.

I made some about 1" thick with fiberglass and a fabric called toile (which had a tasteful pattern) and they improved the room response. They look good too.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #2 on:** 16 Aug 2004, 05:04 pm »

It's definitely a tough room, particularly with the WAF. Anything you could do to get more symetry would be great (moving the display case, etc).

Would you consider putting your speakers/system along the long wall (in front of the window)? As it looks in the pictures, I think your listening position is too far from the speakers given the space between the speakers to get the best out of the system. Putting the speakers along the long wall would let you space them a little better, and it would put your listening seat in a more ideal location to enjoy things.

If you can't move them to the long wall, I'd suggest the following: the black leather chair is crowding your left speaker, so I would move it to another room/location. Also, not sure if your speakers are rear-ported, but if they are, I'd move them further from the wall to give them some space. Is that painting between the speakers in a glass frame? If so, I'd suggest eliminating the glass and putting some acoustic foam (maybe 1", although thicker would be better if it can fit) behind the painting. Some kind of broadband absorber in the corners would be helpful (since you have a WAF, I'd look at Bass Busters from Echo Busters).

My two cents...

MaxCast · « **Reply #3 on:** 16 Aug 2004, 05:25 pm »

Do you have a basement?

lextek · « **Reply #4 on:** 16 Aug 2004, 05:36 pm »

Quote from: MaxCast

Do you have a basement?

That's were the HT is set up. The Black leather chair is the "listening chair" I pull that out and put it in seetspot. The painting behind the speakers is actually a hanging quilt, no glass. The speakers are rear port VR-1s. How far off the back/front wall should they be? I might try the long wall.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 Aug 2004, 05:45 pm »

Actually, the VR1's are reportedly pretty good even if close to the front wall, so it may be less of an issue than I originally thought. But I would try to get the speakers so that they are fully in front of the side of your display case (china cabinet)...from the picture, it looks like moving the speakers about 1ft forward would help. If you do try the long wall, see if you can put the speakers to line up pretty close to your rug...

markC · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Aug 2004, 01:08 am »

IMO you definetly need larger speaks for that size of a room. You just have to move some air for decent sound. Even slim line type floorstanders that are atractive to the wife will be a major improvement I'm sure. There are a few different brands available such as Soliloquy, Totem, and even the VMPS 30. I have not listened to the VMPS, but the others mentioned are quite impressive to my ears.

lextek · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Aug 2004, 01:13 am »

I guess I have given up on this room. I am going to use the Krell integrated downstairs and use the "theater Through"function. I will use the Arcam FMJ for audio and the Marantz DV8400 for video. Maybe down the road I can combine the two in a "universal player". The Krell will be driving some B&W floorstanders. Everything sounds good downstairs.

lextek · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Aug 2004, 08:09 pm »

OK. Maybe we won't give up on the upstairs just yet. I tried a pair of Thiel 1.62 upstairs. Maybe a better fit for the room. I was thinking of trying a product like Roomtunes. Any thoughts?

djbnh · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Aug 2004, 08:48 pm »

I noted the telescope. Is that for scanning the neighbors?

I always thought there were way too many light sources in CT (urban/suburban light pollution, NYC, etc) for decent star gazing...

WilliamL · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Aug 2004, 08:54 pm »

Lex,

Phil Lam's advice is good. ( Disclaimer: He is also an authorized dealer for 8th Nerve in CT)

Hopefully our WAF products will be out very soon, but for now, a few frames and pillow products should do the trick... I will let Phil or Nathan chime in more on specifics...

Best,
Bill