[Hipper]

Just thinking aloud!

Instead of using absorbent panels on walls and ceiling to prevent reflections, why not place a hood made of similar materials over the treble and midrange drivers of a speaker. The hood would sit over the speaker top and extend forward from the speaker baffle by an appropriate distance covering both sides and top. This would deal with ceiling, and front and side wall reflections. You would still need panels on the rear wall, floor treatment (carpets) and of course bass traps. In effect it is a way of beaming the mid to high frequencies direct to the listener.

A logical progression if this idea is, instead of over the speakers, use a similar hood over the listening position. This would only leave the front wall and floor to deal with for reflections.

[rockadanny]

Perhaps ...



Eh?

[JakeJ]

Or how about...

[John Casler]

High Hipper, if you explore the old VMPS circle, you will find that I have explored BOTH of those concepts.

The best is what I call a "Listening Chamber" where your listening position is enclosed by a tent or chamber which is made of acoustically damping materials that cover the sides, the rear, and overhead.  The only opening is to the front.

It is spectacular in its accuracy and the best description of the sound is "Headphones with a HUGE Soundstage" as a great amount of all the reflected sound is blocked, damped, or reduced.

You can see a couple pics in this thread.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=150132.msg1607886#msg1607886

I have performed MANY experiments and this works the best.  Not something you might use in a normal room, but in a Dedicated Room it is EXTREMELY HIGH PERFORMANCE!

[Armaegis]

Perhaps ...



Eh?

Or how about...

Nah guys, what you need is this...

[sledwards]

"Oh no Max, not the Cone of Silence!"

[JakeJ]

But the Cone of Silence isn't for listening, it's for silence!  Helloooo!   

[bpape]

High Hipper, if you explore the old VMPS circle, you will find that I have explored BOTH of those concepts.

The best is what I call a "Listening Chamber" where your listening position is enclosed by a tent or chamber which is made of acoustically damping materials that cover the sides, the rear, and overhead.  The only opening is to the front.

It is spectacular in its accuracy and the best description of the sound is "Headphones with a HUGE Soundstage" as a great amount of all the reflected sound is blocked, damped, or reduced.

You can see a couple pics in this thread.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=150132.msg1607886#msg1607886

I have performed MANY experiments and this works the best.  Not something you might use in a normal room, but in a Dedicated Room it is EXTREMELY HIGH PERFORMANCE!

Ask Richidoo.  He did a similar thing in his living room.  Man he's got a tolerant wife...

[Hipper]

High Hipper, if you explore the old VMPS circle, you will find that I have explored BOTH of those concepts.

The best is what I call a "Listening Chamber" where your listening position is enclosed by a tent or chamber which is made of acoustically damping materials that cover the sides, the rear, and overhead.  The only opening is to the front.

It is spectacular in its accuracy and the best description of the sound is "Headphones with a HUGE Soundstage" as a great amount of all the reflected sound is blocked, damped, or reduced.

You can see a couple pics in this thread.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=150132.msg1607886#msg1607886

I have performed MANY experiments and this works the best.  Not something you might use in a normal room, but in a Dedicated Room it is EXTREMELY HIGH PERFORMANCE!

Hello John, I remembered The Listening Chamber!

That is probably a better solution then a speaker hood - only one set of insulation.

[AJinFLA]

[richidoo]

I did do a lot of acoustic damping experiments in the room, trying to cover as much of the walls as possible. Interesting and educational, but results mixed. My room is too big with too much wall to cover.

So I tried building a couple of igloos of silence, little anechoic chambers to listen inside. Just piling up 2x4 FG panels on the floor. Those were awesome. No background noise, no room acoustic, you listen at very low level because you hear everything so easily. The recorded ambience doesn't need any help from the room, quite the opposite, it sounds fantastic! Details are intense even with mid-fi components used in the experiments. But the igloos were hot, and small, and uncomfortable so it was just experimental validation of the concept of absorbing sound before it can hit the walls.

Then to further confuse myself I built little FR rear horn speakers out of white pine. They sounded so gorgeous. As I experimented with the acoustic treatments in the room, I found that they sounded better and better the more treatments I removed! This was not true of my other speakers. Later I read Floyd Toole who convincingly advocates reflective listening room and controlled directivity.

But I remember that silent background and the intensely focused listening experience inside the igloo. I made plans to build a more formal structure for comfortable anechoic listening. Hmmm that was 10 years ago... guess I better re-prioritize that one! Thanks for stirring the memories! Crazy days as newbie audiophile!

[gregfisk]

But the Cone of Silence isn't for listening, it's for silence!  Helloooo!   

MAX! WHAT DID YOU SAY?

[Red Dragon Audio]

Reminds me of the "Attack Wall" from ASC.

[DaveC113]

Horn/CD speakers and treat the decay of the listening room to taste. Easier AND better results imo. 

[Mike-48]

I think the fact is, most recordings are made with the expectation of some room sound during playback to add to the liveness, and most listeners prefer a little room sound. How much to add is the $64,000 question. I like less room influence than many audiophiles, but I've listened in a very dead but accurate room and did not enjoy the resulting dryness.

The above applies to classical music and other naturally recorded stuff. When it's pop music, which is mixed, panned, EQ'd, and compressed extensively, who knows what kind of reproduction will sound best? IME, often a car radio is the best choice.