[mmakshak]

    I find the sound from the speaker that has very little boundaries sounds much more "alive" than the speaker that is near boundaries-even though those boundaries are acoustically treated.  Are some acoustic treatment products less conducive to the "alive" feeling?  For instance, I'm thinking that 8th Nerve rectangles would serve me better than an upper ASC tube trap in stacked configuration.  The reason I feel this way(I did do a short comparison-kind of.) has to do with trying to match that live feel of the non-bondaried speaker. 

[Ethan Winer]

Even with absorption applied, a boundary still reflects at low frequencies. The thicker and more effective the absorption, the lower in frequency it absorbs to. If you had two feet thick of highly effective absorption, then the boundary effect would be eliminated more or less completely.

What matters most for mid/high frequency clarity is the reflection points on the side walls and ceiling. At low frequencies all boundaries are relevant. So whatever absorption you're considering, it should be as thick and effective as possible.

--Ethan

[bpape]

I'd say it depends on which boundaries you're talking about. 

Not only are there what we typically think of as reflections, but also boundary related bass issues which can leave a ragged response and a muddy, bloated sound which can, in turn, mask detail and a feeling of openness.

Bryan