[Tony1]

Hi everyone,

I was considering on upgrading equipment but want to look into room treatment before I do.  My room is 13.5' X 26'.  As you can see from the photo, the sound spreads wide and don't believe I have first reflection issues, please correct me if I'm wrong.  I may have one corner that I can see that I could put a bass trap and that is by the window. My system does not sound boomy so I don't know if a bass trap is still necessary.  The only places that I can placing see putting sound treatment is the wall behind the sofa and maybe behind the speakers.  What difference would I here if I put treatment behind my speakers? Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

[woodsyi]

Tony,

You got a lot in the "room" to treat the room tastefully.    While you may not have side wall reflections (fire place and sliding door on the left may still) you probably have standing waves back to front.  I don't like listening position against a wall but absorption/diffraction here will help.  Even though you have a fairly large space and irregular shape I am sure you still have bass modes.  Some broad band bass trapping should help.  Perhaps side table/speaker stand type of trap would work?  Since your room looks to be a live one (hard surfaces) and monopole speakers, absorption behind the LCR speakers should help as well.  This is an amateur recommendation based on my 2 channel room, but I am sure a pro will chime in later with more specific recommendations on 5.1 set up.  Good luck.

[bpape]

Woodsyi is pretty much right on the money IMO.

If the seating can be pulled out a bit, that would help as you're currently sitting in a place where bass builds up.  You could then do some treatments on the floor behind the couch.

I'd also try to pull the sub out away from the wall a bit if you can to help at least a little with boundary reinforcement.

Panels behind the monitors will help with mid/upper bass boundary issues and potentially help focusing of the image.

A bass absorber in the left rear corner would also help general decay time in the room.

Bryan

[TRADERXFAN]

Try moving your couch up 5" and putting a 4" rockwool panel all across that back wall. It should improve things dramatically.

If you are a DIY type should be relatively cheap. If not there are several panels you could buy and hang/mount to the wall, like Gik or Realtraps. For asthetics cover it in a some kind of screenprinted cloth  or silk type artwork, or rug, or something "breathable". Not a painting as the paint is hard.

Then the side wall by the glass is probably something like a removable standing panel or hard deflector, that angles back toward the front wall what would have hit your first reflection point. Since you don't have anything nearby on the right, it probably would still sound balanced. Maybe if you changed the wire 3 way to a paneled three way partition it would be able to serve this purpose for you, just line up the reflection points with the angles it would strike to cause them to reflect back towards the front speakers.

-Tony

[Tony1]

Thanks for the suggestions! I do have a few questions.

1) There are so many different thickness in panels out there(thicker the panel the better for bass) Would I need a thick or thin panel for behind the speaker/ behind the sofa?

2) Woodsyi, you are right as far as the room being live which is great but I do get glare on high end when choirs hit high notes like in Mozart Requiem.

3) I like the soundstage of the system but will treating the room effect the soundstage?

4) As far as putting a bass absorber in the upper left corner of the room, I can't find one that will fit in that corner because it's small.  If I just leave that door open would that be enough?

Thanks

Tony

[laserman]

Hi Tony,

#1.  I would use 4" thick panels with at least a 3" air space between the panel and wall behind your listening position.  My listen position has a wall directly behind it and I made two 3'W x 6'H panels using free standing room dividers.  They are very effective.  I also used 2" thick 1'W x 4'H panels on 8" stands behind L&R front speakers at first reflection spot.  In your situation, they would be located close to your TV.

#2.  The sliding glass door looks to one of the issues for that glare you mentioned (the other may be the mirrored wall in the dinning area), so I'll address it.  You may want to look into a product by Hunter-Douglas to use in place of your current vertical blinds.  They have a honeycombed vertical blind that is very effective.  If this is not possible, look at having a couple of free standing 2" panels so you can move them in place while listening.

#3.  Yes, it will make it better.  In my situation it made the stage deeper and wrap around the side walls.

#4.  Rear Left Hand Corner (I think Brian was refering to the corner between the door and slider) - No, maybe, I don't think so, but impliment the ones above and experiment.   If you need to use bass absorbers, you could use some of the triangle ones or see what the pros have to say.

Good luck,
L

[Tony1]

I started off buying 2 244 panels from GIK, thanks Bryan for you help.   I know it isn't enough but I wanted to try it to see if I can hear a difference or not.  Well I did hear a difference. I did pull the sofa from the wall about 6 inches which also made a difference. As far as the vertical blinds, I tried opening them a little while listening and noticed the sound was clearer as the sound goes past the blinds and into the window area which reduced reflection.  I have several option on the panel layout for the back wall so I did some photoshop to make it easier to visualize and get everyone's opinion as to the advantages and/or disadvantages with each set up.

Here is the 2 panels that I put up


#1 option - Here I can put three panels which is about a couple of inches from the ceiling. Is there an issue with having the panel so close to the ceiling? Will it still do a good job at absorbing in that corner. Because of the way my rear speakers reflecting off the back to get a good surround field will I still have issues with reflection issues with the front speakers? I could bring the center panel down a little if that would help.



#2 option - Pretty much covers the wall.  The top panels will be against the ceiling to fit all four.


#3 option - Have the top two panel slanted slightly covering the ceiling/back wall corner but that will expose a little more back wall.  Will there be a huge improvement in slanting the panels versus placing them flush on the ceiling like option 2?  Will I still need 4" thick panel when slanting it or will a 2" do the same?

[Tony1]

Anyone?

[mfsoa]

#4 Option:


I used to have a 242 where the diffusers are, but it sounds much better w/ the D1s.

Try it, you'll like it.

-Mike

[Tony1]

I was considering the D1 with your layout but was told you need to be seated at least 6 feet away to reap the benefits of the diffusor and if I were to put it up I would not hear a difference.  What was the difference that you heard between the D1 vs 242?

Tony

[max190]

Tony, I like option 1... but with the panels lower on the wall to help with your rear spkrs. Then I would add 1 panel above your LP. Looks like there is enough room as not to block your can lights. Using that door in the corner is also a good option for controlling bass.

[Tony1]

Wanted to post some after pics.  Want to thank everyone for their input, the system sounds awesome.  I actually get more bass from the rear speakers.  Everything sounds much more focused, clear(harshness is gone) and has better quality bass. 

[max190]

Tony1, looks good man.
Now for all your due diligence and hard work  step over to the bar and pour yourself a JD