[Naun]

I was wondering if anyone had experimented with using room dividers to close up gaps in a listening room. My stereo is in a room that is half open on one side, the other side being dominated by a window. I recently tried placing a GIK 4x2 panel in the opening (on stands, with a matching panel on the other side) and was pleasantly surprised by what an improvement that made. This makes me wonder if it would make things still better if I added a room divider to compensate further for the gap, and if so what kind would work best. I've been looking at www.roomdividers.com and they come in a variety of sizes and materials. Thanks for any tips you can share.

[Rob Babcock]

Those look like they're more for visual division, probably not heavy enough to affect anything but very high frequencies.

[richidoo]

I have an open plan type 1st floor, half of which is my listening area (family room.) The echo from the adjacent kitchen area was a problem. There is a half wall separating the two areas, plus a 4' walk thru.

I built 2" thick wood doors filled with 2" FG. The walk thru area is closed with a full size door, 50"x108" hinged to and painted to match the wall that it folds against when open. The opening over the half wall was closed with a 6 panel folding wall, 126x72" when closed, using a hardware kit from Johnson Hardware. Gaps are about 1/8" with a few larger holes that I might fill in, but it works well, and opens and closes easily, making a convertible listening room. It blocks the midrange echo completely, along with appliance noise. It was a big project but well worth it.

Another 72x96" opening at the rear of the listening area will get the same treatment eventually.

[Naun]

Sounds like a good solution. I should have mentioned though that I'm in a rented apartment, so any kind of construction work is not an option! I put up a large wooden board that I had to see if it would make any difference: I hear some effect, but nothing dramatic. Maybe I should leave well enough alone for now.