I just added 4 Tower Cube Traps to my room, and a large panel to absorb a first reflection from a fireplace. It made a big improvement in the articulation of the bass, and made me a believer that no matter how much "foam" or diffusors you put in a room, that treating the room resonant modes with bass traps is a good place to start. I have seem DYI instructions before for bass traps, but it's pretty complex. I felt like the bucks for a finished product were a good investment, in the context of the cost of an entire system. Even if you don't want to drop the dough now, I'd certainly put bass traps on my short list for future options.
Acoustic Treatment
I'm in need of some acoustic treatment for my room. I've looked at everything from RPG's line, Auralex, Silentsource's stock, ASC, room lenses, etc. and nothing is what I'm looking for (it would be nice if three room lenses would do the job, but I'm a little skeptical). The idea of foaming 60%+ of the room isn't appealing. The RPG studio line is more in the ballpark (I like the looks), but expensive. Does anyone have any experience with DIY diffuser/resonaters similar to the ones on decware's website (similar to the RPG studio line), if not those exact ones? I'm needing a full room treatment, but really don't want to spend thousands, nor do I really want to cover the whole room. But I'll do what I have too to get right sooner or later. I haven't given any specifics on my room, only because I'm moving in three months (which means the wisest thing to do is probably endure 'til then). Nonetheless, I'm guessing that there is still a certain level of universality in acoustic treatment that is applicable in all rooms. The only reason I'm obsessing over this all is that the room is holding back the performance of the system greatly. The loudspeakers and associated electronics are wonderfully engineered and I really feel that there is a whole new layer I'm missing out on. I was getting better soundstaging with the little Thiel's I owned a while back (of course that was the only thing they were doing better). However, my new speakers may not be soundstaging as well simply because thier off-axis output is "higher" and I'm getting a greater intensity of reflected energy. I did cover 70%+ of the room with acoustic fabric several months ago and that made a noticeable improvement, but I believe there is a better solution. Any advice would be appreciated.