It all depends upon the other surfaces (walls, ceiling, etc.) that you have. If they are reflective, I would keep the wool rug in place....
-RW- |
You don't say how your system currently sounds. Are you having a problem, or is this just something you're thinking about? In most cases, people prefer carpet over hard wood floors. Also, berber is probably a bit more reflective than traditional carpet. I feel its somewhere in between. |
I've read a fair bit on room acoustics and balance can be one key. So I might agree with RW, what are your other five major surfaces like in terms of absorption/reflection?
But Zd542 asks the most basic question - do you have problems now or are you just restless to change something?
One point I've read from several sources, wool is one of the best absorption materials. It is better than most any synthetic. So your berber with thick pad would seem to be a good choice as part of the desired absorption percentage. |
I stuck "vibra pods" under my speakers on wood floors and they sound amazing...this was after decades of spikes, and it seems that some high end speakers come with what they call "decoupling" dampers so there could be a trend away from spikes...for room treatment you can also try buying thousands of pods and stick them all over your walls and ceilings, but I find that hurling large amounts of freshly cooked pasta against the walls works well, although you have to keep at it as it dries out and falls off. |
Well, if you cook the pasta al dante, of course its going to fall off. And you're probably using spaghetti, or something else really smooth. If this was for dinner, that's one thing. But for audio, you need to get a rough pasta like rigatoni, and over cook it. That way you have more surface area to work with from the ridges in the noodles and over cooking it means more drying time, which allows for better bonding. |
I removed four flat 2' X 4' absorption panels yesterday, and liked the results. The sound opened up a bit, and had more emotion. SOME recordings were slightly dry sounding with the panels in place. What I hope to accomplish is more natural sound, which a room being too dead can hinder. Room is 23 X 12 w/ 8ft ceilings, speakers set up on 12' (short) wall.
Sheet rock walls and I have two 4ft X 4ft older RPG-like wood diffusion panels stacked on one another in back/between speakers. Check out my photos on my system page (-: |
Wood floors will give you that lively small club sound. I love it. rugs will help with resonace and they look good too! |
Another quick detail. All windows are covered with curtains, but some also have thin ply with egg crate foam stuff glued to it. This is true with the rear windows seen in my photo.
Those absorption panels you see kitty cornered are still there. The four panels I removed yesterday are identical, but were on the side walls. In back of my listening position are several Ikea Expdedit racks full of records. I may take a few baby steps and remove the foam from the ply I have tacked to the window frame. Needless to say, this is a dedicated room(-: |
Wolf: Yes- Rigatoni for the rear wall, but I find mixing in some stuffed rigatoni for first reflection is helpful for it's diffusion properties. |
Wolf_garcia is right.
If you go with wood or suspended floors, carpeted or not, never spike into them, as you turn the floor into a sound board, which will accentuate and muddy the bass.
Always decouple into suspended floors wood or sheet, only spike into solid cement floors or slabs.
Cheers George |
Couple things you could try. How anal are you about turntable setup, when is the last time you adjusted your arm height or checked your VTF. Have you tried any tube rolling?
Best of Luck |
I found that covering the front speaker baffles with live sea sponges is a winner, and wall mold, if you're patient and let it grow nice and thick (it can also grow on the pasta), can provide some excellent extra dampening texture along with nice colors. |
It's all about the room, and then the equipment. Music comes last!
Seriously though, I want to gradually eliminate absorption. I already have a couple of oriental type area rugs. So if i pull the wall to wall, I can replenish absorption if necessary. |
before you do that.......just take all your wires and cables off the floor/rug, separate them as much as you can. try not to run them all in the same socket. use an extension cord to put some of the non essentials in another outlet. make sure you run the power amp and pre amp directly into the wall. don't use a strip for those.... and let me know what happens........ |
