Help with room treatments

Some time ago I realized that I had trouble with my room (I consider it on the small side) I have since then installed Michael Green's Room Tune products, 48" Room Tunes and 4 Corner Tunes, for me they made a sizeable difference. The best option with the Room Tunes is that I could use the reflective side or the absorb side. From Infinity Kappa 8s I now have Apogee Slant 6s and even thru the equipment changes once I dialed them in you know it! It is so precise that when my wife vaccums if she moves a Room Tune even an 1/8" you know the difference, so I have the floor marked to make sure I can reposition them properly. For me they've been magic opening the sound stage and enhancing the sound overall no matter what I use (equipment) or listen to musically. You have to be your own judge and yes it does take time to get the desired results but subjectivly they're magic.

The key is that you said you did "nearfield listening." If you really
did nearfield listening, then by listening so close to your speakers, you were
not hearing the effects of the room and it is not exactly a surprise that you
would hear little difference. This is also why if one suspects a demo room is
bad, it is advisable to listen "nearfield." Because, by listening so
close, you eliminate the room. On the other hand, you also limit how much
soundstaging your gear can provide.

Having said all of that, the real question is -- are you happy with your sound
from listening position? If not and if the sonics seem hard or bright, it may
be the uncovered windows. But, there could also be other problems in the
room more eggregious. Or, your system and the windows may be interacting
to produce sonics with which you're happy.

Basically, we need more info -- and we need your perceptions from the
listening position.

Thank you for your responses. With the speakers about 8 feet apart, I am listening at 10 feet with couch cushion diectly behind my ears. I used Opus 3 Test CD 4.1, for timber, balance and depth. Sound field is very wide, extending well beyond the speakers, depth is Ok with definite layers of instruments in front and behind. All seemed pleasing and pieces presented as the disc described they should. No unevenness on piano and voice noticed, things sounded silkly in the high, clear in the mid, and tight and solid in tone and position in the base.

You do have a few things going for you that many do not, your room is large and your speakers are well away from the corners. As Rob mentioned...you are listening at a fairly close distance also. On top of that...your ceiling is a non-mirror of your floor.

Also, the Polks are somewhat laid-back in sound which has to be a plus with your many hard surfaces. The polk SDA technology does work very well in some system setups and my guess is that yours is one of them...the Bob Carver technology that I have built into my Sunfire Theatergrand (Holographic Image circut) can also work very well in some system setups...at least mine does with one pair of my speakers although it does not work well with my di-pole Apogees.

Large rooms with lots of setup flexibility along with seating flexibility require very little room treatments campared to smaller spaces that most have...see how lucky you are!

Dave

Dave
Thank you for your comments. It helps me understand my blessings and why things may be happening the way the are.
Joe

first, nice set-up and beautiful room.....that looks like a great place to listen.

you have a few things going on there.

the two biggest influences on your sound are the TV and the ceiling......neither of which you likely want to fool with. if it is not too heavy, try listening without the TV.......or try covering it with a blanket. another consideration would be some sort of tapestry that might hang from the ceiling to eliminate first relections.

if you do remove the TV, NOW those blankets over the windows may have much more effect. the solution i would recommend however would be a pleated window covering from Hunter-Douglas called Duettes......which will break up reflections without over deadening things. these can be lowered and raised so they will blend into your window casements and you will barely see them.

you will not believe the effect of controling the ceiling relections.....maybe experiment with some towels or blankets.

your speaker design, where the front baffle is very flat and broad, actually is helping by reducing the backwave toward the window of mid to high fequencies. you pay a penalty in perfomance compared to a narrower baffle but get the benefits of the reduced reflections.

overall, your speakers are far enough away from the room boundaries to sound pretty good.

good luck.

Thank you Mikelavigne for your kind comments and suggestions. The TV isnt likely to go anywhere at 220 lbs., but I can try blanketing it. Also I will try a temporary blanket/quilt on the ceiling. (some day when the wife isnt home:) If it works, do you know of any attractive acoustic panels that might attach directly flush with the celing?
I am familiar with Duettes and do find them attractive and practical. What are the likely drawbacks to a wide speaker baffle? I think you are probably correct that the wide baffle is saving me from expected reflections from the windows and TV.