Leave it Open or Close it Off: A Listening/ Living Room Dilemma

I would think that having a door is better because it adds flexibility— regardless of which sounds better you have the option to go with closed or open, you can partially block sound going into and out of the room, you can discourage meddling with your system, etc.

The soundwave would most likely pass though the door or wall. 

If how it sounds is your only deciding factor, then buy a piece of plywood, cut to size, and A/B how it sounds with/without.  You could even take frequency and SPL readings for a given source, like one of Stereophile’s test CDs, if you are way serious about it.   If there are other esthetic or privacy reasons for the door, then having a door is the more flexible option, as discussed above.  

I was at a friend’s place when he had an expert in set up over to help with speaker placement, room acoustics, etc.  This person did some basic experiments, including removing wall treatments from such “obvious” locations like the first reflection point.  We also listened to how the sound changed when someone leaned against the long interior wall to damp vibration.  What was interesting is that the room sounded better with that wall LESS damped and without treatment at the first reflection point.  The lesson learned is that there is no fixed best approach; the only way to know is to experiment.  It turned out that the room sounded better with the door closed (at the back of the room) and with a storage closet door (also at the back of the room) open.  We were told that the open closet was acting as a kind of trap and this helped this particular room.

Close off the space. Thank me later

Bob

Yeah close it. I have large room that is open and it has issues

I'm a big fan of pocket doors, but there's a couple things to remember. 1) Get the good pocket door hardware. The cheap stuff will haunt and vex you. 2) Do bot use hollow core doors. They're made from hardboard in a cheap perimeter frame with strips of cardboard in between two layers of masonite. Use heavy exterior grade doors - much better acostically. 3) Pocket doors work best as default open doors. Close them as needed.

Install the door. I went through the very same thing. The opening to my theater room had no door. I had a glass panel door installed (hung curtains as well on the door) and just love that I can close the room off or leave open if I so choose. Do the door!

With a door, you can experiment both ways. Without a door, you're stuck one way. Easy choice. I also recommend an exterior thick solid wood door over a hollow interior door.

There are more reasons to install the pocket door than not. You really won't know if there will be acoustic benefits until it is done, but if not you can just open the door during listening sessions. But you gain the ability to close off the room, a benefit to both you during sessions and to others in different parts of the house. Remember what works acoustically for someone else's room may or may not hold true for yours.

The rear wall of my listening room has a pocket door over my right shoulder and in the corner.  Its normally open for easy access to the laundry room and bathroom. That is all there is on that level.  

I don't think it affects the bass as much as it does the L/R balance.  

That's another vote for the door.  And as already stated get a good solid door with good hardware, otherwise you could create a buzzing monster at some freqs.

Regards,

barts 

I would advise to listen, but leaving it open is an escape valve for pressure and bass. 

I would buy a puppy.

Pocket doors a really cool and there is flexibility.

Ever think about a pocket ceiling?

I'm going to move forward with it and will chime in again after it's done to follow up. The door will be a nice solid wood one- not one of those hollow ones.

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate it.

I think you’re making the right choice to install the doors. One thing I’ll add is that I find a real time analyzer app like Spectrum really useful for system setup—both for ensuring equal loudness from both sides and optimizing speaker placement. Spectrum is in the Apple App Store. It or something similar must be available for Android. 

Oh, and no affiliation, just a satisfied customer. 

Wow, what a coincidence. I just downloaded the Spectrum app earlier in the day yesterday. Up until then I was using Decibel X. Thanks @kokomo 

I guess it depends on where the door goes, but I should think there are practical reasons outside of sound quality to have the option of a door.  If my listening room didn't have a door, my family would have hung me by now.  

My listening room is open at the back, or I suppose a better way to describe it would be a C-shaped bonus room with the listening room being the top half of the C.  Where it narrows to go to the other part of the room is open. I have found that adding a subwoofer in the back of the listening area really stabilized the bass in a way that has centered the music in the room better.  

@veerossi, not to hijack the thread, but which app do you prefer? Also, what are you doing for a white/pink noise track?

I realized I should have shared the track I’ve used, but I can’t find it. However, I did find this. Looks really useful. 

For analogue I use the old Shure Audio Obstacle Course test record. 

What's on the room floors?

when i leave the door open behind my listening position...the bass is more even as confirmed by my measurement mic. It's effectively a free full range bass trap. 

@kokomo I tried the Spectrum app, but I prefer the Decibel X app more. 

@bolong hardwood floors with some thick padding and a deep shag rug that covers more than 1/2 the room. 

@seanheis1 That's what I was afraid of: paying to make these changes to the room and then finding out it was better without it. I'd be pretty disappointed wasting the money on it.

I have a dedicated listening room which is about 21 feet by 25 feet with a vaulted ceiling. It has a double door entry way with two steps leading down into the room. I prefer to close those doors during listening sessions as I feel it improves the overall sound quality. The room also has it's own separate bath room and I even close that door.

I had a DM question regarding the Spectrum RTA app I use on my iPhone, as there are many apps that use the word Spectrum in their names. The app is called Audio Spectrum Analyzer Pro. Here's the web page for it. Looks like it's also available for Android.

Cornwall 4 Train Wreck

This video has always stood out to me for what happens when the room is ignored. Basically, the speakers were placed in a cement basement. The owner then proceeds to Dynamat the horns into oblivion as a "countermeasure."

I suspect that by now he has been persuaded to tackle the room itself.