Totally agree that the first order of business is room acoustics. Everything else mentioned only treats the input into the room, not the output of the room to your ears. The critical distance, the point at which the reflected sound level equals the direct sound level in most untreated listening rooms isn’t more than 2 or 3 feet. That means at usual listening distances most of what you hear is uncontrolled reflections, made more noticeable by your speakers inherent brightness. This is why 'room.equalization' will not help until you've treated the room first. You’ll probably need a minimum of 60 ft2 (4 - 2X4 2" and 8 - 2X2 2" panels) for the sidewalls and ceiling, plus a couple bass traps for starters. Two large panels should go vertically on the sidewalls at the point of first reflection. The smaller panels can be used on the ceiling, in a grid pattern. The last two panels should go farther back on the sidewalls of a long narrow room or rear walls of a shallow wide room. Most panel mfrs offer a number of color and fabric options, or even art prints, so complimenting the room shouldn’t be hard. White panels on a white ceiling are nearly invisible. I like Acoustimac for their quality, selection, customer service and price. Virtually all panels, regardless of manufacturer, use Corning 703 Fiberglass or EcoCore Rockwool inside and commercial grade fabrics for the wrap, so be wary of any extraordinary claims, their performance is nearly all identical.
Once youve addressed the big issue, then you can turn your attention to the other tweaks, because now you’ll be able to hear them.
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