2. tech-talk
  3. 1199207958

Loft floorplan / listening area - please critique

Need some advice on positioning and speaker styles for creation of listening area in the living room area of loft apartment.

I have uploaded a piece of the floorplan with the proposed speaker positioning (approximate of course) at this link. Note that the ceiling heights are 12.5ft:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff163/gmolinari/room.jpg

I would like to use my system when friends are over and for the whole family to enjoy and that is why i would like it positioned as shown in the attached. The other option was to use what is shown as 'Bedroom 2' as the listening room/den but i thought this room was a little small and again would not be able to project the music into the main living area. The problem of course is that there are a lot of large windows in the living room and it is also quite a large area. We will probably have blinds of some sort installed on the windows, but unlikely to have curtains.

I would appreciate any suggestions on speakers or room treatments to look into. My wife is sensitive to having too much audio treatment hanging on walls or on floor so i need to integrate everything in a way that is aesthetically pleasing. I am fascinated by the MBL 101E and plan to go demo these soon, although I have read that they are very sensitive to the room and positioning. On the positive side I think this type of speaker might have the capability to really fill the large volume of the living areas with luscious music.

Would love to hear critiques and comments about how you would go about setting up a 'livable' listening area in this type of space. In my previous home I had a more traditional room so I am new to the loft environment.
superquant

Showing 2 responses by superquant

superquant OP
3 posts
 
Thanks,

I agree bedroom 2 really is out of the question as it is too small for anything but a tiny system.

The other option is to relocate the listening area so that the speakers are close to the left hand side wall of the living room (so that there are no windows behind). The opposite side of the room essentially. But this would then require us to locate the dining table on the other side, where I had positioned the speakers in my original layout. It might all turn out to be a bit awkward ..
superquant OP
3 posts
 
Thanks newbee - that makes sense. I think my main concern is are all the windows in the area. If there are blinds on these and we draw them then I think we could reduce a lot of the reflections and bass loss. Does anyone know of 'audiophile window blinds'? Might be something that is both aesthetically pleasing and very helpful.

I guess another issue is that it will be very difficult to evaluate the speaker directly in my environment pre-purchase, especially if i go with something pre-owned from audiogon, which would be my preference. So I feel like I am doing a bit of a crapshoot.
More to discover