Need opinions on ceiling reflections


All,I have a soffit that is running length-wise on the LEFT side of the ceiling (picture in my system). The ceiling is 8' and the soffit part drops down about 1'. The speakers and sound panels are positioned with a precision of 1/8th of an inch and it sounds amazing - especially on the RIGHT side. The music appears to come from way back and way outside the RIGHT speaker and you can actually "look" that images of various instruments playing in those empty spaces. But I have a heard time "seeing" those images on the LEFT side speaker. I have a feeling that this issue happens because the reflection point on the left side ceiling is a foot lower than the one on the right side ceiling. I was planning of getting some acoustic foam and attach it to the ceiling using T-pins (since it is a textured ceiling and foam tapes will not work). I assumed that this will absorb the reflections and could work on restoring the proper timing/clarity on left side.

Could you guys weigh in and let me know your thoughts? Please feel free to let me know if I am off and the issue is completely different.
128x128milpai

Showing 2 responses by williewonka

@milpai - One thing I have tried tried worked very well in a couple of very different rooms is a vinyl blind behind the listening position.

It is fastened at ceiling height an extends down between 15"-18"

You could simply use a piece of vinyl and pin it too the wall behind the listening chair each side of the dropped ceiling section

The best vinyl can be acquired from those companies that make signs - it is about 1mm thick and very flexible.

I used a vinyl blind because I thought the window that was behind my listening position was the issue, but after it was installed I realized it was not the window, but the reflections at the ceiling causing my problems

Regards
@milpai - I don’t know if this will help, but here are details of my current room....
It is much like your own, but with two dropped (sofit) sections and a beam that run cross the room, as opposed to the length of the room as in your case .The room is also "L" shaped, with the longest wall being 42 ft and the area where the audio system resides is 17 ft wide

Both speakers are located 8 ft from the wall, which places them under one of the dropped sections, so there is very little sound behind the speakers and what sound there may be is probably trapped by the dropped section.

In front of the speakers is a beam and then a second dropped ceiling section is located behind the listening position, which I believe is mitigating ceiling level reflections from the wall at the far end behind the listening position.

My speakers are rear ported, but the ports are 2" x 8", so there is very little in the way of pressure waves and the internal bracing is designed to minimize standing waves. Also the room is fully carpeted, so I have no bass related issues either

When I first setup the system in the new room I was amazed that the only "treatments" it required, was to handle side wall reflections, so I believe the dropped sections are acting in a similar manner to the vinyl blind that I had installed in the last room and they prevent/trap ceiling reflections

Initially, I did have a couple of traps in the corners, but even those proved to be unnecessary, so I have removed them also.

Another room where I found the vinyl was particularly helpful was in a friends 12 foot high apartment with hardwood floors, concrete walls and ceilings. Once again the vinyl only had to hang down 18" from the ceiling. The improvements were immediately noticeable.

In a couple of audio stores I frequented, the ceiling are quite high, so they had various traps and dispersion devices hanging close too the ceiling.

I have read corners at the ceiling/wall boundary can be an issue, so installing some sort of crown molding may prove beneficial

Hope that helps - Regards - Steve

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