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Obsessed with room acoustics

I've been involved in audio for perhaps twenty five years now, could be described as an audiophool for the last ten. In all these years I have never had an issue that has consumed me more than the room acoustics in my present dedicated listening room.
Specifically, a number of years ago I became aware of a channel inbalance, essentially more air and spaciousness in one channel vs. the other. I determined this channel inbalance was due to room asymetry after both trying different equipment and reversing channels.
Over the years I tried to adjust for this asymetry through endless experimentation with acoustic treatments (RPG, Echobusters), both diffusion and absorption. While there was definite improvement, I only became more frustrated and obsessed with the remaining inbalance, at least part of every listening session involved readjusting acoustic treatments.
Finally, the frustration drove me over the edge, I determined the only way to rid myself of the inbalance was to treat the source, in other words, redesign the room. I recently tore out all the walls that created the room aysmetry, I even went to the extreme of perfectly balancing out room furnishings. Of course, the acoustic treatments are perfectly balanced as well!
Finally, I have nearly perfectly balanced soundstaging and imaging. Nearly perfect I say, there still remains some asymetry on the rear wall :-)
I guess the point I'm trying to make is how amazed I am by this obession, no other parameter of sound (perhaps bass boom) has managed to obsess me so. I guess I'm jealous of those who can listen contendly in environments much less conducive to the perfect soundstaging and imaging I now require.
I too, listened contendly for years in much lesser rooms, it seems the psycholgical needs of a perfectionist audiophool displaced normal listening behavior. While I am now content with my listening, perhaps another issue may arise, any audiophile doctors in the house?
Now that I think of it, has anyone ever heard of psychologists that treat audiophilia :-)
sns

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sns OP
3,643 posts
 
Thanks Jim, no, the fireplace didn't get filled it, it got the old heave ho, the walls I spoke of removing were those surrounding the fireplace, a 3'D x 6'W monolith stuck out into the room. I still find it mind boggling that I actually removed a fireplace with it's brick, mantle and chimney, can you say loss of esthetics and home devaluation! Part of the stack remains until I get around to removing later in summer :-)
Tarsando, yes I thought it was my hearing until doing channel reversal, this determined it to be room.
I'm also happy to report this bout of audiophilia nervosa ended on a happy note, I think :-) Soundstage is now nearly perfectly (there's that word again) symetrical, none of that pesky phasiness associated with the channel inbalance.
I suppose obsession was a virtue in this case, for without that obsession the fireplace would still be standing and I would be probably be going into audiophilia nervosa ward of the local nuthouse :-)
I'm also somewhat comforted that so many of you are understanding of an audiophile's obsessiveness, I'm not alone :-) At the same time, even if the whole world thought me nuts, I would do the same thing again. Perhaps one could say I was doggedly compelled, just as Pavlov's dog. Just thinking about it recalls the saliva dripping at every listening session, sopping wet every time :-)
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