If you're building a house from scratch, why not just make 2 rooms? Insulate the wall well, and use insulated patio(outdoor) doors between the 2 rooms. When it's time for "critical listening", just close the doors. Maybe you might want to "deaden" the doors with Sonex or similar material.
OK to use curtain to obtain the optimum room size?
short version:
Is it possible to use a large curtain (stage curtain or sth like that) to adjust the room size? If so any side effect?
long version:
I am building a house and will devote one room for listening and working room. As part of it is a working area, there will be lots of stuffs (table, computer, moniter, printer, bookshelf etc.) that would make the listening room not perfect.
So I got the idea that if I build the room larger than the optimum listening room size and put my working stuff on one end of the room and put the curtain where the size is perfect for a listening room. This way I can listen to music as a background while I work. Then when I want to do a serious listening, I can close the curtain (from ceiling to floor long) and have aperfect listening room size.
Has anyone done this before? Any pro/con doing this way? I guess a curtain may make the room less reflective (deadier), but not sure about diffraction along the edge of the curtain.
Also as it will be my personal room so I can decorate anyway I want and do not have to worry much about its look.
Any thoughts would be appreciated,
Ake
Is it possible to use a large curtain (stage curtain or sth like that) to adjust the room size? If so any side effect?
long version:
I am building a house and will devote one room for listening and working room. As part of it is a working area, there will be lots of stuffs (table, computer, moniter, printer, bookshelf etc.) that would make the listening room not perfect.
So I got the idea that if I build the room larger than the optimum listening room size and put my working stuff on one end of the room and put the curtain where the size is perfect for a listening room. This way I can listen to music as a background while I work. Then when I want to do a serious listening, I can close the curtain (from ceiling to floor long) and have aperfect listening room size.
Has anyone done this before? Any pro/con doing this way? I guess a curtain may make the room less reflective (deadier), but not sure about diffraction along the edge of the curtain.
Also as it will be my personal room so I can decorate anyway I want and do not have to worry much about its look.
Any thoughts would be appreciated,
Ake
8 responses Add your response
Why are you doing this? If it's because you're only going to use part of a room for your system, and NOT an important aestheic requirement (spousal acceptance factor? Ha!), then why not set up your system and start fine-tuning speaker position? In other words such a nearfield geometry in a larger space can afford GREAT benefits in sounstage depth and freedom from secondary reflections. Yes, you MAY require additional bottom octave support if the room is TOO large. I use an 8' equilateral triangle in a 14x24x8 room VERY successfully. My "stage" is at least 20' deep sometimes! Good luck, and sorry if I'm off the mark re your needs. ern |
Sidssp is right. However, you can use the curtain to change certain aspects, but for bass modes you have to consider solid walls that re-enforce bass. If you go to our website for Rives Audio and click on the listening room there is a tutorial on listening room anamolies including modes amoung other things. There are also a variety of good references such as Alton Everest's books that can be very helpful in designing a listening room. We of course design listening rooms as a business and would certainly want you to look at the services we offer, but even if you don't use us, please look at the free resources on our website. |