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Room acoustics/treatments help?? Photos included

Hello!

I recently moved into an apartment, and the stereo is sounding pretty awful in the new room. Bass is pretty messy (though I can largely fix that with my Velo. DD15), but what I'm really concerned about is the bright and glaring upper midrange. My hi-fi sounds like a car stereo! If I turn it up at all, it just wrecks on the ears.

Please take a look at the attached photos. The lady is pretty easy going, but to keep her happy (and likewise, myself) we've gotta do the long-wall placement.

The long wall is about 15 feet long, and the short wall is about 12.5. As you can see the ceilings are quite high. The right-hand wall is open into the kitchen area, and 2nd level loft (see photos):

http://www.box.net/public/ayf6h44lhg
http://www.box.net/public/kup3gr2ocv
http://www.box.net/public/4rbp928onn
http://www.box.net/public/or6ztv7myd

Sorry about the messiness, we are still unpacking!

For equipment, I'm running Dynaudio S1.4s, with a Supratek preamp, and a Plinius SA102 amp. Various sources. I also have a pair of Von Schweikert VR1s that I can swap in if the Dyns simply won't work with the room.

So acoustics gurus - Can this room be made into a *great* sounding audio room?

What type of acoustic treatments would you recommend? (or any other ideas that could help with the sound)

As of now, I'm planning on putting some carpet strips on the front, back, and side walls to absorb some reflections (up to 8ft or so). Do you think I need to address the wall/ceiling above around 8ft or so?

I'm also thinking of making some basic tube traps (the really easy 'roll of fiberglass' ones) to put in the corners where the side wall is. Thinking about some heavy drapes on the windows as well. This all has got to be DIY since it's a somewhat temporary (1 or 2 yr) apartment.

One other idea I have is to put a big shower-curtain rod where the right-wall would be, and hanging some drapes, that I could close while listening to music, to perhaps act as a side wall. Is this a good idea, or just pretty dumb?

Any ideas or advice is appreciated!

Thanks,
Goatwuss
goatwuss

Showing 2 responses by jadem6

jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,074 posts
 
I have a few thoughts. First off, the high ceiling and lack of symmetry should work to your benefit. You have no slap echo issues other than front to back wall. This can be solved with acoustic absorbing material on the back wall (Behind the couch) This will also help strengthen and define the bass.

I would strongly consider looking into a pair of speakers designed to be set up on the long wall. Dunlavy and Audio Physics are two I know will do a great job. Both are designed to be laid out with the listener against the back wall. You will be amazed at how these speakers work!

I see there is a Dunlavy !! pair (comes with sub-woofer) for less than $1000. I have never heard the II's, but owned the III/s and was very happy.

As you commented, you might also try some rug/tapestry on the front wall. Corner tunes (home made or bought and maybe some treatment of the windows. I'm not sure how much damage the windows are doing in that you are set up a ways away from the surface. I treated my side reflection with a home made diffuser (rolled up rug with insulation inside)that I have placed between the reflection point and my ear. This was simply amazing how much it defined the image!

I think you'll be fine in the end, your room is very similar to mine and I am very happy.

good luck,

jade
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,074 posts
 
I’m not sure what makes these speakers work better on a long wall than the short. It’s just how they were designed. I own the Dunlavy IVa, and owned the III’s prior to that. They work on the short wall, but not as well as the long wall. Dunlavy as well as Audio Physics are designed to be put as far apart as possible with a large amount of toe-in. they still require thought on placement from the wall (distance into the room) and work best at 1/3 distance into the room like other speakers. They also work at 1/5 or 1/7 points (distance is measured from tweeter back through speaker to wall) the distance to the side wall needs to be at least 1/3 more or less than the back wall dimension. In your case with one side open I would make the other side 1/3 greater than the measurement to the front wall.

So given your room (15’x12.5’) the speaker if set-up 1/5 into the room would be 2.5’ into the room (tweeter to wall) and the left speaker will be 3.4’ from the side wall (min.) It is recommended to have the speakers 8’ apart (this can be less, but your ear must be no closer than 8’ to the tweeter to keep the time coherence correct) but something less can work. The couch on the back wall with an absorbent material on the back wall should work fine; in fact this is how I have seen two showrooms (one for Dunlavy and one for Audio Physics) laid out. I should mention Dunlavy is no longer made, but they are excellent speakers still.

The biggest down side of the speakers being placed this close to the front wall is a loss of soundstage depth. You can increase the apparent soundstage depth by using a highly absorbent material on the front wall. The TV is an issue, so you may need to keep the speakers at the 1/3 point like you have them now. TV’s and two channel are tough, this may remain an issue???

One major downside of this type of speaker placement is the size of the sweet-spot. This layout tends to favor a single listener for perfect imaging, but this is not to say you both will not enjoy.

If you want to discuss this further, send me an email and I can send you my phone number…

jade
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