Think that acoustic treatment will help? Try this (it's free!). Get a friend first. Get a mirror (bigger = better). Now sit in your listening spot. Have your friend move the mirror around on a side wall until you see the tweeter of one of the speakers. Then move it until you see the tweeter of the other speaker. Mark the spots, and repeat with the other side walls. Now get some pillows, cushions, or other sound absorbing things, and place them, using tape, or what-have-you, to cover the spots. Use at least 16" square pieces. Now sit and listen. You should hear wider soundstage, more accurate imaging, and better spatial sense. Now try the same trick with the wall behind you. Listen again. Even better? If so, do the wall in front of you. Better still? Do the cieling. Still better? Try the floor (if uncarpeted). Experiment. When you go too far, it will start to sound dead. Once you have found the setup that you like, find some pro-made acoustical treatments, like sonex, to replace the pillows. You can buy them at audioadvisor.com, needledoctor.com, etc. Blair Zasitko
room acoustics
I'm tearing out the panelled walls in my listening room and have the opportunity to design some acoustic treatment into the room as I refinish it. My reason for posting is to seek advice from those who have travelled this path before. The only plan I have so far is to make the amplifier/speaker wall absorptive (via several inches of insulation). I'm most concerned about the effects of the sliding-glass door and the off-center fireplace. A description of the room follows. The room is 12 by 19 feet. (speakers are on the short wall.) The leftmost 3/4 of the opposite wall is a brick fireplace. (the other quarter is the entrance to the kitchen ... no door) The left wall also contains a sliding glass door. The right wall is uninterrupted until you reach the rear of the room, where there is another passageway ... 90-degrees to the aforementioned Speakers are full-range, and the listening position will be out in the middle of the room. Any help is appreciated. David