Could not agree more, it always amazes me when I see hundred thousand dollar systems and zero room treatment. The WAF is strong 💪. Which I find confusing because there are quite a few companies out there that have produce some good looking products. But like so many things in our lives, telling one a truth can be the equivalent of beating on your dead horse 🐴. 

For me, the addiction comes from hearing the improvement that something makes and wanting to go further in that direction. I've spent three years on room treatments and still have further to go. Like equipment, it takes time to evaluate and incrementally improve. The ROI is much greater in room treatment than equipment purchases. 

I learned fast that too much room treatment doesn't work well ...

+100 @tcutter 

It took me 4 years before I stopped experiencing with it. Unlike equipment, once you're there, you're done. And I started with the proper room size and construction. It would take me a decade to get it half way right in an awkward room. That's why most people tune their sound with equipment.

I just looked at your system. Total dedication to everything. Well done. 

@Baylinor 

Thank you. As I often see stated here, everything matters.

@kofibaffour, @jl35 

I agree that science, REW, and restraint are all good things, but without a doubt, simply putting some absorption at first reflection points should be mandatory for all systems. I started with six 2 x4 x 4 absorption panels that I stored when the room was my wife's and set out when the room was mine. At the sides for point-sources, (I suppose behind for dipoles?). Doesn't take a lot of money or effort for this vast improvement and unlike some other components, incremental gains per dollar spent far surpass any other expenditure. All in all, room treatment provides the most significant bang for your buck.

I just added corner bass traps to my room. The transformation was outstanding with improved clarity throughout especially in the low end. My left & right reflection points in my room are problematic as to the right are a wall of 4 large windows and to the left is an open room with 4 more windows (2 cove) and a pool table. 
I have wood blinds & herbie’s dots on all windows. Heavy drapes are not an option & I know I can treat the ceilings. Not sure what else I can do. Recommendations?

@signaforce  I believe the left side is not much of an issue since the first reflection points are so far removed that reflected waves would not be perceptible. For the right, I suggest 242 absorption panels that you can place when listening seriously and store when you are not. Alternatively, a good size stuffed couch with as high a back as you can tolerate placed in front of the windows would likely help. 
Before you go to the trouble of doing any of that, I suggest you try hanging heavy blankets or moving mats in front of the windows at the first reflection points for both left and right speakers to ensure it makes a difference. I would be surprised if it did not.

To determine first reflection points, place/hang/have someone hold a mirror in front of the blankets and confirm you can see the speakers’ reflections at your listening position.

@tcutter Thanks! My L shaped sectional is head high & actually runs along the windows then into the room. Only one woofer is above the couch (R11’s). I had thought about free standing panels… might give that a try.
Follow up question. I put a bass trap in the far left hand corner of the room (about 12’ from the left speaker & 19’ from the right). I could use it elsewhere if not effective there. Thoughts?
BTW, your room and system is GORGEOUS!

@signaforce I think you’re partway there with the couch if it’s in front of the first reflection points for each of the speakers. if you’re saying head high when you’re sitting you might want to add some panels (2 x 2’) on top of the couch while you’re listening. Those are really easy to put away. 
 

There is only one way to determine if that is the best corner in which to put the bass trap and that is to listen there and in the alternative spaces. I imagine no matter what corner, you’re getting some benefit although there is a possibility a lack of symmetry may hurt you. On the other hand, your room is already asymmetric. Only way to find out.
 

And thank you. I can listen for hours on end.

You could also just put some large pillows on the back of the couch. Easy Peasy. Good luck.

I stopped at 30 panels.  Mostly because I have no space for more.

I started with blankets and pillows, then homemade rockwool and then bought my first GIK panels and the WOW factor kicked in. I sent my room information to Mike and purchased every panel he recommended. I am so happy I made that decision!

Treatment rooms.

l know the logic of removing reflections and bass boom problems but some guys rooms on here must look like flea markets….blankets, pillows and cushions piled high. Also an image for the uninitiated seeing dozens of panels….an exhibition centre or art gallery without illustrations or paintings….worst case scenario….a ward in a hospital.

Just a bit of an observation (presuming you are a guy) as l know this is an important subject, but how do you fit the wife, girlfriend or partner in?

Have you experienced ‘’push back’’ with regard to the last part?

At AXPONA - seminar on room treatments- common mistake is to overdamp.  Each room is unique, so measuring the room helps to indicate problems including differences between left and right speakers so that one can specifically target solutions to address - what frequency range needs to be reduced, and what products would address that specific frequency problem.

After I put up my first configuration of treatments (absorption and diffusion) I would run my RTA with Pink noise and walk around the room. As I heard the sound change, I would point the microphone in various directions to see which frequencies were changing in relation to what I was hearing. When I identified problem areas, I could decide what treatment was needed based on that, and assess the changes. Generally, areas where highs were peaking got more absorption, boomy areas get more diffusion. Sometimes it's some of both. 

Trust your ears. 

An alternative approach would be to apply both or either absorption or diffusion for peaky areas. If it is boomy, that indicates a problem around 100 Hz and below and there are few domestically acceptable diffusers that would accomplish this. At least for most home level diffusers, such as a QRD7 from a well-known manufacturer, the lowest frequency is roughly 350 Hz. Absorption in the form of base traps would perhaps be more effective in dealing with a boomy bass. Speaker and listening position can also dramatically impact the bass and should always be included in the equation.

Treatment rooms…. 10 days later.

“How do you fit the wife, girlfriend or partner in?”...

No one has answered this question so is it a good assumption that those with treated rooms don’t have any?

Alternatively, one might have a partner who is happy to devote a room to music and video. Kind of the ultimate in patience/indulgence/tolerance. She also told me to buy the car I had always dreamed of. Luckiest man in the world I am. 

We know who the boss is then.

Everyone loves their toys and should look after them…..Yes you are a lucky man

OP,

I'm lucky as well. While my partner gives me grief about my system... she is really supportive. She has seen me work for 70 - 80 hours for forty years and knows I earned my indulgences. 

What are the affects of first reflection from the side?  How does it affect the soundstage and vocal reproduction?

In my listening space, there is a large glass window to my left, and a 50in. LED TV to my right.  They would constitute first reflection from the sides.

Room treatment can be addictive

---

@cdc “Once you start, it’s hard to stop”

So comical those pics. So my sense of weird humour too! A room to cure the ones who can’t stop themselves.

Also very practical and somewhere to put the toy boy’s so they don’t hurt themselves?

@andy2 

Speaker sound waves are first reflected from the sides, ceiling and floor and compete for your attention with the initial sound waves directly from the speaker. Although the reflections arrive later and are measurably distinct, they arrive at our ears too soon for our psychoacoustic system to distinguish them from the initial signal and they become one in our head. What can be lost or overwhelmed by this wave interference are the subtler sound waves that help depict hall size, performer placement, soundstage width and depth, and the music’s overall tonal signature. I think of this as more the "psycho" part of psychoacoustics and is distinct from later reflections bouncing around the room that result in frequency peaks and nulls that accrue from room modes and the like. These also interfere with the initial speaker signal much as first reflections do, but they further screw up the sound when they contribute to a less than smooth room frequency curve and/or cause “ringing”. Treatment at first reflection points helps a heck of a lot, but whole room treatment is necessary to deal with later reflections.

Absorption simply captures these interfering wave reflections and does not let them go. Diffusion breaks the waves up and reflects them in different directions instead of directly back at you. To better understand diffusion’s role, imagine being in a room and shooting a shotgun directly at a flat wall (no diffusion) versus against a rock wall (diffusion). The return path of the former is predictable and most are flying directly back at you. The latter will have much of the shot going elsewhere and taking a more circuitous route, bouncing off the surfaces of the room and even bumping into other shot before they might return to you. Because they are fewer, have been delayed, and have a lower energy, their return will not bother you as much as if they came flying straight back at you. Similarly, diffusion provides a time delay along with a weaker signal, allowing your psychoacoustic system to ignore or at least differentiate the reflections from the initial signal. Scattering panels work similarly and often are combined with absorption.

While your room may be somewhat symmetrical, you probably want to avoid "first reflections" and instead have either "first absorption" or diffusion. Opinions are mixed as to which is better. It is probably easier to do absorption with standard home goods/furnishings such as rugs, blankets, curtains, overstuffed couches, etc. Some suggest that books and records have significant absorption properties, but I would argue they are primarily reflective and if there is absorption, it is over an extremely limited frequency range.  Bookshelves, racks, and the like do not give a predictable diffusion pattern. You may be getting different reflections from various media or equipment but they will not have the significant and ordered differences in depth to achieve meaningful diffusion. Neither will a popcorn ceiling nor textured wallpaper. On the other hand, if you wanted to arrange your equipment or books to follow a QRD pattern, you might see some benefit.

Consider hanging draperies on your windows and covering the TV with a blanket. I anticipate you will notice a difference.

@mylogic haha, my thoughts too. Glad not taken the wrong way.

@cdc 

Perfect and that is a straight jacket laying on the bed, correct?

@ghdprentice yes, I think you are right. You have good eyes. I thought it was a blanket.

Congratulation for the esthetical aspect!

I did what you did but it was not esthetical at all...

I used cheap homemade material...

I used not only panels for diffusion/reflection/absorption panels balance ratio (homemade)..

I worked with Helmholtz resonators of various side...Their location and size tuned my room...

At the end it was stupendous...

No piece of gear at any price can match acoustics control of a system/room...

As you know yourself now...

For sure my peanuts cost room was not attractive esthetically but listening an opera with singer walking around you was enough for me...

And i learned acoustics and can do it now with experiments with any system...

Congratulation I like your room...

 Acoustics learning  is amazing and for me it was the experiments with many devices that was addictive...

@Maghister

The aesthetics were in part a nod to my wife. She does draw the line somewhere.

And a compliment from you is noteworthy! Thank you.

Our rooms are 70% of the final sound we hear; the gear we keep is what sounds/works best in that room. It amazes me to see rooms where $$$$$ of gear and speakers are without any room treatment, with large racks in between the speakers, furniture right by the speakers, large TVs, etc. Room treatments are the best investment to make to keep buying gear, trying to solve a room's acoustic issues. Spend money on your room, it pays off more than new gear or speakers.

With my low cost system i am satisfied and i am not jealous or envious of anyone because all my needs are covered by my actual system very well even if we could always improve the gear for sure...

Thanks to acoustics knowledge....

But i must be frank . i am certainly jealous and envious of you magnificent room design...

Truly yours...

@Maghister

The aesthetics were in part a nod to my wife. She does draw the line somewhere.

And a compliment from you is noteworthy! Thank you.

+1 phillyb