room treatment gurus, please


This my friend's problem. The listening room is 16 x 16 with 13ft ceilings. It was built in the 1980s. One wall has two sliding wood doors, 8 ft high by 12 ft wide total. These doors separate two rooms. This  door is 12 inches behind the head of the listener. The opposite wall is all drywall. One side wall has another sliding door with two glass panels for room entry, total is 6ft x 6ft. The other side wall has a wood and tile fireplace with an ornate mantle. The speakers are Sonus Faber Amati Tradition. All electronics are MacIntosh. He complains about poor bass, and I don't think his system sounds near as good as it should.

Now, I know a square room is the worst, and that one should cover all smooth surfaces (all wood and glass), including the floor, but that's about it.

So I ask. What should be covered? How should it be covered? If we switch the wall behind the listeners head, will this have a significant impact? How should the problem be approached?

TIA

Bill

bill10907

Showing 2 responses by pindac

Drywall with Cavities are the most difficult to work with. 

A Filled Cavity is the better of the Two Evils, the room coupling of Speakers is quite difficult in such an environment. 

It was described to me, by an individual who is quite skilled at producing Speakers, it is due to Drywall Systems with Cavities, that Typical Speaker Designs produced in the US are heavilyy augmented in the Bass Frequency.  The same individual stated that when such designs arrive to be a sale item in the UK, when used in a Typical UK Home the Bass is noticeably overbearing. 

 

 

 

 

I suggest as the initial investigation and one that costs not too much monies a period of learning about the room and how the Speakers are able to couple to it.

A stool type chair and a increased length of Speaker Cables will allow for the repositioning of the Speakers and placing the stool at the correct listing point to enable a reasonably comfortable listen.

At each location Toe out and Toe in the Speakers to change how the sound is dispersed. The Stool can be placed nearer the speakers of further away to see how the dispersal of sound creates a sound that satisfies the listener.

It is well worth learning a little about the sound able to be produced in a room, before spending monies on somebody to make available similar learning using tools that are able to make the job a little easier, as well as create a data to show what ears are already reporting on. 

FYI I created a design for  my own room using my own ears and addition of DIY Produced Acoustic Controls, that really do work to my satisfaction. Visitors to the audio room are always impressed with the Speaker Coupling to the Space.

Yes I could have spent on a Professional Service and Commercial available Product to do something similar, but would it be slightly better or slightly worse? Does it really matter ? Improved is Improved and I certainly got improved.