Room with glass windows as a walls.


My daughter moved from first floor townhouse apartment to 42nd floor skyscraper apartment and fifty percent of her apartment walls are actually glass windows from floor to ceiling now.

I helped her with setting up her system at old place and the sound was pretty decent however new apartment acoustic wise is total disaster.
 Of course I did put her system together at new place but sound is terrible. She actually understands all my explanations about acoustic issues at new place, but she doesn’t take it seriously. My daughter  actually listens to a lot of music, sometimes for hours however I wouldn’t call her audiophile, probably just a serious music lover and I understand that she will have listening fatigue pretty soon at her new place.  

Acoustic treatment probably would be limited or refused due to esthetic and design incompatibility. Has anyone experienced setting up a system in such conditions, any advice? 

surfmuz

to you it was because you know all the background info. 

to me it wasn't

based on the responses and questions, it wasn't 

but it's your post, apparently you think you are absolutely right, it makes no sense to argue

I have (had) a similar problem with a wall of glass paneled doors with windows opposite my speakers , in back of my listening position. I had custom Draperies made with a think cotton front with heavy liner or backing behind and attached to the front fabric. The drapes are weighty and folded and provide fantastic absorption because there are many folds as well as thick fabric. So basically the sound gets sucked in and can’t bounce out. The room might even border on too damped. So any further room treatments are on the side walls  I have used diffusion. I have a thick fabric couch with a padded area rug.   The diffusion on the side walls at the 1st reflections and behind the speakers on the front wall , allow my system to shine. The room seems much larger with the diffusion. Do not over damp with absorption!! 

These are black-out drapes for the projector. They have a double layer and do a good job of diffusing the sound and removing the window reflections and vibrations.

I have a daughter who is a professional musician. 

She is also a fashion trendsetter. 

She has never been interested in my advice. 

I suspect that though your daughter may be neither of these things, she is moving into a new apartment, signaling her independence.

Don’t be a helicopter dad. I'm guessing she will figure it out. 

I have a similar issue. The solution was to apply Marigo Audio dots to the windows.

These were developed by a PhD at Princeton, and they work! 

Call them, and they will help you decide which dots to use based on the size of the windows, and exactly where on the window to place each dot.

Happy Listening! 

@unreceivedogma 

She has never been interested in my advice.

My is reasonable. She is not shy to ask for my advice in tech questions, audio system, cars etc. recently she asked for good old movies. For music she has own taste, but when some times she listened to my stuff at home or in my car, she is asking me for a names. When advice is coming by my initiative it could be ignored for some time but when she rolled it in her head for a while she returns to it and asks  me like nothing happened, makes it look like it her initiative:)

 

@toddalin are those black-out drapes custom made or sold as a precut panels? Is color choice available?

there is no evidence that glass performs differently than drywall...except in the lower frequencies. 

the challenge with glass is that you can't really hang art or other things like you can with drywall...so you get bad flutter echo. 

Modern rooms also typically don't have carpet. I'm guessing this is true for your daughters new space....so rugs with carpet pads will help. 

Furnishings can also help. Again modern furniture won't be as helpful as it's typically reflective compared to soft and plushy. Clutter can also be helpful. You don't want a sparce room.

best of luck  

If she can afford to live in an apartment on the 43 floor .God Bless Her.. li

I’ve had my main stereo system set up in front of a large expanse of glass for 25 years. Always was advised to put curtains on the windows to tame the reflections, but I like to enjoy the view while listening.  What has really helped is to creatively find ways to listen in the near field with the speakers pulled out a bit from the glass. Took some trial and error.  Not perfect but sounds terrific.  And my adult sons absolutely don’t listen to my decorating or setup advice!

surfmuz

IIRC, they were from 3-Day Blinds.  Just measure and they make them to size.  Look for them on the web.

Hi surfmuz ...

Another vote for the Marigo Tuning Dots mentioned above, relatively unobtrusive and seriously effective.  Contact Ron of Marigo with your concerns.  Best.

More Peace, Pin       (bold print for old eyes)