Stone fireplace wall effects on acoustics?

finally gave up, tore out fireplace. The things we do for audio!

Amateur! A real audiophile would tear the whole house down!

After all, everyone knows our job is to transform every livable space into an unlivable listening room- preferably to then do nothing but complain about all the imperfections and how we woulda done it better if only we’d known.....

+1MC.  
Set up your system, play with speaker placement and then decide where you need bass traps and diffusors.  
Go with GIK Acoustics.  You can make your room look really nice if you take your time and figure out what kind of look you are going after.  

First task will be continuing the hardwoods and getting rid of the carpeting in the great room - can’t even comprehend why someone would install carpeting when the other connecting rooms are hardwoods...

Perhaps because that person is an audiophile and had his system in the room? :-)

Actually I’m only half joking...

Guarantee you won't like my solution. I had stone fireplace, in my case not flush to side walls, stuck out perhaps two feet from side wall so two pocket one on either side of fireplace. I tried long wall setup with speakers firing into fireplace, no go. Went to short wall, fireplace left of speakers, better, asymmetry proved too much, never could get balanced center image. I tried so many room treatment products, finally gave up, tore out fireplace. The things we do for audio!
I should add, my room, about 35' long, opens into kitchen, 13' wide. Relatively narrow room was my problem, a much wider room would likely mitigate many problems.

Don't forget your ceiling when treating the room.

Something like studio clouds?  Like others have said I really won't know until I actually listen to the room.  First task will be continuing the hardwoods and getting rid of the carpeting in the great room - can't even comprehend why someone would install carpeting when the other connecting rooms are hardwoods...

@whart , 

Got it. Look for my reply in a little while. Would love to share feedback about the T1.5's. 

Ciao, 

Audioquest4life 

@audioquest4life - not to derail the thread, but I'd like to talk to you offline about your Classic Audio T1.5. Perhaps we can do a call when you have the time. I'll send you a PM.
Thanks, 
Bill Hart

I agree with the TV placement.  The diffusion from the stone wall could be very beneficial but  you may need to compensate for it if you end up with too much mid/treble energy in the room. To compensate for this you'd add more panels elsewhere.  Regardless of the fireplace another thing to keep in mind is your bass modes. Having a waterfall or flame graph of the room decay is going to help guide your need for bass traps.

Don't forget your ceiling when treating the room.

@millercarbon +1,

Agree with the above recommendations. Distance from side and rear walls makes a huge distance in how the speaker will depict sounds, from bass through the entire frequency spectrum. I am a naturalist when it comes to to my room and music playback.


I invested heavily in my latest room build, you know, $45 Quietrock double sheet drywall panels, Roxul safe and Sound insulation, spray foam under all joists and eaves, Quietrock puddy on all outlets, resilient channel, and a scientifically measured room by the best spectrum room analyzer I know, “me”, using Rives Audio (now defunct) professional room measuring kit, Radio Shack sound pressure meters, Velodyne Sub EQ Measuring tool, and my ears.


With all of that…I spot treated room anomalies, bass, mid, or high frequency with the usual absorption or sidewall diffusion stuff from various vendors, Gik, Vicoustic. That being said, nearly the entire back wall behind the speakers are drystack stone. Well, it looks beautiful, but, this plays into my naturalist desire to hear music as if I am in an open or closed venue, think clubs, bars, or concerts, Those locations have no form of absorption and the sound is literally around you. This is how my room sounds, sometimes it sounds like I have surround sound because the music is so enveloping. I get stereo imaging “plus” I get the sound effect of the instruments, musicians, and recording or music venue ambience that adds to the stereo sound. It’s enchanting to say the least. When you experience how much better music sounds when it envelopes you, you will seriously consider why you restricted yourself to just only a plain stereo image, which is okay, but now that I know what I know about “natural diffusion”, my personal recommendations are that you should experiment with what you have as stated above, and see how you like it. Yes, a stereo image may be disrupted by the spatial queues, but that’s only after the initial direct radiating sound arrives to your listening position if you aim your speakers towards you. The delay I speak of (really low milliseconds here) adds to the ambiance of the music and it is really uncanny if your system has the resolution and ability to convey this back to you. Remember, I measure my room with spectrum analysis and my ears…my ears and all of my family and friends tell me that the rock wall behind the speakers sounds way way better than absorbers, spot diffusion behind the speakers. That’s my experience. Third room build, and each room is better than the last, but the stonewall will always be part of the equation.

Not trash, no. Random bumps like that can be viewed as a sort of diffuser. Better than a flat wall. There's no such thing as a perfect room, especially not in a case like yours where it has to balance with sweet spot listening, background in the kitchen, etc.  

Everyone wants the one and done solution, when really the only way to know for sure is try it and see. If you care about imaging, by far the most important factor there is symmetry. Set them up equidistant and symmetrical and if you like the imaging then you are done. Even here though, once again it is a balance. Toed in for the best imaging when sitting for serious listening might have to balance with how it sounds from the living room other times. Again no way to know other than try and see.  

The other thing about location, speaker distance from walls affects tone and frequency response. Don't be distracted by the fireplace, there's always more than one thing going on. And, guess what? The only way to find out is set it up, listen, and see. 

Only after trying and finding you hear some flaw, only then we work on the flaw. Until then it is all internet blah blah blah. Which we have in abundance! lol!

I'll echo Pauly and add- the suck out problem, as I know it, typically arises when people put their speakers to either side of the FP, which may look grand but as all of you are aware, has to be dealt with. Hard to predict in the abstract how it would affect sound on a side wall and apart from the hole (FP), you might wonder what the rock sounds like (as opposed to sheetrock or whatever lines your interior walls). 
Agree, set up and optimize- I did a move several years ago, and even with the same system, it took me time to dial it in.
I don't like aftermarket acoustic treatment generally, but use unobtrusive bass traps and window treatment, not uncommon...
Even if somebody digitally mapped your room it's not the last word, it will be ears in my estimation. If you need help, talk to several somebodies who have done rooms. You can learn from their mistakes. I'd pause before I spend a fortune on room treatment. Some of this may be in positioning of equipment and sweet spot. 
This is just the beginning....
and good luck!

Try your preferred layout and see what it sounds like. Given you want to limit first reflections I doubt the fireplace will be any worse than a regular wall. It will probably sound better than a regular untreated wall.

Very negative will kill imaging and bass.Good luck though!!