Room Too Dead


Hello All,

I am looking for advice and ideas on how to condition my Home Theater room.  I built the theater in my unfinished basement.  The foundation walls are covered in insulation and vapor barrier.  Instead of construction walls to cover them, I chose a "pipe and drape" to cover the walls.  I believe that the room is too dead.  It seems to affect overall soundstage in the midrange range.  Does anybody have experience with this problem and ideas to add a little "excitement" to the room?  Thank you all.

rael1313

Sorry I can't figure out how to post a pic.  Basically they are drapes being held up by pipes that are attached to the joists of the unfinished basement to hide the vapor wrap

Yeah, those drapes are over-dampening your room.  I was in an over-damped room at a dealer once and it was not an enjoyable listen so I know exactly what you’re talking about.  I’d try replacing the drapes with thin sheets if they’re much thicker than sheets, or maybe you could take some of the drapes down behind the system and along the sides at first reflection points just for listening.  If you’re planning on putting up walls in the future I’d highly recommend reading this by Earl Geddes on how to build a great-sounding room.  It’s very approachable and I learned a ton about room acoustics and building materials/techniques — very interesting stuff.  Anyway, here’s the link…

http://www.gedlee.com/downloads/HT/Home_theater.pdf

Hope this helps, and best of luck breathing life back into your room.