Our main listening/AV room has an oak floor, with currently a flat woven rug on it. We are not going to carpet the room as the oak looks nice but would happily put a larger rug down especially if it improved sound quality. The room overall is 6m x 5m - the space between sofas and speakers is about 3m x 4m.
Now, since Naim don’t make rugs, does anyone have suggestions? Specifically - short or long pile, or doesn’t it matter?
(this may be the weirdest question I have posted on a forum, ever…)
Been there and done that I’ve had a few and found the best result, perhaps unsurprinsgly, came from an all natural deeper pile. I ended up with a wool and bamboo mix from a Danish firm called Massimo.
I guess it depends how lively your room is as to how much absorption you need from the rug.
Our 1930s house has the original wooden flooring. We have always gone down the rug route in the middle of the room. Usual compromise of getting the right amount of soft furnishing in the listening room. Curtains and sofas etc.
Not a silly question at all IMO, the acoustic effect of a rug on a wooden floor is probably quite significant. Josquin’s rug is beautiful and surely has a big influence on the sound in his room. If you can do similar then you’ll have a better sound and a great look!
If you want to try a cheaper solution first, maybe try some Foxi Super Plus underlay. It’s an excellent rug gripper, adds some softness and depth to a flat woven rug and feels good underfoot. It might also change acoustic properties. It’s pretty cheap, so maybe worth a go?
Just kidding. But wool holds up really well to wear and tear. I suppose mine could use a professional cleaning someday, but it shows absolutely no signs of wear.
As a generalisation, the thicker the better, and the large the better. )At the very least ensure it covers the near reflection points between the speakers and listening position.)