The Listening Room Reality

StuW,
I bought one last year (and a microphone stand) and consider it money very well spent.
I did what I could with physical treatments (no Thomas!), speaker placement and listening position first then applied some DSP.
Good to share what works for you.
Good luck (don’t try and rush it😁).

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Totally agree, i was able to move things around and measure the difference live. Key take away for me was that i didnt need a sub!

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Took my first measurements today. After some video tutorials and a bit of head scratching I think I got some usable results. Couldn’t figure out how to name a selected output device but hooked up to my 272 and set levels and got a test sweep.
I took measurements with both speakers simultaneously. Is it necessary or better to measure right and left speakers separately?
Looks like I’ve got some peaks at 30hz and 130hz, a dip at 250 and further dip between 2.5 to 3.5 khz. I need to take some more measurements with some additional bass traps and at different listening positions and of course start to understand the graphs a bit more clearly.
Really interesting subject.

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Hi Stu,
Hope you’ve got a consistent frequency range reading!
Standing wave peak was my main issue that passive bass traps don’t do a lot for.
Fortunately lots of advice on inter web - there are also much more knowledgeable members on forum if you’re brave enough to ask :joy:.
You’ve now got a puzzle you need to solve unless of course you’ve got the Harman Kardon curve already!
Good luck.

Edit: meant to say say is your room about 5.7m by any chance?

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Thanks Tapp
Still got a lot more work to do as you say. Had a quick look on the REW forum which looks like a good source of info.
Room is 5.1m - not far off, a slightly odd shape though.

I took each speaker individually then both together. Then you can see if one has an issue. I have a very non symmetrical room, and found the bass interaction of one of the speakers particularly lumpy!

There is a thread on the forum with my results

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Yes the standing wave would be for a symmetrical room so if it was 5.1m the expected peak would be around 34hz.
If feeling brave the waterfall graph is interesting.
My listening room is also a living room so couldn’t go absolutely rogue treating first reflection points which was sub optimal.
Hope your partner has a low waf as they say :blush:

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Thanks Tapp
I have some minimal room treatment and may be able to add a little more and therefore trying to figure best placement of minimal treatment.
Had a quick look at waterfall and looks like some long decay times here and there but need to spend a bit more time analysing it.

Been reading through this thread with interest. I have obviously experimented with speaker and listening position but haven’t repositioned any furniture. I will try placing some rockwool bats behind the TV and take some measurements. I also have a large trunk to the side on one speaker which may be causing some resonance. Have tried some panels in front of TV which didn’t make much difference to the bass but did change the highs and mids a little.
Maybe I should start another thread on the process?

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A lot of good info in this short video by Tarun ( A British Audiophile)

Enjoy :+1:t3: Peter

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Every heavily treated room I’ve heard has been a disaster. The music just dies. I have a friend who hired an acoustic specialist to design his room and it never worked. He spent close to half million dollars on the build and has spent the last 10 years trying to make it work. He admits it’s still a work in progress.

I agree with the video, speaker positioning is most important. Light treatments are ok. In the case of my room I used 4 Vicoustic wood wave panels behind my couch. The both absorb and scatter the reflections. It made for a more focused sound. I wouldn’t do anything else to the room.

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Can’t compete with your view Chris from your lounge listening space, but feel most welcome to come and give my room a listen. I promise you it is far from dead and killing the music :+1:t3: ( I know where you are coming from though) ATB Peter

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As I’ve said before the most common complaint about acoustically treated rooms is that they kill they sound. With a bit of investigation its clear the cause is the wrong treatment in the wrong quantity in the wrong position.

Granted even acoustic specialist firms have their own likes / dislikes and ideas. So to treat a room to get great results takes a lot of time , research and effort.

But when done correctly the results are out of all proportion to the cost. My room is 21ft x 15ft x 9ft and has 40 GIK panels of full range , bass traps and diffusion.
Does it sound dead , no because for all intents and purposes the room has no sound.

Obviously a fully treated room is not possible or acceptable for most people but it just shows its not the tratment that is the problem , its the application thats the fault.

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Indeed a long haul ( mine took 18 months+) but how rewarding is it once you get there and for a minimal cost compared to the cost of our systems. ATB Peter

Did Thomas ever surface???

Sadly no Rich, I suspect he’s sat spinning a warm glass of Swiss glüwein in his hand listening to a relaxing piece of Classical through his Soulution :relaxed: Hope he’s ok Peter

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Indeed Peter and if he reads too much of the DCS thread he might just think that he’s better out of it! :joy:

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I think it must be something else that keeps him away. Perhaps he has realised there are other things in life than Naim and padded listening rooms and just decided to get out more :wink:
Possibly with COVID over he gets out to go climbing more or goes to concerts at the Victoria hall more with his wife and daughter. Let’s hope that’s the case

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But do not many Naim systems suffer from this to a certain extent and this is primarily what keeps people on the upgrade train?

I have been unable to see this thread for the past couple of days - strange
I know a couple of people were interested in my rew measurements so i have posted them on the (Quick REW question) Room measurements and analysis.