The Listening Room Reality

Very good point newcomer. I worked out, that it would cost me £4500,- to change my Facts to 505s, and this would still not have given me the ‘ full sound’ I feel, I’m getting now. I have spent probably half that amount on my room treatment. ATB Peter

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Room treatment has indeed a cost :pensive:

I spent on room treatment more than the price of a NAP300DR new and some fancy cables.

And I am delighted with the result. Money very well spent!

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I just mentioned the cost of room treatment.

One could achieve similar results for a fraction of that price with home made treatment.

Plywood, acoustic fabric, rocwool or glass-fiber panels are cheap materials.

For the price of one or two fancy cables, one could achieve amazing results :smiley:

… But, for such a project, it is a prerequisite to learn a few things about acoustics :wink:

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… and who said, a plant isn’t a great absorber, eh !?:face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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This is so very true…

Good Afternoon All,

My acoustic panels have cost £967 and, including the costs of fixings, the round cost would be £1,000 all in installed.

Are things ‘optimal’? I can’t be sure. I will live with things as they are for a while.

At the risk of endlessly repeating myself, the Isobariks continue to ‘rise to the occasion’ with the improvements in source, then amplification and now acoustic treatment.

There is something of a downside to all this in that badly recorded offerings (or maybe they should be described as sub-optimal??) become very apparent.

Regards

Richard

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Peter, your room isn’t overdamped.
Considering the pictures you posted, it simply can’t be.

Over damping has a specific meaning and FR probably used it to express a feeling rather than an actual information related to frequency response.

I obviously don’t know how skilled is FR in regard to room acoustics, but stating or implying that a few panels could over damp a room like yours is…
Well, it doesn’t make much sense, does it? :grin:

Dear Thomas,

You certainly seem to have succeded in creating a great listening environment for yourself. I would certainly be happy with that system and in that room including the treatment. If I was in your position, while acknowledging that I do not know as much about room acoustics as you do, I would consider doing something about your system furniture. The Naim recommendation has long been to not have anything between the speakers, least of all something as hard and reflective as a tv (or your rack). My inclination would be to put the electronics in the bookshelf, barring that in a smaller (it does seem uneccesarily wide) less reflective rack somewhere else, to the side if possible. As a minimum I would see what taking of the glass door and top of the unit would do or covering part of the racks hard surfaces with some room treatment product, perhaps just experiment with covering it with a couple of thick blankets to see what happens.

Best regards

Hans

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Hello Hans,

I couldn’t agree more.
Thanks for your comments and advices.

Unfortunately, the rack between the speakers is an unavoidable compromise. There is no other place to put it :pensive:

I thought about storing the electronics in the bookcase . Unfortunately there isn’t enough depth. I then filled part of the bookcase with BassTraps and Diffusors.

The glass door is a protection against my daughter’s curious little hands. It is something I added myself after buying the rack.

As for the consequences… well that’s not so bad.

The speakers’ drivers are ~20 cm ahead the rack.

Sound propagates differently depending on its frequency.

Higher frequencies propagate like a beam when lower frequencies propagate in a spherical way, which means that the consequences of having the rack between the speakers will be related to lower frequencies, mostly.

Lower frequencies, again…

Stereo imaging is related to high and mid frequencies, so having the rack between the speakers wasn’t that bad, for that matter.

What made huge improvement in stereo imaging was treating the ceiling, the back wall and side walls.

All the best,
Thomas

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Thanks Dad… :pleading_face:
No on a serious note, I am like you extremely happy with my present result- a result which would blow a black box upgrade into the weeds for sure!
As with your rack placement and yes maybe not ideal, but hey even in a dedicated listening room invariably compromises have to be accepted up to a point. Windows/ doors being an obstacle to acoustic treatment in their location, a piece of furniture, which have to be in that location, and so forth…
ATB Peter

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I wanted to say that the dealer treated entirely the room after an evaluation of an acoustic engineer specialized in acoustic treatment.
It costs maybe 1,5 k for one day, so it’s expensive.
The dealer decided to retire some treatment some months later, to adjust the results for a more lively sound for his tastes. And tastes of some consumers.

Thankfully FR, we all have our own ears and preferences, as to how we like our music to sound.
ATB Peter

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I would find it really interesting, if Xanthe would share her experiences/ challenges with her room issues and the treatment she undertook on this great thread. Thank you Peter

Indeed something I recognise also in my room, as higher frequencies become more apparent, once the excessive bass issues are becoming controlled. This will affect sibliant and poorly recorded/ mastered music, as this aspect was previously dulled by the excessive bass output murking the entire frequency band.
Funny old game this…
Also glad you are getting there :+1:t3: ATB Peter

Some interesting videos:
Not as accurate or complete as information found on books, but rather interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC57auUfJlTvIvW79pom_i1g

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We all have to make compromises and my room is certainly a lot more compromised than yours.

Hans

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Absolutely Peter. Each person, each room, each tastes…there is no absolute rules.
I find your room and system very nice, the same for Thomas. And have never said it’s overdamped, be assured.
I just referred to some personal experience with too much treatment, but my experience is finally very poor on that.
As a vast majority of dealers here in France. It requires skills and knowledge that is specific.
Today I am interested in some amelioration of the acoustics of my room, and will try some bass absorbers in corners. I have improved already a lot some problems I had in the past. But I know that my speakers are at the limit of the capacity of the room. And personally I have no intention to treat entirely my room to accept bigger speakers.
But I can understand that some don’t share my position.

Honestly FR you never offended me no worries! Best Peter

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Very interesting Thomas- having just watched 2 I shall be watching the rest. He certainly talks a lot of sense, in a language we can all understand. ATB Peter

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Regarding speakers vs room treatment I think there is a balancing act to get right. If you you choose speakers without bass you won’t have any, or limited, bass issues and of course no bass. Different speakers with similar bass extension may however react differently to the same room. I am a bit in thin ice here regarding my competence of how this works but as far as I understand reflex loaded speakers have two(?) resonces that help boost bass extension. If these resonances coincide with room modes you are asking for trouble and will need a lot of treatment to deal with.

For this, and other reasons, I have opted for sealed bass speakers as they are much easier to place without exciting room modes. Naim speakers go against the wall which makes things easier still. I am also relying on two (soon three) sealed sub woofers for additional extension. Using several subs enables some adaption regarding placement, and how the room is loaded, and of course cut of frequency and volume. To deal with the room modes I have using Linn Space Optimisation (I have a Linn KDS) which enables deep bass without resonances.

No room treatment so far but I am building a new room and thus interested in what can be done.

Best regards

Hans

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