The Listening Room Reality

I would however love to have such room only for music, a dream…

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I suspect that biggest difficulty with partners (wives, husbands or any other) and room treatment is likely to be when it is an afterthought, to be introduced into an existing, nicely furnished and arranged room. Moving home or doing other alterations or even just redecorating may be the best time to introducetge notion.

Logically, unless it is a dedicated listening room, as otgers have suggested you work with the desired furnishings, positioning them carefully as well as the speakers and listening position. And when choosing furnishings you can be influenced by the things that will have beneficial effects on the acoustics. An open bookcase full of assorted books can make a reasonable diffuser with some absorption, whereas a glass fronted bookcase is the opposite, being highly reflective at mid and high frequencies and so the worst thing to have where reflections may be an issue such the near refkection points. Big soft sofas may have bass absortion properties, etc. But room nodes causing problems at the bass end, whether cancellation or boom, may still require bass traps, which inherently may need to be quite big: the key there perhaps, unless going for the active type, might be to blend them into the walls as far as possible. Some people’s solution is to choose speakers that roll off the bass before the troublesome region - but that of course also rolls off part of the music. Meanwhile some well-chosen art panels may even enhance the room’s appearance, even if they are abnormally deep for canvas prints that they may otherwise resemble.

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This video is the exception. Thankfully, it is not Darko speaking for the most part, but an audio professional who does make some very good points. Of course, some good headphones may be another solution.

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Here an interesting review on Audiophile Style. The reviewer explains step by step what acoustic treatment he is doing before the installation of his big Wilson speakers .

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At least you were able to put your climbing skills to good use Thomas…

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Thomas, I have a question. My room is like this. On the left I have a diffuser/ absorber panel. On the right angle, I have a cds tower ( it works positively for acoustic).
I have 2 walls behind my speakers as you see. What do you think of the Vicoustic wood diffuser, 60 cm X 60 cm X 130 mn. One for each wall. And how are they glued to the wall ?

My room. 2 walls behind the speakers

Vicoustic Wood 64

image

:small_blue_diamond:frenchrooster,…Interesting article,.I’ll read it more carefully later.
But he makes,.in my opinion,a fundamental error when he starts with this work.
I’ll get back to this later,but see my post No 56.

Then he also seems to set-up the system after a “round-earth” thinking =soundstage etc,etc. Instead of a “flat-earth” thinking =best musicality etc,etc.

•I see that he also uses Transparent’s ethernet-cables,.interesting,because it is these @Music_Lover think works best in his system.

I’ll read the article more carefully tonight…

/Peder🙂

Hi frenchrooster.

Please could you maybe expand on how your cd rack is having an effect on your system sound being placed in a corner, where an absorber should live? I’m intrigued :thinking: ATB Peter

Interesting to have your comments later. Specially the error you are referring. Post when you can.

Precisely.

My wife has a very clear opinion, which I respect. She doesn’t want ‘odd’ (to her taste) ‘things’ in the living room, no matter what sonic benefit they may bring. Fabric covered panels count as ‘odd,’ and from there it only gets odder . . .

But if we were to move house and there was a room to dedicate to music, or just a room that was not also the living room, she’d have zero complaints about outfitting it as a music room with acoustic treatments.

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It helps a better bass, more cleaner , without reverberations. My dealer suggested it when he came to visit me. It really helped. I tried a bass trap and didn’t like the effect : the sound was less lively.
On the other side, I have a wood , absorbing / diffusing panel. It’s the best place for it. I tried a lot of other places and sold the second panel I had.

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Have you tried this Vicoustic panel ( or other brand) behind the speakers ?
I see it very often on some systems pics ( not on naim forum system pics, apart Tomser or perhaps another one)

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Erm, the Earth really isn’t flat: it has been disproved! People have flown round it, satellites orbit above it, and there are even photos from space… :smiley:

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It’s like breaking the angle.

Some scatterers are less intrusive looking than that, though that one could easily be made by someone from wood offcuts for next to nothing. GIK even do a scattering opttion for some of their absorbers, the has some merits of both types of treatment behind a fabric face. But what you put where is important- my understanding is that generally behing the speakers absorbers are better than scatterers, though no doubt it varies by room.

Hi Peder
I had no idea, that speakers have more than one optimal position In a room- ie the position they are most truthful to the recorded music? So what is it ‘ sound stage’ or ‘musicality’…really?? Peter

The Vicoustic panel I posted, is absorbing or scattener? For me it’s a diffuser, like this GFK one.
I see often these panels behind the speakers, in the middle, on the wall.

GFK
image

That panel is designed to work on the speaker-wall BUT between the speakers, where it will reduce the reflection from the wall behind you. In this way it scatters second reflection and because of its design, it doesn’t attenuate the signal but merely scatters/ redistributes it. ATB Peter

I know what Peder wanted to say. You can analyze music by hifi criteria like bass, soundstage, details…or by overall musicality ( do I enjoy more or less the track ).

Yes, I wanted to say between ( on the wall behind them). I was not clear …but we agree now.