The Listening Room Reality

Err…what?

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Not to worry- with the same avatar I thought it was you :thinking: ATB Peter

Umm…I wonder if I can copyright my avatar?

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Made a couple of DIY acoustic panels for the right hand wall first reflection point. 100mm Rockwool insulation panels with MDF frames. They are free standing as my better half does not want them installed permanently which is fair enough.
I didn’t treat the left hand wall as I guess the sofa gives some absorption. The stereo image is now much more central as it is usually skewed to the right. Some of the occasional brightness has also diminished with an overall improvement I can’t quite put my finger on. A worthwhile lockdown project.

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Hi Stu, don’t want to teach you to suck eggs, but have you covered both channels 1st reflection points on that right hand wall? :thinking: ATB Peter

Do you mean from each speaker Peter? Yes of course would let me delete sorry

Beautifully done! Do you have any photos of the construction of the acoustic panel frames?

And, really like the discrete appearance of the Neat Motive 2 speakers too (would like to hear them at some point).

Hi Peter, egg sucking instructions are welcome. I actually haven’t done that …yet. I should however try it. I could use one of the panels once I locate this position and see how things sound. I needed to make the panels small enough so that they could be stored under sofa and behind TV when not in use. They are 400x600mm. I’m not entirely sure if they are large enough for first reflection points when used singly but they will have to do.
I think the second reflection point on the left could be on the door so makes things a bit awkward. Will get the mirror into action this weekend.

Give YouTube a quick search, you’ll find several DIY procedures that will help build your own panels. It ends up being a LOT cheaper then buying them.

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Thanks Thomas, will do. I’ve been considering experimenting with some minor room treatments in one or two places as I have a rather ‘lean’ reflective boxy room with few soft furnishings to speak of.

Thanks YetiZone, I don’t have any decent photos unfortunately but it is relatively simple. As Thomas says there are plenty of YouTube instructional videos. Getting the folds in the corners is a bit tricky and takes a bit of practice before stapling the fabric.
I wouldn’t use MDF again as it did split slightly when screwing the frame together even with guide holes. Maybe screws were a little too large. I had MDF left from making my DIY fraim so just used that. The frames seem sturdy enough however.

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Btw I do love the motive sx2. I have auditioned lots of more expensive speakers which are more refined, detailed with more defined bass but there is something about them that is infectious. In fact I up/sidegraded from the original motive 2s which were also great but ultimately a bit too bright for my tastes.

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As you can see from photo, my 120x60 foam panel (2”) just sits underneath the painting but in this way covers the tweeter to ear wall reflection. In my case this panel does both reflections just. With a further distance in you case from speaker to wall it may well be, that the distance will be slightly more than 120 centimetres. You could find a discreet way of maybe lining one of your crafty DIY absorbers up to sit just under the picture frame maybe hanging off some small nails, if this is where your left hand channel’s nasty reflection point is. As always we have to incorporate these buggers in the most discreet yet functional fashion.
Good luck :+1:t3: Peter

Thanks Stu - appreciated. OK, understood. Covering in fabric has zero fear as I’m used to stretching canvas, so the folds won’t be a problem. I was mainly querying how the frames are constructed and how robust they need to be. Will spend a tea break perusing YouTube!

Ah, thanks for the mini review on the Motives too - good stuff. Never heard this range, but I am a big fan of the Ekstras, and if they have the house sound them I’m sure they are superb.

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Thanks for the photo. Are the foam panels by GIK?
I have quite a bit of 100mm thick insulation left. If I were to make more panels for second reflection points would this be overkill?

BTW if you are only making a few panels I found some nice speaker fabric on EB which you can purchase in small amounts. The usual Cara fabric has a minimum square metre order which makes it a little expensive unless you are making a lot of panels. Alternatively you could use hessian/burlap.

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I’m sure 100mm panels would be fine. My foam panel is from advanacoustics in theUK, as I wanted something fairly discreet ( well…:rofl:) and something I could glue onto the wall. ATB Peter

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Ceiling treatment - A nice DIY video

https://youtu.be/XIP2Mix_bwM

The ceiling is a gigantic flat reflecting surface. And the distance from floor to ceiling is always the shorter…

For me, treating the ceiling was and great and enjoyable surprise.

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I would love to treat the ceiling but I fear that would be a step too far. Difficult to have a non permanent solution to use only for listening sessions.
Perhaps with your rock climbing experience you could invent a bespoke block and tackle hoisting arrangement for my lounge ceiling?:wink::thinking:

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