The Listening Room Reality

Thanks Peter :sweat_smile:

Yes, the duster… best upgrade ever! :joy:

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I was of course referring to the dumbbells :rofl:

I wonder… Should I really treat the room or even reinstall the HiFi?

It’s more peaceful when it’s empty, isn’t it?

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I would throw away the HiFi and just turn it into a room for meditation. If you take on this suggestion then please add some windows so there is appropriate visual candy as well

I met an acoustic engineer at a party yesterday. Talked about hi-fi and the influence of the room. He said he would have fun measuring at my place. Then he came today. With all the equipment, even a pistol. Conclusion: everything fits. The only thing is that the USM Haller panels vibrate at high volumes. I should put insulating foil on the inside. It was totally exciting and interesting.


He then heard a few songs himself and said he had goosebumps, the system was very very good.

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Sure Thomas, keep it empty… (reverse psychology won’t help). Lol

Rome was not a built in a day. :slight_smile:

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There was a guy that took over as director of operations at a well known space agency. He also said that Rome was not built in a day… but then stated very clearly that he was not on that project :rofl:

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LOL

It took me about 6 months to get mine singing to perhaps 80% of potential in the den a long time ago… and it was nowhere near what Thomas is attempting in terms of his attention to detail set-up with his room acoustics.

All good things come to those who are patient. I wish you an excellent sound room once done, Thomas. :sunglasses: :notes: :notes: :notes: No rush and enjoy the grind and journey. :metal:t3: :muscle:t3: :muscle:t3: :muscle:t3:

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I am tempted to say that the room is nearly everything. In this day and age of the “RF soup” we also have serious issues there. I don’t want to divert this thread but there are many things that we only begin to understand with experience that should be part of the foundations of any hifi system at any level.
I am on leave in france at the moment and i am really enjoying my lowly system if chrome bumpers with a travelling auralic altair g1 and this is all down to the room and electric supply and possibly a bit to do with the mood as well :wink:

Nice pistol! Almost the James Bond’s one :sunglasses:

Used to measure the RT60 I suppose.

Oh, but there will be no windows.

I’ve thought of making openings to let the light in. But in the end it wouldn’t have been great.

And I’m not one to do things by halves.

I’m not just going to block the windows. I’m also going to insulate them from the outside.

In addition to the “classic” acoustic treatment I will also lower the noise level of the room.

In short, to have a quieter silence if I may say so.

The silence of the room is a parameter that we don’t always think about and that has a real impact on the listening experience.

Listening to music in a context that is as close to perfect as possible is also an experience close to meditation :person_in_lotus_position:

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Couldn’t have verbalised this any better. Aye. (Thomas, you are aware, Sir, there’s no such thing as perfection… but I deeply respect striving for it. :sweat_smile: :sunglasses: :metal:t3: :muscle:t3:)

Cheers

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Fair enough there are no windows in my favourite concert halls where a significant amount of thought has gone into them regarding acoustics. However this is also your living room… shame that you dont have a dedicated room for that.
That said i fully understand where you are coming from to have that feeling of complete immersion and getting lost in a musical performance without the distractions

A step further in the transformation of the room.

The book shelf is gone. I had the technician at home to make measurements and prepare thing.

The aim is to surround the listening area with 45 cm of absorber, with the objective of a relatively flat frequency response down to 50 Hz.

If necessary I will add 2, or 4, PSI AVAA C20 (active BassTraps) in the front corners.

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The wooden frame is starting to take shape.

Screwed to the ceiling and glued to the floor.

I’ll fit 15 m3 of porous absorber in that frame.

Nothing more will happen for another 3 weeks.

The awaited supplies have not been delivered…

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I’d rather commit harakiri than attempt a major room DIY which I’m quite certain I will wreck. :upside_down_face: :stuck_out_tongue: :hugs: LOL

Hats off to you, Thomas… and all our DIY friends here with good hands.

I do know what I’m absolutely great at… turning the volume dial up and down. :sweat_smile:

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I hope the window decision is easily reversible. I can’t help but think the effect on mental health from having no natural light in your living room will eventually take its toll. I know you are an “outdoorsy” family so I’m sure you have thought of that.

Fascinating journey.

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It was indeed a difficult decision :sweat_smile:

I have to admit that a room without windows is a bit gloomy.

But as I said above, I wanted to go through with it. That’s my Stakhanovist side.

It won’t be a living room anymore. It will be a room dedicated only to listening to music. We all like that, even my 5 year old daughter.

She was barely five when she went to the Victoria Hall in Geneva for the first time.

To be together we have the kitchen and the office which also serves as a playroom.

But most of the time we are outside: climbing, cycling or just wandering. And working of course.

Yes, the installation will be reversible. But it is not a removable installation.

I tore out the bookcase, made holes in the ceiling, holes in the walls, etc. I completely destroyed the plaster and paint on the walls. In short, I completely destroyed the whole thing.

So, the installation is made to stay unless I move in which case I would have to rent my flat.

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:grinning:

Small changes in plans.

For practical reasons, the thickness of the acoustic treatment has been increased.

  • 6 cm thick absorbers for the divider.

  • 2 cm for the side walls/windows.

Considering the surface covered, these few centimetres will make a difference.

I use a material with a flow resistivity of 5000 Pa.s/m2.

So theoretically, with the surface and especially the thickness used, I can control the bass down to ~45 Hz. Wow! :star_struck: :star_struck: :star_struck:

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