Listening Room Recommendations

smglbrth

Ok, I'm a little leary of posting pics of this sort of thing but with all the recent posts regarding listening rooms and such I'm inclined to see what other people have to say about mine. Guess I'm looking for recommendations on what could be done to improve things based on peoples experiences, mainly on the room size.

This room is a 13'x13' square, almost. The audio is set up on the 4-5" longer wall but that's the only difference. As you can see my listening chair and end table are the only pieces of furniture, for a reason. What to sit on and a place to put my remotes, coffee, etc... The angled corner where the CD rack sits is a concern as is the space off to the right of where I sit. That little room, with the window, attached to this room is a closet, sort of speak, where my son practices his guitar.

What do you guys/gals think? Any recommendations besides some acoustic stuff on the walls? I thought of purchasing some acoustic foam and placing it directly behind my listening chair but that's pretty much all I thought of so far. The SDA's are 2' 3" away from the outside walls and 18" from each side of the audio table. This seemed like a good comprise with the space I have.

I would have liked a room twice this size but it is what it is.

Any imput would be appreciated from the more experienced!Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.

Conradicles

I would personally start by removing your gear from in between your speakers. Put it somewhere else in the room. Then start using some room treatments based on your budget. That is my $0.02.

Looks great!
Eric.

ckpiv

Rough calculations your speakers are roughly 8' apart so your listening chair should be probably 8' - 9' from the speakers. This would also get you away from the back wall. You could also move the speakers closer to give 3' to side walls and move chair closer. I would experiment with the positioning of speakers and chair then address room treatments if needed.

specd_out

Conradicles wrote: »

I would personally start by removing your gear from in between your speakers. Put it somewhere else in the room. Then start using some room treatments based on your budget. That is my $0.02.

Looks great!
Eric.

I have seen it mentioned before but is there a reason not to have the equipment between the speakers

I would pull the chair away from the walls. It seems like the general consensus is to have it as far from the back wall as you are able but still keep with in the ratio.

Conradicles

specd_out wrote: »

I have seen it mentioned before but is there a reason not to have the equipment between the speakers

I would pull the chair away from the walls. It seems like the general consensus is to have it as far from the back wall as you are able but still keep with in the ratio.

Reflections off of the equipment and other factors. I can say from personal experience it makes a huge positive improvement.

smglbrth

Thanks for the suggestions. As far as moving the equipment I'm not sure where else I could put it. Well, I could try and put it into that back corner "hole" but I'd have to get "much" longer speaker cables. That's the only place that would make sense in this room. I did try pulling the chair away from the wall farther and, to me at least, it sounded hollow, like there was no life in the music. I know this system performs better than that. Anyway, the last place I had this set up was a big room. The speakers were many feet, like 8 or so, away from the outside walls, each. Maybe I need to look into that again. The listening position had a wall behind it but probably 10 feet away. This house we just moved into has a huge basement like the last one but I'd have to "share" the space with everyone else, again! I can honestly say that the best I've ever heard any of my systems was in that big room. I still find it hard to believe, but that's what I thought anyway.

Anyone else find that as well?

organ

I also sit against the back wall. Absorb as much of the sound as possible. Makes a huge difference. No need to go all fancy. I use bed foam.

smglbrth

Organ, that's awesome, not to mention it also looks like it matches. I love ideas that are cheap and work. One of those moments where you sit back and think, "why didn't I think of that"?

michael1947

With the suggestion of removing the equipment table, your rack, where would you now put the stuff. Perhaps up on a shelf above the listening plane? That may look "hokey" and how it looks is important. By keeping the equipment centered you can keep your speaker cables shorter and those puppies are expensive. I don't have any ideas, just thinking out loud, good luck, I think you have the start of something very good, especially when you get the ceiling finished.

SCompRacer

smglbrth wrote: »

.... As far as moving the equipment I'm not sure where else I could put it. Well, I could try and put it into that back corner "hole" but I'd have to get "much" longer speaker cables.

Usually the amp is left between the speakers on a short stand/platform and you use longer IC's to connect pre to amp. That would leave room on your rack for a turntable.:cheesygrin:

Big spaces are great but are not immune to room acoustic issues.

smglbrth

Believe me, I've thought about a turntable for a long time now. Unless one was just dropped into my lap I'll probably never take the plunge at this point.

Now tubes, I've been thinking "long and hard" on that subject...

organ

smglbrth wrote: »

Organ, that's awesome, not to mention it also looks like it matches. I love ideas that are cheap and work. One of those moments where you sit back and think, "why didn't I think of that"?

That's what came to mind too when I first did it lol. At the moment, treating your back wall would probably have the biggest impact. A lot of nasties happen when you're right up against the wall. Try to cover as much of it around your sitting area as possible.

drumminman

Re: equipment rack between the speakers, I think the issue is more that it sticks out in front of front of the speakers. You can't move the speakers further away from the back wall to put them in front of the equipment rack without affecting the sound.

The equipment rack is too deep: it's all the way against the back wall and still sticks out in front of the speakers. If the speaks were 3-4" in front of the equipment rack that might be all you need. What about a shallower rack?

drumminman

Re: equipment rack between the speakers, I think the issue is more that it sticks out in front of front of the speakers. The equipment rack is too deep: it's all the way against the back wall and still sticks out in front of the speakers. If the speaks were 3-4" in front of the equipment rack that might be all you need.

I would experiment with a shallower rack and placing the amp (looks to be your deepest component) on the floor.

Of course, moving it would be a great thing to do, but more costly in terms of new IC's or speaker wire.

markmarc

First off, spend the $ and get the book "Get Better Sound" by Jim Smith, written for the layman it will give you a great understanding of positioning, room reflection, etc.

Secondly, since the room is nearly square you'll need to invest in some bass traps (DIY or pro built), you'll also want to have some sound absorbing panels hung at various points on the wall (once again DIY is possible).

Third, as others have mentioned move the chair away from the back wall, experiment with speaker position once chair position is selected. Moving equipment also. The key is to be patient, chart out from listening position where instruments sound like they are not just placed but how well defined they are (Darque Knight's brilliant idea).

This is going to be a process not a one shot deal, so enjoy the journey.