Help choosing panel placement

nduitch

I am moving to a new place next week and I am excited that I will have my first man cave. The half of the basement that is finished is where I will be setting up shop. After doing a clap test I heard it echo about for a long time, not like a gymnasium but it bounced all over the place. I know I will need some treatments to make this unusual space work. I know most people say first reflection points, so behind the couch and behind the speakers is a must. I also think there will have to be something on the left side wall. The right side of the room has a little bar type thing built in. The first reflection point stage right will be the front of this bar. I am wondering just how many panels it will take to tame this beast. Also should I put bass traps in the corners? there are only really 3 corners to work with so I'm not sure. The other problem is the front left corner(viewed from sitting on couch), it protrudes out about half a foot. Is it still effective putting a trap here, or should I just worry about reflection points?

I was also thinking of hanging a couple from the ceiling between the couch and speakers.


Thanks for your help,

Dutchman

Hawkeye

Have you considered putting the speakers on the short wall? Having the couch up against the wall is not one of the best places to sit. If you rotated everything 90 degrees, the couch would be off the wall and it appears you could have some space behind you which would be to your advantage.

I'd start with a bass trap in every corner possible. Then trap the 1st and 2nd reflection points. Follow that up with a bit of diffusion on the back wall.

Good luck! Traps are the best investment in sound you cab make.

Gordon

nduitch

The short wall is very small, less than 10 feet. If everything thing was in an equilateral triangle, that would put my sitting position really close to wall, probably 5 feet away. It might be possible, but I just think the space is too narrow to do it on the short wall. Especially if the speakers were at least 2 feet from the side walls , it would make for a very tight space.

nduitch

Also is a 2nd reflection point where the sound bounces to from the first reflection point?

Face

You'll have to experiment and see what sounds best to you.

I would try behind and between the speakers on the back wall and also on the back wall behind the listening position.

Except for the floor and ceiling, the first reflection would be difficult to treat in that room.

Even though you can't treat all 4 corners, bass traps in 1-3 corners will still help.

Hawkeye

My room is 11 foot wide and it works for me. I don't sit at a perfect equilateral triangle either. I've read the best place to sit is one third the length of the room from the front or the rear to avoid many peaks and nulls. I have Martin Logan's so the set up is quite a bit different from box speakers but I still think going to the short wall in that room would be an effort worth trying at least.

If it were me, I'd go to RealTraps and get my learn on, even if you choose to buy your traps somewhere else. Ethan offers some great learning guides about trapping a room. They are very pricey, but the quality is unbelievable. There are many more budget friendly pieces available from other companies, but none offer the aids that he does. I'm not affiliated with him in any way other than I have bought traps from him, so I don't get a kick back!

You know how to find your 1st point right? After you find the 1st, keep sliding the mirror along the wall until you see the opposite speaker in the mirror. Trap in that area and you've found your 2nd point.

One other thing I've found that worked wonders for me is do not put your rack between the speakers. Put it on the off wall. I'm not certain how well this would work with your speakers, but with an ESL it is vital!

Gordon

Face

Hawkeye wrote: »

One other thing I've found that worked wonders for me is do not put your rack between the speakers. Put it on the off wall. I'm not certain how well this would work with your speakers, but with an ESL it is vital!

At the very least, least keep it as low as possible, only 1-2 shelves high. It helped me also.

Hawkeye

Mike, Why are you up so late? Don't you have work in the morning? I work nights, so I just got home.

Gordon

nduitch

Thanks for you advice Hawkeye, I will definitely try the short wall as you have suggested. I have also watched many of Ethan's Youtube vids, they are really great and free.

Hawkeye

Your very welcome! Ask away, I'll answer as best I can as I'm sure others who believe in trapping probably will also.

Gordon

nduitch

I have found that with my speakers(1A's) that if I am slightly back from the EQ triangle I do not get a pure stereo sweet-spot.