living room system

[smurfbrain]

my living room system with diy absorption panels (work in progress). im adding them one by one to judge the effect it has. trying to get rid off resonance freq as the room layout is a bit akward to work with. unfortunately i am allowed only so many. .
so far 4 100mm broadband panels, 3 x50 mm panels all 1200x600. the sounstage width and depth is enormous . everything is improving....

[DSJR]

Hi Martin,

This may not be possible for you, but having "heard" a very well treated room which was done by a qualified professional with a long list of well known musicians and studios under his belt, may I suggest you try having the speakers in a reasonably "live" environment and the listening position in a more "dead" area. Also, keeping the speakers and the listening seat away from room boundaries as much as possible helps a good bit too.

http://nickwhitaker.net/portfolio.htm

[smurfbrain]

Thanks for the advice Dave. The listening position is where the photo was taken. Due to akward layout the speakers have stay where they are. Its a compromise i do admit. i have tried everywhere in the room but this best option when you have compromise in placing speakers where you have two sets of doors,window bay,fireplace etc.. At the moment i dont have a space nor money to have properly treated music room. There is still room for improvement.

[jandl100]

Hi Martin

I've been playing around recently with some hi-freq absorbing panels (i.e. not bass traps) from GJK. I bought a set of 3 that look a lot like the smaller one in your photo.

After a bit of fooling around with position I found them best placed 1 behind each speaker (I have di-pole mids and treble) and 1 behind the listening position reducing 'treble splash' from the rear wall. Is that where your 4th panel is placed?

I found the overall improvement was quite subtle but worthwhile - taking them away was not a step in the right direction! ... better image focus a depth and a slightly smoother more detailed top end.

[smurfbrain]

Yes Jerry. The 'small one' is 1.2 m wide and there is another one on opposite wall behind listening position.

The reason for broadband panels was that not treated room was boomy, and full of resonanses. The big panels 4inch thick are placed in each corner of the room where it make most difference. As per photo two of them are behind speakers. I also made two portable smaller panels for side reflections. Thats what i was allowed by my other half after discussion. The material i used is rockwool 45.

After listening for few days i found that soundstage has improved in depth considerably, more precise positioning of instruments,singers and overall image.
Can tell now how performers move in relation to mic. I do also find that top has become more clear.
I think next step will be different amp to tame the brightness a bit. In the meantime i will have to use tone controls on some of the records.

One the upside i have managed to negotiate with my missus mutual agreement to convert spare room into music listening den in couple months.
It will cost me dearly.no more cheap hols. .

[Mike Reed]

Just a thought, Martin.

I endorse Dave's comments, and would mention that a general rule of thumb is to not have large pieces of furniture (esp. sideboards and the like) between speakers. Unfortunately, domestic logistics usually take priority.

Don't recognise your speakers, but if they're rear-ported (can't see one in front), they should be a fair old way out from the wall. Maybe they're not ported at all!

Some degree of isolation between your dresser/sideboard and the kit may improve things. A dedicated hifi table/rack/shelves would be better still.

[smurfbrain]

The speakers are b&w cdm 7se front ported. There are placed 1 metre from the back wall into the room. The bookshelf is placed to the left side of the speakers in the corner next to a chimney breast.Cdp and amp are placed high enough so i can put one of the portable panels in front while being able to access controls.
Now you got me going again.

[Themis]

Nice work, Martin.