Originally Posted by
sailor
Hey Martin, I may be wrong but it appears you have not been exposed to a before and after listen to a room properly treated. It's science, there are is a target response to achieve and when these conditions are met the transformation is amazing. No guesswork involved.
In the interests of keeping my post from getting overly long I purposely left out what transpired at my idiot mates place. I regularly bought fibreglass/rockwool panels from demolishers for myself and friends at about 20% of new price. I had picked up a truck full and due to an installation being postponed I asked my mate to store them for me.
I convinced him to buy the beer and allow me to place the panels where I thought they would help. I lay a bunch at the floor/wall corners and in 2 of the vertical wall/wall corners and some on little tables etc. for first reflection points. I can go into greater detail about what we heard first and then with the additions but suffice to say the sound was simply amazing.
Andy was almost beside himself trying this album then that and I noticed that his wife was quietly in tears because she loved it and was happy for her husband and I suppose because he could now finally get his system sorted instead of wasting huge sums on never ending 'upgrades'
He at that stage had replaced an Aragon 4004 with a beautiful Spread Spectrum Technologies pre/power combo. I can't remember his turntable. Speakers were changed from Appogee to Martin Logans to Magnepans. What was presented now was clean and had a soundstage and most importantly now, musical. If anything a little soft in the top end. This because he had made the mistake of trying to correct a room problem by choosing warm sounding cables.
No, not experienced a before and after situation like that. But your mate's room must have been pretty empty if you were able to lay out panels so symmetrically. Also those panel speakers like Martin Logans have poor off-axis response so would probably benefit more than a well-designed conventional speaker with good off-axis performance. So the design of speaker and what that is doing is also a factor.
Mine is well-damped from carpets, rugs, two large padded settees and thick curtains. Lots of clutter. Never had any issues except when I got rid of a large plant from one corner and was getting some bounce from it. A large roll of loft insulation stuck in the corner solved that.
If the room has hard floors, no soft furnishing except one couch or chair, no clutter, blinds instead of curtains then you will have all sorts of issues. You see that sort of room a lot nowadays as it's the style of the times.
There is science behind it, of course there is, but even so experts don't always agree on the optimal solutions. For example damping first reflections can be beneficial or it can ruin soundstage. Too much treatment and the room will start sounding weird, as your moving towards an anechoic chamber. If speech sounds natural in the room then recorded music probably will too.
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.