Room treatment

[FrantzM]

Hi

I believe that Room treatment is the single most important addition one can make to a System .. Modest component in a good room systematically trumps great components in a not so good room. This said I also believe that it is best when one has the means to let a professional work its magic on your room. There are a few who are in this very Forum. If you can use their services This could well be the best investment youwould have made in your system... if you can't then prepare yourself to be very patient as Room Treatment is not an automatic .. Plug-n-Play thing more like Plug-listen-pray-berate-move-move some more-measure-listen, listen some more- unsatisfied-moving target , kind of affair ...
This site although very much oriented toward one particular brand of room treatment (ASC) does provide some very good pointers, a very good start.
I have NO vested interest in ASC or RPG I recommend however that BOTH be used in a system , most system require a certain amount of diffusion AND absorption.

This is the site http://www.tubetrap.com/...
I believe in using RPG in the front wall between the speakers and in the back wall as well , I also believe in seating far from the back walls,
http://www.rpginc.com/products/diffractal/index.htm


Frantz

 

[Steve Williams]

I completely agree Frantz

mine is an all ASC designed room by Art Noxon.

 

[audioguy]

Much depends on your listening priorities. HT (typically) has more absorption depending on the satellite speakers to provide "space" while two channel has more diffusion (there are exceptions). So my solution is a bit of a compromise. Rear wall is all RPG Skylines (diffussion); Front side walls are RPG BAD ARC panels (diffusion and absorption); Rear side wall is absorption and front wall is mostly diffusion. The first 8 feet in the front of the room is hardwood floor which you would not want to do for a home theater (i.e. multi-channel) only environment. My ceiling is all diffusion. All four corners are bass traps as are 3 of the 4 ceiling/wall intersections.

 

[rblnr]

I think from a value standpoint, room treatment is far more important than any other kind of upgrade. I want to cry when I see thousand dollar cables in an untreated room.

 

[Randall Smith]

"I wasn’t prepared for just how much better it would get. I had long believed in acoustically treating a room, but had always held off because I intended to move to another house. What a lot of time I’ve wasted."


this is a quote from a review of a room treatment package, I think it says it all.

 

[JackD201]

Same here. If one is to go pedal to the metal in this hobby, one has to pay as much attention to the room as to his gear. Seeing great gear in an untreated room is like seeing Jack Nicklaus putting through windmills and dinosaurs.

I know one person who asked for my advice and I gave him the contact info of two of the best acousticians around our parts. He found their prices steep so went with a DIY type of guy with no real credentials. He has since gone through 3 major speaker changes and two amplification changes. He still isn't happy. Well, I said, just the amp change would have paid for the consultancy/design fee and one speaker change would have paid for the construction. I feel bad for him but what can I do?

 

[Nicholas Bedworth]

Absolutely true. A Proton stereo radio (with a satellite speaker) can sound wonderful in a well-treated room. A high-end system can easily sound poorly in an untreated room.

However, there's a even more involved than suggested in some of these posts. The low bass is the hardest to get correctly, and for this, some serious engineering software and simulation is required. Check out Keith Yate's work in this area for an informative read: www.keithyates.com. Be prepared to put panels on the ceiling (or suspended therefrom) and you'll be really, really happy.

I think that most of the equipment churn that one sees on the forums is related to not dealing with room acoustics, and speaker placement.