Bookshelf vs diffuser panel. Who wins?

60 foot by ?? With 12 foot ceilings and a small system will sound fine for near field. 
 

I have a 18 x 22 room with 12 foot ceilings, bookshelf’s do function as defusers and have acoustic treatments. Norma 140B and several speakers, floor standers and stand mounts that sound fantastic in this room. 
 

Is it perfect acoustically like my  local concert hall?

Nope but sounds darn good to me and the bookshelf’s do work.

Scientific America is a fine magazine as is Nat Geo and Smithsonian.

"Personally I can't stand bookshelves in rooms."

You would hate our place (the living room alone has over 130 linear feet of bookshelves).

My favorites are open backed "standards" with shallow 5.5" deep shelves as the books just seem to hang in the air.

I installed them on the speaker wall in the living room starting @ one foot above the floor and extending to the ceiling.

Did the same in the main bedroom on the "my side of the bed" wall.

White walls white hardware/shelf material and the shelves themselves are barely noticeable.

DeKay

@jumia,

Bookshelf vs diffuser panel. Who wins?

Diffuser panel: Because a bookshelf is not a diffuser panel. See below:

Mike

I love books / bookshelves and we have nine floor to ceiling bookshelves in our house… after getting ride of half our books. Most newer stuff is accumulating on iPads now. Nothing more comforting than to be surrounded by knowledge. My partner and I dearly love knowledge and share 6 college degrees between us.

The appropriate terminology is what rather than who wins.