How do you know what room treatments to use?


I am thinking improving my system with room treatment. My system sounds “loud” (distorted?) when turned up. It is a high resolution, very good $100K system built over several decades.  I am getting a new preamp that will improve things but think that the room is significantly to blame. How can I actually tell what is amiss and what is needed?
mglik
You could do them yourselves but wrapping fabric is no fun.  I have GIK panels.  I have 11 and cost about $1500 inc.  freight.  The most bang for the buck are the walls between you and the speakers known as first reflection point.  If your system is in a dedicated room, it is easy.
My converted bedroom (10x9x8) sounded like cr*p. It was just awful. I called GIK and sent them pictures of my room. They made several suggestions which I incorporated into the room. It was transformative. My room, despite its dimensions, now sounds very, very good thanks to GIK. I recommend them highly, not only for their good advice, but for their excellent quality and affordable products.
My room treatment with passive materials is homemade and not ideal but work well... I use only my ears to create it...(total cost under 50 bucks)

But my active device controls of the room acoustics, is totally astounding and cost little more but anyway peanuts....

In acoustic there is 2 complementary ways: the room treatment with passive materials, and the active controls with resonators and schumann generators grid all connected....(S.G. for 10 bucks and i own 10 in my grid). You can use a computer to calculate the best nodes in the room where to put the materials, but you must use your ears to synchronise the active controls device grid.... It is easy tough....

Except for some totally acoustically engineered room (very costly), active device controls of the room is the way to go for most of us....

Nobody will believe that but i say it anyway and if you want to know read my thread....

No one it seems know about this and nobody use these active device controls that free the sound from the room obstructive topology or furnitures and erase the speakers from the sound projected 3-d presence.....

My last control device cost me 15 dollars and it is the more powerful....If i say what it is, some will call me nuts.... Then if someone is curious it is in my last posts..

All aspect of sound are modified by active controls : dynamic, imaging, soundstage tonal accuracy, higher frequencies extension, bass extension etc....

Ok my duty is done....

A last word, the acoustical embedding of an audio system is more powerful for S. Q. than most upgrades, speakers included, and it is the more powerful of the 3 embeddings controls....

Nobody can listen to his speakers, we listen the room, because our ears are in the room not in the speakers enclosure and the sound waves we listen to is a complex integration of the direct waves and the reflected one .... The active device control work on this complex wave by resonance modification and amplification of the direct wave and synchronization between the direct and reflected one... This is my explanation and not science.... I know little but i am creative and i know how to listen....Anyway my results are amazing and cost peanuts....

Someone not knowing that about acoustic dont know really his own audio system ....

i know mine.....

:)


I started with GIK full range absorbers at my first reflection points and that helped tremendously.  I then added quadratic diffusers to my rear wall and to my left and right.  I temporarily have some diffusers in my mid wall corners for the bass until I get more absorbers. I also want absorbers for my front wall and front corners. My virtual system has pictures of the room.