Leave it Open or Close it Off: A Listening/ Living Room Dilemma

I would think that having a door is better because it adds flexibility— regardless of which sounds better you have the option to go with closed or open, you can partially block sound going into and out of the room, you can discourage meddling with your system, etc.

The soundwave would most likely pass though the door or wall. 

If how it sounds is your only deciding factor, then buy a piece of plywood, cut to size, and A/B how it sounds with/without.  You could even take frequency and SPL readings for a given source, like one of Stereophile’s test CDs, if you are way serious about it.   If there are other esthetic or privacy reasons for the door, then having a door is the more flexible option, as discussed above.  

I was at a friend’s place when he had an expert in set up over to help with speaker placement, room acoustics, etc.  This person did some basic experiments, including removing wall treatments from such “obvious” locations like the first reflection point.  We also listened to how the sound changed when someone leaned against the long interior wall to damp vibration.  What was interesting is that the room sounded better with that wall LESS damped and without treatment at the first reflection point.  The lesson learned is that there is no fixed best approach; the only way to know is to experiment.  It turned out that the room sounded better with the door closed (at the back of the room) and with a storage closet door (also at the back of the room) open.  We were told that the open closet was acting as a kind of trap and this helped this particular room.

Close off the space. Thank me later

Bob