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My new dedicated room sound like crap,please help.

Hi there:i just moved my system to a small 11x9x9 room,the ceiling is wood and the floor is tile w/an area rug on it all it has in it is the system and a very confortable chair,needless to say it sounds like crap it used to sound way better in a larger florida room w/windows all around and all tile floor,will appreciate suggestions on how to get rid off the echoes,smearing,lack of details and other nasties i'm getting at a reasonable price,thanks so much in advance.Al
my system:
resolution audio digital source
simaudio moon i-5 integrated
paradigm ref v-40II on target stands internally rewired.
tad bybee power purifier
omega mikro ic's and p/c's
dh labs q-10 biwired speaker cable.
alfred
tom_nice
387 posts
 
For a (good) start, buy F. Alton Everest's "Sound Studio Construction on a Budget" (covers all kinds of listening rooms) or his 4th edition of "The Master Handbook of Acoustics". You'll learn how to anyalyze your room's resonant modes and what to do about them, and also about absorption and diffusion. There are a lot of DIY options covered, if you have any workshop capability. Good luck!
sgr's avatar
sgr
689 posts
 
I would try Room Lenses. They are an awesome product, they look nice, and solve many of the problems outlined above. They are a little pricey, but well worth the money. Check out Audio Asylum for directions on contructing your own.
piezo
304 posts
 
As Sean indicated your room is dangerously close to square. I would start with corner bass traps to get control of the peaks and valleys in the bass waves and because all sound waves tend to pile up in the corners. with the smaller room your first reflections will hit your ears sooner and appear to be an integral part of the signal (after a certain time period your ears recognize reflections as such and don't integrate them into the signal) and creates smearing. Room lenses may also work here but i'd build them ala john risch designs since their diffussion capabilities are much more important than the action of the helmholtz resonator properties of the stuffed tubes.
danner
202 posts
 
I use a dedicated room that is 7.5x10x8. Bass traps made a huge difference. Of course, a Tact Room Correction System can do wonders as well.
benthar
42 posts
 
The book Tom Nice talks about sounds useful. Also his comment about resonant modes reminds me of this Cardas Sweep LP I have. Certain tracks on the LP will pump out pure sine waves at fixed frequencies. By moving your head around the room while playing these tracks you can tell where frequencies are being canceled out and adjust room acoustics accordingly. I'm sure similar CD's exist as well.
To track down such CD's and how to use them properly I'd try calling Audio Advisor, Needle Doctor, or Music Direct.
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