Room Acoustics - Best way to cover a glass door?


My small room (about 12x12) has a glass door (leading to a balcony) on the right side, between the speakers and the listening seats.  I have stand mounted mini-monitors and tube electronics.  I listen to acoustic jazz, blues and rock, with lots of female vocalists. Bass is not important to me; I live for soundstage, imaging and sweet midrange.

I am looking for a simple (and inexpensive) way to cover the door.  I plan to install hooks or curtain rod on the wall above it, and hanging some sort of material/curtain.  I am wondering if there is anyone with experience and recommendations on what material I should use.  I have been considering:

-something light- a simple sheet or cotton cloth from the fabric store.
-something medium- a fuzzy blanket or perhaps cloth of fleece, denim, corduroy,
-something heavy - room darkening curtains, possibly plastic lined
-Multiple layers of material?
-Free hanging or fixed on the bottom?
-Or what about blinds- vertical, horizontal, thin, wide, fabric wood.

I figure I will end up trying a couple things (ideally just 2), but any advice on where to start would be appreciated. Especially along the lines of "xyz is a really stupid idea" or "start with this". 

I am an engineer, so I tend to want to understand why something will work rather than just snake oil, but, ultimately it is all about the ears.

THANKS,

Bill



meiatflask
I kind of doubt light curtains will cut the mustard, has anyone actually seem the frequency spectrum of vibration that large glass windows and sliding doors produce? I suspect it’s wider and lower than most think. Light curtains probably fall into the category, forced solution. In addition, has anyone felt the walls vibrate with his hand whilst music is playing at moderately high levels? Shocking! 😨

Furthermore, in order to analyze the problem one should consider some of the variables, thickness of the glass, SPLs in the room, Dimensions of the glass, whether the glass is double paned and if so the tightness of the seal, and so forth. You engineers out there, you know what I'm talking about, right?

geoffkait:

"I kind of doubt light curtains will cut the mustard, has anyone actually seem the frequency spectrum of vibration that large glass windows and sliding doors produce? I suspect it’s wider and lower than most think. Light curtains probably fall into the category, forced solution"


Wrong, at least at my house.  I invite you over to listen for yourself, with and without the curtains.  Everyones listening room is different, you made a big generalization.

Actually I was very specific, you know, size of glass, thickness, sound pressure level. Why would anyone think light curtains are any kind of broadband absorber? Google acoustics of glass, see what I mean. Google is your friend. 😀 I’m not saying light curtains won’t do anything but I’m after a more comprehensive solution. You don't know what you have until you lose it.