acoustic placement/small bright room

Make sure your listening chair/sofa is as far from the wall behind you as possible. A lot of the reflective glare you're hearing is coming from that rear wall and the farther your ears are from it, the better. Also get the speakers in from the rear (the one behind speakers) and side walls as much as possible.

I have an 11 x 13.5 room and by doing this the glare has been reduced substantially. My ears are 22" from the rear wall and I'm still 8' from center point between speakers. If you can do this and the relatively simple treatments discussed above, your problem should be pretty much under control - unless, of course, it's equipment related which I know you claim isn't the case. However, believe it or not, there are speakers, amps, cables, etc. that work better in small rooms.

I actually put some 4" fiber glass in the middle of each wall and it worked to tame the brightness and the aggressive midrange. Now I am going to adjust my speakers again since I had them toed out to help with brightness. I should be in good shape now.

Thanks again for the help all!

Rob

Robm321, what about carpeting? Also bookcases filled with books.
I have the same problem but refuse to turn my home into an anechoic chamber. Right now I use an equalizer. Parametric is better than graphic BTW.

What is the best placement for absorbtion? The first reflection points or behind the speakers?

Rob

Just got back to this thread. As to the poly fill, it depends on the loft. If it's a really thick quilt and the covering is natural fiber (cotton preferably), then it's probably doing a reasonable job. If it's polyester covering then it's going to reflect somewhat. Also, the loft is small, there is going to be much less absorption. Fiberglass is about the most efficient absorber, and the higher the density the more efficient it is.