Room treatments

people should definitely work on their listening rooms

walk around clapping your hands and post what you rear - you may need more absorption

also, how close to a rear wall is your listening spot?

Great ideas williewonka! I definitely have some places that I can hide foam panels...

Randy, thanks for the clapping tip.

My sofa is only 18 inches from the rear wall and about 12 ft from my speakers. I have two diffusers about 5.5 ft high on either side of the sofa the wall. 

a lot of my issues/uncertainty come from the fact that I want the room to stay aesthetically pleasing. This is why I'm gonna do another diffuser.  I'm also going to do some simple bass traps that I can hide well...

Foam panels are so like 80s. Especially if the foam is anything like Sonex, one of the worst things ever foisted on naive gullible audiophiles. And it seems like such a good idea, you know, with the photos of recording control rooms covered with Sonex. 

Foam panels are so like 80s. Especially if the foam is anything like Sonex, one of the worst things ever foisted on naive gullible audiophiles. And it seems like such a good idea, you know, with the photos of recording control rooms covered with Sonex.

Actually @geoffkait, foam panels can and do work. Even the well respected GIK acoustics acknowledges 4 inches foam equates to 1 inch of their fiberglass (and other materials) paneling. Moreover, many companies that sell foam panels can and do provide third party lab tests, such as http://www.thefoamfactory.com/acousticfoam/pdf/Foam-Factory-2-Wedge-Foam.pdf

Moreover, foam can be and often is used in anechoic chambers, and can look aesthetically pleasing.

@gdhal is right. It's not that Sonex doesn't do ANYTHING. It's just relatively ineffective compared to the average panel from GIK.

I also have to say, having had a chance to hear rooms heavily treated with ASC products, GIK makes a superior product, for far less cost.

Best,

E