2. speakers
  3. 1277759602

Questions about room size and speaker choice

I have two unrelated questions regarding speaker choice:

1) I am moving to a new, bigger apartment, which is great as I will have a dedicated listening room, but at the same time somewhat of a problem as the dedicated room is rather small measuring 9 x 11 feet. (It's the master bedroom and the shorter wall behind the listening chair has an opening into the bathroom so it's open in a sense.)

I am in the process of upgrading my speakers from the Totem Acoustic Hawk and the smaller room now has thrown another twist into the selection process. Some of the floorstanders I have been considering, such as the Acoustic Zen Adagio or the Silverline Sonatina, might now just overpower the room, or it might simply be not possible to set them up optimally given the distance of 9 feet between the side walls.

I wanted to ask whether anyone has tackled a similar problem and what the results were. Should I forgo full range floorstanders for a pair of monitors, perhaps? Harbeth comes to mind and I have been wanting to audition a pair of the 7es-3.

2) I have seen some incredible deals here on Audiogon on used speakers, and was curious what the opinions were on the age of the used speakers. Assuming a speaker is in a great condition and there are no flaws beyond cosmetic blemishes and simple age, at which point would you say a speaker has been used for simply too long to bother with it? Since it's a mechanical transducer with moving parts, years of use might exert more wear-and-tear on it than might be visible with a naked eye. The rubber surround might not be as pliable as it was and slowly start to crack; the voice coil might be pretty stressed and more prone to breaking; screws loosening; you get the idea.

I'd appreciate any input and opinions. Thank you.
actusreus
james63
534 posts
 
No, 3 feet off the front wall is plenty and the magic number where improvements happen. I thought you had them a good bit closer. I have found that distance from the speakers is important for driver integration which translates to better imaging and soundstage.

The totems may work well at only 7 feet but it seems pretty close. Try moving your chair back a little and see (leaving the speakers). The driver integration maybe better. There maybe a bass node at the back of the room you will here if you get to close (may not be there either).

It is best not to sit close to the back wall but I would trade a little more rear wall reflections for better driver integration... you may not though. Give it a shot and see, it should be a pretty easy test.
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Last question I wanted to ask: there are many acoustic treatment products available for reasonable and ridiculous prices on the Internet. However, I find it all rather confusing; absorption vs. diffusion vs. bass traps vs. soundproofing and combination of any of the above. Does anyone have any experience with acoustic treatment and could give me some advice as to what would work best in my listening room? Thank you.
inpieces's avatar
inpieces
199 posts
 
Actusreus, what is ridiculous prices? Where do you draw a line for what is ok and not?
You can use many large speakers in fairly small rooms, IF, i say if, you keep the bass peaks under control. Next factor is probably how well the speakers work in nearfield.

Do you have any pictures of your room?

I am no expert, but i can help you and tell you what i have tried in my room. The acoustics will determine more than you think, i swear on that. It is far too much to print here. You can change the whole aspect of how it sounds with acoustics. I would say, start off with this if you can. No room is perfect. They do not need to be, but by addressing acoustics your system will sound so much better. Later on, you can decide if it is good enough, or if you wish to work more on the acoustics.
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Inpieces, for instance most Acoustic Fields products retail for about $2000. That's ridiculous to me.

The good news is that there are really no aesthetic considerations for the room so I'm pretty flexible. We can take this conversation private so I can email you the pictures, if you're willing to do that. Let me know. Thanks.
kevinzoe
167 posts
 
Actusreus,
Do you have a web link to the "Acoustic Fields" products by chance?

I would highly recommend you educate yourself first before wasting money or your time, so pick-up a copy of Dr Floyd Toole's latest book and read it. If you're not familiar with him, he's dedicated his life to acoustical research as a scientist and isn't associated with any acoustic treatment manufacturer, thereby preserving his independance and unbiased nature, so he represents an expert and voice of authority.

You may wish to search the vast threads here on A'gon for acoustical treatment, including this recent post: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1273078171&read&keyw&zzdiffusion

Lastly, if costs are a concern and you have the freedom and inclination to try some DIY projects, then go for it. Bass traps and diffusers aren't that difficult to do and there's lots of info on the web. I can even send you info on how I've build several Skylines and hemi-cylindrical diffusers that double as bass traps.

One more thing - you may wish to visit AVScience Forum for their Acoustical Treatment Master thread found here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=255432&page=218

You'll also need some basic tools, such as:
* test tones and a SPL meter for starters (e.g. 20-300Hz)
* Frequency wavelength handy-dandy chart (http://www.soundoctor.com/freq.htm)
* Bass mode calculator (www.harman.com/xls/Room Mode Calculator.xls)
* Skyline diffuser calculator (http://www.oliverprime.com/prd.php)
* QRD diffuser calculator (http://www.digitalaudiorock.com/cgi-bin/qrd.cgi)

Good luck.
Kevin
More to discover