Room Treatment


Hello All

I have been doing some research on room treatment and am not really sure how to proceed. I am listening in a 12’x 20’ x 9’ living room with the speakers on a short wall. Have recently updated equipment and now want to extract better performance. Has anyone here had GIK advise them what products of theirs to start with?  How many people actually take room measurements before proceeding with treatment? 
I think i need to start with front corner traps, minor first reflection point treatment and at least 1 good trap on the rear wall. thoughts?  
Thanks


ama732mx1
I made my own simple corner absorbers several years ago out of covered Owens Corning 703. 8'x20"x4" deep, standing in four corners, they are considered more of a broadband absorber than a bass trap. I since have come to understand I can get them to absorb more of the lower frequencies by making them 6" deep, and I am also looking into putting a front diffuser pattern on them to keep some of the mid high and highs  in the room.  
ama732mx1, It makes a difference that you are dealing with a living room  where you do not have complete freedom due to a concern for aesthetics. Typically one also has limited flexibility in speaker and listening position in a living room. 

I have miserable acoustics in my living room, where having traps and panels all over the place is a non starter.   I went with a different approach in my Living Room.  There I used a Synergistic Research Black Box and about twenty SR HFTs.  I was skeptical about both of these products, but I found them surprisingly effective in improving vocal articulation which was a real problem in that room.  It was so bad it was hard to have a conversation much less enjoy music.  Even my wife, who is a complete non-believer in such things, was really impressed by the difference.    However, I evaluated them upstairs in my dedicated living room, and the SR products did absolutely nothing there.  So, if you try the SR products, make sure you have a 30 day return option.  

Finally, I picked up a Lyngdorf 2170 for use in the living room, which offers some very effective DSP using Room Perfect.  It is a really nice piece.  Not what I would have expected from a class D amp at all. 

There is more than one way to approach this.  In a dedicated room, I'd go traditional room treatment.  In a living room, I'd start with DSP and go from there in order to avoid or minimize panels and traps. 
Your vaulted ceiling is most probably a plus !!!!
do a mix of Diffuser and Absorbing, I love the look and performance of Vicoustic and RPG products but the DIY route can be quite effective 

have fun, enjoy, experiment and listen :-)