Maybe being discerning isn't that good for us?

Great topic, one that I have inquired about and explored.

About 15 years ago I did a demo with a well known band in the Tampa Bay area at a night club.  As an experiment, at the half time break, I replaced all the power chords and cables with audiophile grade chords and cables.  In addition, I put sand filled bases under the mike stands.  The band members were skeptical and the audience was not informed of the changes being made.   The objective was to see if the improvements made a difference in the performance and the reception by the audience.

Prior to the break, the audience was not paying attention.  They weren’t engaged. and were more interested in their table side conversations.  After the break with the changes in place, there was a dramatic difference.   One lady in the audience, who saw me on the stage, asked  me what I had done.   I asked her what she noticed.  Clarity, was her response.  Upon further inquiry, she was a piano teacher and had a trained ear.  To her, there was a dramatic difference in sound quality.   

It didn’t take long for the audience to become fully engaged with the band.  In addition, the band members fed off the energy of the audience.   With this knowledge, I became an audio advisor for a major cultural center in the Tampa Bay area and improved upon their audio situation.

Here is what I learned:

-The quality of the music and the quality of sound presentation both have emotional connections.

-Listening fatigue can occur when there is imbalance within the presentation of sound, as in a muddled bass juxtaposed to a clear horn section.  It creates strain in the same way as a clear eye and a blurred eye will create strain.  This is true of soundstage as well.

-The audience may not know what the changes are from, but they can feel it.

-Audiophiles are more sensitive and more aware of the improvements to sound presentation and therefore willing to spend more. 

-However, we all have potentials to addiction. and the addictive potential to the emotional connection  of music and sound presentation is relatively high.

-Music performers can benefit from the experience of audiophiles.

You are 100% correct.  I am an amateur recording technician and when our large choir and symphony perform in auditoriums (Gindi, VBS) and stages (Ford Theater) requiring amplification, the sound is less than it should be.  When we perform at Disney Hall or other non-amplified venues, the sound is captivating and the recordings are nearly audiophile (I only use two mics).  Since I am not in charge of the amplification/can't touch union work, the sound will never improve.

Backing up to the discussion of room acoustics, and the control of....

One does have the option of custom DTG on fabric faced panels. *S*
DTG (Direct print To Garments) is a spin-off from the graphics trade which I was involved with previously. Initially, ’dye-sub’ shirts were the first items that were marketed. Since. it’s exploded into ’T-shirts on demand’, large-scale textiles, and nearly everything in between.

For an example:
- You can purchase ’blank’ acoustic foam panels; sized as desired.
- Have a suitable fabric printed with whatever suits ones’ taste; images, colors, patterns.... If it can be imaged digitally, it’s generally ’printable’.
- Apply foam to a substrate; plywood is typical, but the panel should be able to resist ’curling’ due to the ’shrink/swell’ tendencies of materials (What goes down ’flat’ @ 65 F. may ’curl’ @ 75 F.; sunlight through a window can ruin ones’ day...).
- Apply fabric to the ’face’; use of the correct adhesives to do so isn’t ’rocket science’, but does need to be paid attention to....
- Hang it all....*G*

One could make those corner bass traps ’blend’ into the corners, printed to match the wall paint....or not...

The wall panels could be a landscape....or a print of the dog, (grand)kids, cars, your home planet, a babys’ arm holding an apple....Whatever....

If I opt for ’acoustic conditioning’, the above is where I’m going. The general appearance of panel treatments in a ’common space’ (a living room, den, or ’what-have-you’) tends to have a limited appeal in the SAF category....

...even with mine, who has an appreciation of the "..why one would have the living room appear to be a recording studio?!"

It clashes with the drapes, sofa, the painting we paid X$ for, my eyes, Your eyes, the floor....

You Know the drill....;)

There’s Interior Design....and Inferior Desecration.

(Lava lamps are a subject of discussion...but I’ll back away from that...)

Back to topic. *S*

(Hi, Eric! ;)....)

I have to say though, the GIK Acoustics are panels are effective, pretty and high value. :)

And yes, room acoustics is something I have always been sensitive to. Not just for music. Spending a long time in an office with live sheet rock is exhausting.

In the above vein....

Has anyone seen or known of 'free-standing' panels?  Ones that could be analogous to a 'room divider'?

Height/width as desired; fixed or mobile?

The latter could have appeal for the larger space...out of the way for daily life, but easy to move into place for the 'Serious Listening Hour' (...or 2, 3, 4....etc.)....

Just thinking outside the box.....*S*