Does carpet deaden the sound too much?


I’ve always had my speakers on carpet, but alway feel my system could be a little more livelier. Is it the carpet that absorbs life out of the sound? 
mike

hiendmmoe

I favour a broad-band absorber on the ceiling preferable to carpet as a means of dealing with floor to ceiling absorption.

Great, this is the area in which I need more information in order to make an informed decision. I know that my next move is on the ceiling, and your position of broadband absorption aligns well with what I have been reading.

How to implement that, for my particular needs, that I am very unsure of.
@lemonhaze - I’d like to know more about what you’ve done, how you went about it, researched it, implementation and resulting impressions please?
I can take it to DM (PM) if you’d prefer, as I am really interested, hopefully you're willing to share it?

 I've heard that an egg shaped room has perfect acoustics. Mind you won't be able to walk around, but you will have great sound.

@rixthetrick, Broad-band absorbers can be bought from the likes of GIK etc. who charge crazy amounts for a simple thing so I prefer to make my own. There is much info on how to DIY them and a search on the net will turn up lots.

With an overhead panel (or cloud) and if you have sufficient height an excellent absorber can be fabricated. The thickness of and the distance from the wall or ceiling is what determines the frequency range of absorption. That's why carpets and thin drapes only effect a narrow range of frequencies which is not  what we are trying to achieve.

Usually a frame 4" deep is built to accommodate 2 x 2" thick Owens Corning 703 fibre panels. These come in 2'x4'x2"   With a ceiling absorber a frame 4'x6'x4" is worthwhile so don't waste effort on less. In the 4x6 frame you place 3 doubled up panels sided by side. Cover the frame in some nice fabric by stapling it to the back edge of the frame and attach it to the ceiling. Broad-band absorption in place!  A pack of 6 panels is available for about $80  I have bought panels from demolishers for about $10 each.

Now for the best part: if you don't mind the looks and have the height you can vary the distance below the ceiling. Placed flat against the ceiling is fine but it's effect can be enhanced by lowering it from the ceiling. I suspend it by a few links of light chain from cup hooks. Greater distance from the ceiling will extend the lower frequencies that are absorbed. 2" helps, more if you have the height.  I have hung some with the front of the frame 2" (edge closest to you) and the rear about 5 or 6" below. I like the look and it further broadens the range.

A friend's wife asked for the panels to be separated so we made 3 frames 2'x4' and spaced them about 3" apart and the end result was rather smart.

These can/should be used as first reflection point absorbers.

 I've heard that an egg shaped room has perfect acoustics

I'm not sure I agree. Will have to ask a chicken 🐔

I have wall to wall carpet in my ‘Music Room’… I bought a pair of ZU, DW that have a vent hole/slot in the bottom of the cabinet. They sounded nice but had way to much bass. At the advice of a friend I ordered a pair of ‘Butcher Blocks’ to fit the size of the speaker cabinets. Once I put those speakers on top of the wood blocks, it sounded WAY better! It took away the muddy too much bass sound. The bass became much more ‘Punchy’ instead of ’Boomy’…