The problem with absorption panels- it kills the fine details

Of course every room is different with different needs. It seems to me that reflections will alter the sound you were supposed to hear as mentioned above. Not wanting to play the guessing game I had my room designed by a professional and I built it. It is virtually all absorption on every wall and ceiling. There is no drywall in the room. It is definitely considered a dead room and I was nervous about how it would sound. After everything got broken in I was blown away by how good it sounds. I hear mostly the direct sound from the speakers and I don’t feel I’m missing anything. I have been fortunate to have a few members with more experienced ears over for a listen and I believe they were pleasantly surprised how good it sounded. If anyone else here would like to come over for some listening I’d be glad to have you. 

So I’d say and over damped room is better than an under damped room. Happy listening! 
 

Ron 

My above opinion is mostly in regards to smaller rooms where the challenges are greater. 

I'm stuck with a 16 x 16 1/2 square room.So yes I need some of "that crap" on the walls.

I agree with everyone mentioning judicious use of the correct panels. In most listening rooms bass is biggest problem. Most retailers make bass traps that scatter/diffuse over a certain frequency to help keep rooms from being over dampened.

The room is the most critical part of a system. I was reminded of this recently when listening. The door behind my listening position that I usually keep open, I closed. This moved the reflection off the back wall behind me up about 10 feet. Sound was horrible. Soundstage collapsed, and the sense of openness disappeared. Opened the door, back to normal.

I’m sure the door closed with the correct application of panels could minimize the difference. For now, I’ll just keep the door open.

Geez, never expected to see the word 'horrifying' so much in an audiophile thread.

Now I'm a little horrified to listen to my system!