Need help from you acoustical experts

I just looked at your system here on A’gon. If that’s the system you have problems with, the issue is the height of your diffusion panels + the low ceiling.

If your ceiling was higher and had broad-band treatment it probably would be OK.

Remove any diffusors next to/behind your speakers that are ABOVE the level of the speaker. Ideally those should get replaced with simple absorbers.

While I generally applaud the use of a mix of diffusor/absorbers, I think you may have a little too much diffusion going on. Diffusors tend to pull the image towards them, so everything above the speaker level is going to encourage us to hear taller images, while diffusion to the sides encourages the sense of a soundstage wider than the speakers.

Also, a couple of pure abosrbers in the ceiling between the chair and speakers would probably go a long way.

newbee,

Those are the Vortex Acoustics (Von Schweikert) VR-35 speakers. They are designed to be close to the wall, kinda like the old Snells.

ghdprentice
I have a virtual system and uploaded 2 photos there.

erik_squires
I have tried taking the outermost 2 panels down from behind the speakers. Yes, those panels do "pull" the sound towards them.
The 2 Music note panels (from ATS) are purely absorbers. Have not pulled those off yet because A. I like them B they use Z clips rather than small nails to hold them up. Might leave a nasty scar. I’ll try it anyway.
The ceiling is "acoustical" tile but I don’t know how absorbent it is.

That being said, I’m a little wary of putting something on the ceiling if it’s going to pull sound towards it. Maybe some white Sonex JR panels just for an experiment?

OP:

Diffusors pull towards them. Pure absorbers do not and that’s the only thing I’d recommend. I believe some one makes a broad frequency absorber that will drop in where you have ceiling tiles. As I recall, those "acoustical" tiles are very reflective at higher frequencies. If you can find the drop in panels with a wider range you’ll be all set.

Your problem isn’t the absorbers, it’s that you have combination panels with 3d diffusion in a tiny room.

As a quick test, throw some towels on the tallest combi panels.

BTW, I am not recommending you get rid of all your diffusors, just change the mix that is above the height of your speakers to be more aborbent.

It's hard to tell you exactly what's best for your room at this point. First thing is the ceiling is extremely low, so ceiling treatment would be a good place to start. I also agree that I see too much diffusing and not enough absorbing. Specially that you do not treat any corner with bass traps. Best I can tell you is to take a good look at my house of stereo system to see the acoustic treatments placement I made over the last 4 years to get to the results I strived for. It is not easy. Many original acoustic settings I started with had to be modified but it is all worth it in the end. It's a journey. A long one. 3 years for me in that room alone. 

@newbee  +1

You have two issues that needs to be resolved:

1. Your speakers are too close to the back wall. I know you said they are designed for placement close to the rear wall. Specification says you can move up to 2 feet. I would even bring them forward by at least 3 ft.

2. Your speakers have first-order crossovers. If my memory serves me right, your listening chair should be at least 8 ft from the speaker to allow sound from different drivers to merge. If your speakers are 8 ft apart center-to-center, then you should find the spot that completes the 8ft equilateral triangle, and then place the seat another 2 ft back. This may be the main reason why you cannot get depth.

Another aspect to work on is the absorbers hanging behind and above the speakers. I would start without those and see if the perceived depth improves.There is a port behind the speaker which can be problematic If it doesn't work without the absorber, then place those right behind the speakers and experiment adjusting the height.