"The room can totally wreck, or make, a system"

For 2 years 7day/7 without a day without doing acoustic experiments because i am retired i learned :

it may cost nothing to fix your system/room.

It ask for a great amount of listening experimenting time.

Generally the most expanse on upgrades someone do the less he understand acoustics.It is easy to verify this rule reading threads.

All room need acoustics controls (not just passive treatment) why ?

Because the room is linked to a system as a system is linked to the room, but the sound quality pertain to neither of them... Why?

Because save if you invest a fortune creating an acoustic architectural optimal design for every ears, the sound quality depend ,not so much on the room ,the gear system, but mainly in your hearing specific characteristics and training abilities to CONTROL the system room to your liking...

i designed 2 dedicated acoustic rooms with "scrap" materials on hand...

I even created "a mechanical equalizer" using set of "specifically" distributed Helmholtz resonators...

the sound quality was astounding for the price paid for my gear and holographic immersive with some recording so well made it was as if i was with the musicians...

Acoustics rule audio....

No branded gear name but acoustics....

Give me anything i will made it "relatively" good....Acoustics rule...

I must add that i improve all my headphones too. as i did with my gear with resonance controls.

An optimally  controlled low cost system in a controlled room designed for it  will be better in my book than almost  anything  pricier out of the box in a living room .( it is a general rule. I dont claim that a 1000 bucks system beat a 100000 bucks one, use common sense. )

Personally, I don’t spend on upgrades unless there is an acoustic reason. Otherwise, the money is wasted. I agree that all rooms need acoustic control because the room and system are inextricably linked.

As for brand names, I am going to disagree a little bit. While some market products by taking advantage of the narcissistic consumer, I think some designers understand acoustics. After all, acoustics is part of a division of engineering, and engineers build audio equipment. Not every brand markets only on the assumption that their customers don’t understand acoustics -- or don’t want to. This forum is filled with consumers who care about acoustics. And, we could list many audio brands whose designers understand acoustics.

That does not mean that these engineers always try to solve the room for the listener -- but there is more than one speaker manufacturer out there that tries to offer placement advice to their customers, right?

And then there are the engineers who design acoustic treatments and offer guidance (such as GIK). Those are "brands" that use their knowledge of acoustics to help customers.

"In my experience, an optimally controlled, low-cost system in a room designed for it will generally outperform a more expensive, out-of-the-box system in a typical living room."

Agreed. But I also think you are on very correct ground to claim that a $1000 system in a great room can beat a $100,000 system in a bad room. That is how much we agree that the room is important.

A lot of good and varied responses / real experiences regarding room and how significant it is (generally speaking).  It is a complex subject matter and one really important piece to this is context and goals - which always seem to be overlooked in these discussions.

You have a living room and shared space with wife, kids etc.. that presents a completely different set of "goals" and application than a dedicated space with free reign so to speak. 

Obviously the latter gives one the ability to do whatever they want to address the room, which in most, if not all cases is significant. From addressing basic first reflections to a full blown acoustic study and build. 

A shared space in most cases will pose significant limitations on addressing the room, which is totally understandable and one works within whatever limitations - be it shared space or dedicated space.  Both situations require different approaches.  

Can you get a good sound out of a shared space relying solely on spkr setup, sure!

Put that same rig in a room with the proper application of treatment, it will most certainly be a completely different sounding and engaging system > for the better without question.

Room size and shape add another entire set of variables to an already complex subject.  Again, whats your goals, $$, and aesthetic requirements. 

It ranges from plop down sprks and good enough to wanting to get the very most out of ones rig - most of the time, it starts with the room - it's a fundamental piece to your rig hands down - at least IMHO.

I live in a concrete apartment and listen in my living room. There’s nothing I can do about the very strong peak  at 90 hz and complete null at 40 hz. The Fabfilter pro-Q3 I could use for the 90 hz in Audirvāna is far from transparent.