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B&W 705 S3 with bad acoustics

We Recently moved into a new home that has terrible room acoustics, 12' ceilings, tile floors, glass window walls.  Open floor plan with no possibility or room treatment. I've never owned B&W speakers curious if they will glare in a very resonate room. Previous tried Kef Rs meta, Dynaudio special 40 and Sonus Faber Sonetto w/ Rel T9x with no luck. Paird with Hegel h390. Auralic streamer.

renosteve
audiokinesis
2,772 posts
 

Ime acoustic problems call for acoustic solutions, and EQ is not an acoustic solution.  Theoretically aggressive room treatment would help in this case.  When room treatment isn’t feasible, one alternative would be speakers whose radiation patterns are sufficiently narrow and sufficiently uniform that they do not interact with the room in an undesirable way to begin with.  

Quoting acoustician Matthew Poes: "A speaker that has controlled dispersion does basically the same thing you’d expect an acoustic panel to do, but it does a better job. And it allows you to get away with no panels on the wall.”
 
Duke
kofibaffour
432 posts
 

Well, you need to solve the issue first before just buying things. Buying things other than what is necessary for room treatment isn't gonna help

 

Get a measurement mic. This is excellent for that - miniDSP, UMIK-2 USB Reference Measurement Microphone

and get this measurement software - REW - Room EQ Wizard Room Acoustics Software

and follow this measurement method and literature - The moving microphone method (MMM) for Dummies using REW

MMM Moving Mic Measurement - Loudspeakers.audio

Use the above method to determine how your speakers are interacting with your room space and that can determine what kind of room treatment to use.

To me it is ideal to start with gapped velocity corner bracing traps, e.g. 

 

You can use REW to simulate your room modes too. and finally, when you take those measurements you can reach out to GIK Acoustics for consultation. They're the experts

 

and yes, miniDSP was right to tell you that

bigtwin's avatar
bigtwin
1,390 posts
 

@renosteve  Just a thought, but check out SoundLabspeakers.com and read their white paper on the SoundLab electrostatic speakers.  The section on distribution of sound waves should be interesting to you.  Could be a good speaker choice for your room?  Cheers. 

erik_squires
16,879 posts
 

Dear goddess no.  You want horns.  The Klipsch Heresy may do OK

renosteve OP
32 posts
 

Thanks everyone.

I was planning on using REW once I got a sound signature that was somewhat palatable. 

I'm hesitant going back to horns, previous owned Forte IV's which were a love/hate relationship. The thought had crossed my mind though.

It's all a bigger compromise that I bargained for with this room. The harsh reality that good equipment can't trump room acoustics is a hard pill to swallow.

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