Have you gotten great sound in a small er room?


I have a room that's 13 x 20 with the old part of the room having 8' ceilings and the newer construction nearly 10'. I found that firing the speakers across the short wall was interesting sonically: more open-sounding than firing down the long wall (which I've traditionally done). The sound is more layered, but the imaging diffuse. However, the sidewall reflections are much more reduced (and i have considerable ASC tube traps, and an ASC wall damp in the room.
What's your experience in a smaller room? Were you able to get both the music, and the soundstaging to cohere in a smaller room?
gbmcleod
I have something that you may want to try. Given all the variables it doesn't always work, but its a worthwhile experiment. Put each speaker in front of a different wall.

To visualize, you start off by facing your listening chair directly at one of the corners of the room. Use the corner as the center point of where your speakers are placed. You'll still have to try different placement options.
I have very good success in my 12X12 room using corner approach as described above + assymetrical and fairly wide placement of speakers relative to the corner. Works very well with both my smaller OHM omnis and Dynaudio Contour monitors.
My room is smaller than yours (approx. 10' X 15' with it opening to the rest of my place on one of the shorter wall sides with windows on the other shorter wall) and I have my system along the long wall.

Obviously, it's not as deeply layered as I'd like it to be but the layers are there with great and stable imaging. Nothing diffuse, with quite sharp definition unless it's an orchestra.

LIke you, I have no sidewall reflections to speak of since the first, dominant signals reach me quickly due to the nearfield setup. As for the soundstage itself, it's can be wider than the speakers and the height is stable from edge to edge. The only room correction I have is my lounge and a carpeted floor, along with that opening one to side and a small computer desk and CD cabinet.

The sweetspot is small (about 3') but it's wonderful. I can't say why you don't have sharper imaging but keep experimenting :-)

All the best,
Nonoise
I never got all the fuss about this, probably because I'm dumber than most with less acute hearing.

All I ever do in a room is get the speakers as far out in the room as possible, about 6-7 feet apart with me sitting as close to a wall as possible 6-8 feet away. Works for me.
I heard magnepan mg 20s sound great in a small hotel room, the first year they were introduced. the hotel was in las vegas--the golden nugget