Have you treated your listening space?

I used to think that room acoustic treatments were the last thing to do in a system....WRONG! They probably should be the 1st on the list! After I installed some Real Traps into my room, the system was just raised to another level.
My a'phile group and I now see what all the fuss is about....try it and you too will be a convert!

Good timing for this thread- I'm finally dipping into the world of treatments.

I've rearranged the furniture in my listening space, and the midrange is now killing me- it's much brighter than before. Unfortunately, the room is mostly plaster and lathe, and the left speaker is only about 2 feet from the wall. I've relied on the furnishings before, but now I need some panels!

I have a friend who didn't believe in treating a room, at least until I showed him an extreme example of just how important doing it is to do SOMETHING. When I moved into my house, the family room was completely empty. Just plaster walls and a hard wood floor. I tried to set up my new out going answering machine message while standing in that room- it was completely impossible! The room was so live that nothing I did worked. Even with my mouth pressed against the machine, you couldn't understand what I was saying.

After I threw down a carpet and moved a couch and piano into it, I was finally able to set the outgoing message. It was crazy!

I've already double hung curtains on the back wall which is a large grouping of windows, and there are a few pieces of puffy furniture as well as a book shelve, but the wall on the left is untouched. I'm confident that a few panels will take care of business and get the plaster out of my midrange.

-Phil

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Check ATS Acoustics for inexpensive panels and Sweetwater for bass traps.
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Room sound is THE issue for professional studios. Some rooms are very famous for their specific sound such as the big room at East West, where Frank Sinatra recorded (with orchestra) or the "Pet Sounds" room (Beach Boys) at East West, or the big room at Abbey Road that is so much a part of the Beatles Sound on that record. Studios can work on acoustics a long time to get a control room to sound right so it "translates" (does not impart a sound that causes bad judgement by the mixer). All speakers are "changed" by the room.

If you do not address your playback room you are missing half the battle. You have no idea what its doing to your speakers. Hard plaster or wall board emphasizes midrange terribly (go up to your wall and knock on it-hear that ring? Parallel walls in rooms sets up standing waves, sound frequencies emphasized by the room itself, usually in the low end. Ever notice parts of the room where bass is just gone? Or where its so loud you can't stand it? All room modes. No speaker can fix them. When I read about people saying this speaker didn't sound like it did at so and so's listening room, you gotta wonder how they skipped over the issue of the room itself.

Dealing with first reflections is step one (absorption on the walls where the speakers first reflect off the wall itself).
Brad

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I agree, I agree, I agree.
Did I say that I AGREE?
How can you be taken seriously if you obsess over your electronics and ignore the room?
It can be done in a way that is tasteful, but it still has to be done.
You can't ignore the PHYSICS of it.
I repeat,
"I would rather listen to mid-fi in a hi-fi room than hi-fi in a mid-fi room."
This fact can save you a lot of money - room treatment is relatively inexpensive compared to equipment.
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