Re-arranged Room Sounds Awful...How to Improve?

3 walls with no openings are the beginning, minimum acoustic requirement to creating a more balanced sound room. Since you only have two such walls, then your original, diagonal setup would yield the more balanced acoustics. So I agree with Tvad.

I am married, so I also understand your scenario, and can offer you the following suggestions.

The RIGHT wall has a much shorter distance to your RIGHT speaker than the LEFT wall is to your LEFT speaker. If you have to make it work in your NEW setup, then you will have to apply some absorption/diffraction sound panels to the RIGHT wall first, matching the volume of reflected sound from the LEFT speaker by reducing the volume of that of the RIGHT speaker.

Be mindful that a single piece of acoustic treatment can sometimes tip the balance and over-diffuse the acoustic treatment on the RIGHT wall, then you may have to up the game by putting some on the LEFT wall in return as well. Your RIGHT speaker also looks too close to the corner behind it. A large ASC bass trap positioned not to absorb but to diffuse may also help in the corner behind the RIGHT speaker in cleaning up standing resonance which can wreak havoc on lower- to upper-midrange clarity.

Experiment with due diligence. Let us know if that works for you. Of course, a happy girlfriend makes for a more rewarding audiophile experience. Give her the freedom to shop around for fixtures, and work it in your mind to see if those fixtures, if strategically positioned, can help diffuse wall reflections, too. It doesn't have to be a lose-lose situation.

Constantine Soo
Dagogo

Acoustics is the biggest PITA out there and I am sure I speak for many folks on the forum, more steps are taken back wards than forwards when treating a room. I have spent many thousand on room treatments and still regularly go back and forth on treatments.

I will suggest doing some research on the net and looking at something like Masters Handbook of Acoustics by F Alton Everest as a start. You could also try asking some questions on the Audio Asylum acoustics board.

Good luck
Paul

BTW, what software did you use to draw the room dimensions?

You might ask the girlfriend to compromise. If she insists on such an arrangement then she should be flexible on room treatments, IMO.

I have a great wife. She is willing to compromise with me and I with her. Makes for a good relationship.

You might look at treatments that can be put in place when you are listening critically and put up when not. I would start with some treatments to go in the corners to start with.

Good luck.

What is that on the right most wall (looking at the drawing; i.e it's now the wall behind the listener)? If it's glass doors on a firepalce it might be ringing back to you, messing up things considerably. Maybe some diffusors on that back wall (wall hanging, etc.).