What do you think? [Layout/treatment] [56k = no]

[Brian_the_King]

Yo everyone.

Being denied by my parents from getting new speakers [or even wmax-ing my current ones], I am coming to the last productive thing I can do to improve my system; the room.

Here is a perfect drawing of the furniture in the room. Every aspect is perfectly to scale. That everything is perfect was my downfall, though I couldn't put the stereo itself or where I sit properly on the drawing, which is why I also have real pictures. The two combined should be enough info for everyone I think

^^ For this picture, I put the camera where the tweeters 'cross' each other.



Ok, more specifics;

The subwoofer is 4" from the side wall, 7" from the back wall.
The subwoofer is 10" from the left channel speaker.
The speakers are ~69" apart [tweeter to tweeter].
The speakers are 6" from the back wall.
At my best estimation, from the tweeters to my ears is ~102".
The speakers are pointing at a point on the closet, ~48" behind my head.

I am looking into GIK Acoustics 242 or 244 panels [if you have other recommendations, they need to stay inexpensive and black in color].

So, digesting all that info, I would like to hear from you;

• How do you think I can move things around for better sound? [Obviously I'm looking for ideas/guidelines, not "this will guaranteed make things sound better"]
• In my situation, where/how many panels would you [realistically] install? [Don't worry about posters and things, those can be moved to make room]

Something to note; only one corner in the room is unoccupied, but that is where the sub woofer sits.

p.s. perhaps unimportant, but that chair isn't usually there. Just while we have an xmas tree, there's no where else to put it. I otherwise use the wood chair, but I sit in the same place.

Thanks for any thoughts,

Brian

 

[Seth=L]

My first thought is, kind a way to keep the chair. Long listening sessions in a wood chair can't be very comfortable.

Second thought, why won't your parents allow you to upgrade to better speakers, or mod them?

Sorry, but I know next to nada about room acoustics right now. I want to learn more about it soon so I can treat my room as well.

 

[Brian_the_King]

My first thought is, kind a way to keep the chair. Long listening sessions in a wood chair can't be very comfortable...

Haha oh you don't have to tell me. I fight my parents every year they come to bring it back downstairs. But the chair isn't so bad if you put a pillow on the back.

...Second thought, why won't your parents allow you to upgrade to better speakers, or mod them?..

$$$ -> "What you have is good enough."
I don't have access to my bank account, so that's really the end of the argument

Oddly though, they are okay with me buying/giving for bday present panels [below $200 afaik].

 

[Seth=L]

Haha oh you don't have to tell me. I fight my parents every year they come to bring it back downstairs. But the chair isn't so bad if you put a pillow on the back.



$$$ -> "What you have is good enough."
I don't have access to my bank account, so that's really the end of the argument

Oddly though, they are okay with me buying/giving for bday present panels [below $200 afaik].

Some of those modifications for the Primus are pretty inexpensive. Do you have a job? Just how old are you kind sir.

 

[Brian_the_King]

18 in a month, and I work at DQ [which is closed 3 months of the year].

And going by wmax's plan, the minimum cost would have been like $400 or something. Is that what you were thinking of as 'inexpensive', or are there other things one can do?

 

[Seth=L]

18 in a month, and I work at DQ [which is closed 3 months of the year].

And going by wmax's plan, the minimum cost would have been like $400 or something. Is that what you were thinking of as 'inexpensive', or are there other things one can do?

WmAx has recommended in the past to put peel-n-seel and replace insulation in those speakers or similar speakers, that is pretty inexpensive.

Almost 18 and you don't have access to your own money. You have the right to open your own bank account that you can do whatever you want with it.

 

[FguerraG]

Yo everyone.

Being denied by my parents from getting new speakers

Note to self , Brian is NOT the King

 

[highfihoney]

Dont get him all geeked up guy's,it's rare as hen's teeth now day's to see a kid respecting his parents wishes.

When your living at home with mom & pop's sometimes it's best to just bite the bullett & do what they ask.

 

[Brian_the_King]

Note to self , Brian is NOT the King

haha, even the King can't do it all

Dont get him all geeked up guy's,it's rare as hen's teeth now day's to see a kid respecting his parents wishes...

I don't get this sentence at all

...When your living at home with mom & pop's sometimes it's best to just bite the bullett & do what they ask.

Yea on that note, they don't want me to take the system to college

Which I can see, because that would blow if something got effed up or stolen. But I still was not happy to hear that.


o/t anyone?

 

[Seth=L]

I don't get this sentence at all


Yea on that note, they don't want me to take the system to college

Which I can see, because that would blow if something got effed up or stolen. But I still was not happy to hear that.


o/t anyone?

I would get used cheap gear if you are living in a dorm in college, but if you have your own place there is no reason not to take it with you.

What is there not to get about Levi's statement? He is saying that we shouldn't get you to amped on doing some crazy stupid spending, and that it is very rare that you obey your parents.

 

[dronezero]

Well a quick cheap (read free) improvement would be to rearrange the room a little. If you sit about 109" from the speakers then you want them to be about 109" apart. To do this it looks like you would need to move the dresser, maybe put the audio rack and the dresser in between the speakers. Also it would be best if the speakers were equal distance from the left and right walls. So try to center the speakers along the wall. To keep the chair equally between them it also looks like you would need to push your bed over against the wall. Pull your speakers out away from the front more than 6" as well. Try something like a couple feet though this is something that you can just play around with a little to listen to what is best.

This won't make a huge difference, but it should improve the soundstage a bit, and it's free.

 

[Brian_the_King]

Appreciate the suggestion, I will definitely think about how I can do this without things looking totally dumb

On the subject of the distance from the back wall, though; They are only that close because of the crappy bass response the room has [if you will]. From my listening position, the bass is rather weak vs other parts of the room if I get up and walk around. So rather than just turn up the sub I moved the speakers closer, which did wonders for the bass [at the listening position]. It's a band-aid, I know, but if I move the furniture around I'll try and move them out from the wall.

 

[WmAx]

18 in a month, and I work at DQ [which is closed 3 months of the year].

And going by wmax's plan, the minimum cost would have been like $400 or something. Is that what you were thinking of as 'inexpensive', or are there other things one can do?

Well, I had suggested overall plans to increase quality drastically. However, if you do the simplest/cheapest modification(1/3" of Peel N' Seal in the cabinets plus replacing the existing internal acoustic absorption material with an effective type), the total cost would be well under $100.

-Chris

 

[dronezero]

Appreciate the suggestion, I will definitely think about how I can do this without things looking totally dumb

On the subject of the distance from the back wall, though; They are only that close because of the crappy bass response the room has [if you will]. From my listening position, the bass is rather weak vs other parts of the room if I get up and walk around. So rather than just turn up the sub I moved the speakers closer, which did wonders for the bass [at the listening position]. It's a band-aid, I know, but if I move the furniture around I'll try and move them out from the wall.

Hm, this problem could possibly be resolved by a different subwoofer placement. Looks like it is time to do the subwoofer crawl. Also, if you aren't running your towers full range, you could try that.

 

[Brian_the_King]

My receiver doesn't have a crossover, so that's certainly not the problem

And I did move stuff around [I'll have pictures tomorrow or the day after].

New measurements;
Speakers are now 8' apart.
Chair is 8' from speakers.
Speakers are 22-3/4" from side walls.
Speakers are 15-1/8" from back wall.
The speakers are now toed-in to a point behind the wall [clarification]

I did also move the sub woofer after everything else was rearranged.

I thought all this would make somewhat of a difference, but the improvement is actually quite noticeable. And it's fun changing the layout of ones room after it has been the same for two years Thanks again drone.

The bass is better now and fluctuates considerably less when I walk around the room, however I still feel there is room for improvement [specifically low-end clarity and presence. If I simply turn up the subwoofer, the bass is boomy and inconsistent]. I know it's difficult to tell without new pictures, but are there any more good ideas? Or have I gone as far as I can without buying stuff?

 

[Brian_the_King]

Well, I had suggested overall plans to increase quality drastically. However, if you do the simplest/cheapest modification(1/3" of Peel N' Seal in the cabinets plus replacing the existing internal acoustic absorption material with an effective type), the total cost would be well under $100.

-Chris

But didn't you say this would reduce the low-end response of the speakers? If so, that would be a tough decision for me to make since I feel like the bass is currently the weakest part of my system. And, like we talked about in the other thread, it's not as easy as me buying a second sub as my receiver only has one bass out

So what do you think, what would you do? Let's say for you, or anyone else with ideas, the new budget is $200 max.

 

[jagxtype]

well with the additional subwoofers you could hook them up one of two ways.

Option #1:
Use the line level inputs through the left input left output on the subwoofer to create a stereo type listening environment for both speakers.

Option #2:
Use a splitter to for the RCA sub cable. It will work fine. Might not be quite as dynamic or balanced as wiring them as if they were in the stereo setup.

 

[Brian_the_King]

Sorry jag, but high level in/out is not going to work for me. I [perhaps foolishly] bought nice speaker cables [see sig], and I'm damn well going to use them

As for using a splitter... Would this really be an okay solution? Does anyone else have an opinion on that idea?

 

[jagxtype]

its just a signal, it will be ok. Just make sure you buy a good splitter.

And about the speaker wire, run it to the sub, and run the line out from the sub to the speakers with another piece. It will sound a lot better this way.

 

[Brian_the_King]

...And about the speaker wire, run it to the sub, and run the line out from the sub to the speakers with another piece...

Yes I know, but if I do it that way there will have been no point in my buying the nice cables. I'll just be back to unterminated 16GA wire. Which isn't a bad thing, but I would hate not to put my purchase to use...