Bright room

[Rabuf999]

I am redoing my apartment having placed tile on the floor. The span from my dlp to the seating area is about 20 feet. The dlp sits on a 10 foot wall. A short wall runs along the right side about 4 feet from the right edge of the tv, the left side is basically open. Walls have paintings, ceiling is knockdown (a concrete product). There is a large couch, overstuffed lounger and dining set in the space.

You can see my dilemna. How to maximize reproduction, regardless of the source, and reduce the brightness inherent to the space. I am playing with a $2K budget for sound. I feel like I have no options but headsets.

Oh, the best part is my wife does not hear the echo that is driving me crazy, thus is reluctant to consider rugs of any sort.

Thanks for any observation, (except sell your apartment).

 

[MacManNM]

I am redoing my apartment having placed tile on the floor. The span from my dlp to the seating area is about 20 feet. The dlp sits on a 10 foot wall. A short wall runs along the right side about 4 feet from the right edge of the tv, the left side is basically open. Walls have paintings, ceiling is knockdown (a concrete product). There is a large couch, overstuffed lounger and dining set in the space.

You can see my dilemna. How to maximize reproduction, regardless of the source, and reduce the brightness inherent to the space. I am playing with a $2K budget for sound. I feel like I have no options but headsets.

Oh, the best part is my wife does not hear the echo that is driving me crazy, thus is reluctant to consider rugs of any sort.

Thanks for any observation, (except sell your apartment).

A nice area rug would do a lot for that type of space. Maybe some curtains on the walls? The other would be spraying on a popcorn ceiling, or acoustic tile, but that wouldn’t be the most aesthetically pleasing. Another option is to let her go buy some (huge) decorative pillows. Anything soft is going to help you out. Try canting the speakers in toward you a bit, that may help also.

 

[Mike McGann]

Obviously, throw rugs are a gimme.

How about book shelves, interior design's natural wife-friendly diffusers?

Add as much clutter as your wife will allow, knick knacks (and maybe encourage her to do decorative wall-hangings and other arty things). Just tell her it seems underdecorated.

If you can't deaden the floor and the ceiling, go for the walls — but without a couple throw rugs, it will be an uphill battle.

Speaker canting will help some, but probably not a ton — but finding a way to deaden the wall that's to the right of your front speaker — will help some.

 

[j_garcia]

Curtains or even tapestry or decorative rugs on the walls would work. Bookshelves with plenty of books that are staggered can help too. Minimize the first reflections relative to the seating position, and you will have already done a good percentage.

 

[jcPanny]

I have heard of several people that constructed DIY fiberglass sound absorption pannels and let the wife pick out the fabric. It's worth a shot.

 

[Rabuf999]

Thanks all for your input. Think I have convinced her to let me construct deadening panels over the wall behind the set and on the side wall. That leaves just the floor and ceiling. (Better than nothing I guess).

 

[mtrycrafts]

Thanks all for your input. Think I have convinced her to let me construct deadening panels over the wall behind the set and on the side wall. That leaves just the floor and ceiling. (Better than nothing I guess).

No, not behind the seating position, sorry. You need to deaden around the speakers, side walls and the wall behind the speakers. Ceiling?

Or, headphones

 

[jaxvon]

Behind the listening position will eliminate slap echo, so it IS justified.

 

[Rabuf999]

Again, thanks for your input.

I can certainly deaden the wall behind the set and the speakers that I have there (Fluance). I have talked her into a book shelf on the wall to the immediate right of the set. The listening position is an oversize couch with paintings behind and satellites attached to the walls at the corners of the couch. I isolated all speakers with cork to reduce buzzing.

In response to mtrycraft's question, the ceiling is knockdown (bad) but is 9 feet high.

Seems like I am screwed by the two unchangable features, tile floor with no chance of rug, and the ceiling. So I run with volume down or headphones.