Enter to Win: Rives Audio Test CD 2

[kia303]

Room 30-40%

Budget for room was about 25% of total price but I did already have a 20 x 20room to start with. I redid the carpeting, built a false wall to make the room less square, put up my treatments and built two risers and a front stage.

 

[avn2zst]

I am not sure there is a correct response but it definitely gets us thinking about the importance of room accoustics and how the listening area is so drastically affected by the contents of that room.
Proper placement of furnishings, floor and window treatments, ceiling height, width/length of the room, all these things will affect how our rooms sound. Yet, it is probably the last thing the casual A/V enthusiast considers to get the most from their system!

1)Room importance - 50%
2)Treatments - carpet, drapes, bookshelf/backwall, couch, chair
2 end tables(small), NO COFFEE TABLE =$2000

It is nothing extraordinary just subtle things that do enhance the sound with a good WAF rating!

 

[kaimana]

What percentage of importance does the room make in the overall sound quality? (i.e. Amp is 15%, Speakers are 30%, etc.)

The room is of 100% importance in overall sound quality. The room acts a a speaker itself projecting the sound with its reflecting and absorbing characteristics. Untreated, the room will dictate the type of speakers and components needed.

In terms of money spent on your system, what percentage was spent on the room including design consult and treatments.

Approximately $100,000.00 retail

 

[bwood]

a room makes up a large part of sound, but its ont of the hardest things to account for and most often looked. it probably takes up 40% or so, but most people are unable to do much due to cost, asthetics, WAF...

I havent done anything with my room other than hide wires, still just a budding audiophyte

 

[onle]

I know from experience the room is the most important factor here. 60% maybe. My friend has got a nice system:
Audio Research pre/power, Klipsch Horns, Kuzma Stabi/stogi turntable, moded Marantz CD 63 KI signiture but the sound is awfull, too much bass, funny echoes...
on the other hand my system is mostly DIY stuff (Bootlehead Paramour 2a3 SE monoblocks, home made MLTL speakers with Fostex FE 206E drivers, Marantz CD 4000, DIY DDDAC 1543, Kuzma Stabi/stogi Turntable and the sound is much much...... better.

Ihave not invested in room treatment a single $ and I dont think I need to. I am completly satisfied with acoustic.

 

[kearaboss]

im gonna stick with the bandwagon and say 40%.

have not spent any money on the room... yet, maybe if i get a good calibration cd i will see what i need to fix

 

[nm2285]

1) 40%

2) Very little right now. Just an equalizer but i certainly want some treatments.

 

[sancho89]

1.) 60% for room importance. others 40%. 2.) None, cant afford it

 

[jrfuda]

1. What percentage of importance does the room make in the overall sound quality? (i.e. Amp is 15%, Speakers are 30%, etc.)
Amp:45%
Speakers:45%
Room:10%
I'm not much of an audiophile and beleive equalization can overcome most room limitations enough to allow me to enjoy what I'm watching/listening too.

2. In terms of money spent on your system, what percentage was spent on the room including design consult and treatments.
Nothing was spent on the room.

 

[liquidsound]

Contest for Rives Audio CD...

Hi,

This is my first post as a new Audioholic member...



1. What percentage of importance does the room make in the overall sound quality? (i.e. Amp is 15%, Speakers are 30%, etc.)

The room is the first thing we start out with and the last thing most of us think about... Sometimes, you don't really know what you're missing until you have the right equipment to hear it, and then you really can see how the room setup, speaker placement and even furniture have a significant influence on the sound. Since equipment has such low noise and distortion, as well as relatively equal frequency response throught the analog range, the room acoustics might affect certain frequencies in either boosting or attenuating by significant amounts... This is what I've found to be true in my system... So, in my long-winded answer, I believe the room has a significant (ie.... greater than 50% influence on the over all sound of your system) if such a percentage really exists. Actually, the percentage is not really the issue... Treating the room as a component of your syetem is what needs to be done ! And... can be the difference between poor and great sonics !


2. In terms of money spent on your system, what percentage was spent on the room including design consult and treatments.

In my case, as I would guess in most others, little was spent on the room versus the equipment... I have actually spent about $200.00 or less than 0.5% on the room versus my equipment. However, as I have my new house built, I plan on taking the room in to consideration first in terms of dimensions and in isolation as well as balancing it after I get the equipment set up, and use an SPL meter to determine the frequency signature of the room...

Stay well...John

My System :

BAT VK-31SE Tube preamp
2 - BAT VK-55 Mono tube amps
BAT VK-D5SE Tube Red Book CD Player
BAT VK-P5 Tube Phono Preamp
VPI HW19 Turntable Audio Quest PT5 arm and Ortofon MC50 cartridge
Sonus Faber Cremona Speakers
Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval Interconnects and Oval 9 Speaker Cable
Adona Corp. Isolation Equipment Rack and Mono Amp Stands
4- Sonex Wall foam acoustic squares

 

[loserwife]

I guess after reading this, a room makes up 70% of the sound.

We spent most of our design money with the builder and architect to fit a theater in our floorplan. We haven't installed accoustic panels, yet.

 

[EnemyWithin]

I'm in the process of doing this to my new theater.

a). hard to put a percent value on it's importance (to me), but I would say somewhere around 30%.

b). I imagine I will end up spending somewhere around $11-15k on the room.

design consultation $2-3k (guessing)
interior construction (asthetics) $4-5k
sound treatments (including sound proofing and acoustic panels) $5-6k

 

[3beanlimit]

40 percent room...60 percent equipment...

2. Added bass traps in a corner.

 

[ArtV]

1. Speakers 50%, Amp/receiver 25%, Room 25%

2. Well considering that when I had my house built I bumped the living room (theater) wall out 5 feet, I spent about $5,000.00.

 

[Oguard]

50%

Contest Questions:

1. What percentage of importance does the room make in the overall sound quality? (i.e. Amp is 15%, Speakers are 30%, etc.)

The room is 50% of the equation. Get it right it disappears. Get it wrong and you are always chasing snipes.

2. In terms of money spent on your system, what percentage was spent on the room including design consult and treatments.

50% of my budget went to snipe extinction. Worth every penny too.

 

[miketo]

1) My guess is that room acoustics affect anywhere from 30% to 50% of the audio performance. I have heard several examples where changing one element in a room affects the audio quality. When people bicker over which interconnect opens the sound, they are usually folks who have made little attempt to correct their room's acoustic behavior.

2) I have spent perhaps 20% on my room's design, layout, and "audio treatments" (thick, padded rugs on hardwood floors, sound-absorbing curtains). That said, my system is valued at perhaps $5000, so the audio treatment costs really should be higher. It's a small, difficult room to work with and of course everything must pass approval by my wife. I'm not likely to get any audio panels on the walls. That doesn't mean I lack options, it's just that I have to balance more factors than pure cost-to-audio-benefit. It's all part of the pleasure and pain of being into audio.

 

[Jwheel]

Room treatment in my opinion 40% - 50%.

Other than the mamoth couch and floor rug in my room, I don't have any room acoustics. Planning on adding some wall panels in the future though.

 

[racquetman]

1. I'm going to say that the room is at least as important as any other factor. Therfore I'm going to say somewhere between 50% and 75%.

2. I haven't done anything to my room to specifically help the acoustics.

 

[leetamm]

1. I'd say 33%
2. None yet

 

[Daddio1956]

Contest reply

As far as the importance of the room its hard to say because even bad sounding rooms can be made to sound OK with room treatments and care speaker placement. In my home theater about fifty percent of the budget went to finishing a dedicated room in my basement.