As far as for moving the couch and recliner from the back wall, it ain't happening! My wife would cut the family jewels off if I even suggested it!!
BTW, how far would I have to move them out to be effective, a foot two feet?
More than that would be better, maybe 5-6 ft, plus. However, if you hang out in the acoustics forum here, you might see that resident experts will recommend at least a few feet. More the better in your case, but I hardly recommend sacrificing the family jewels to do so.
But, FWIW, one fellow who taught me about room acoustics as much as any other believes that perhaps
nothing is more important than listener positioning for effective AQ, at least in the world of acoustics.
Treating the back wall.....how do I know where to place the panels? How long should they be? I just don't get room treatements. What about bass traps? Put them in every corner?
Ear level, or more specifically at first reflections. In a rectangular closed room, traps in all corners will more than likely help you. But, in your case, its going to be the rear wall right next to you that will probably require more immediate attention.
Like I said before, Audyssey has captured my interest. But, is Pioneer's advanced MCACC much improved and comparable to Audyssey now?
Audyssey is pretty cool. I noticed your comment about AVS at the other current thread, and I've learned a ton over there. One of the most knowledgable about a lot of things is sdurani, and I found this older post for you, because it was one of the more eloquent explanations on Audyssey's strengths. I do not expect MCAAC to be nearly as effective, but that's just a guess.
To this remark, he replied below in italics (and I have taken the liberty of boldfacing some key points, IMO):
As far as I know, the automated equalizer only replicates what an individual with incredible patience and a lot of free time can accomplish.
"The individual would also have to be profecient with audio test equipment, know how to correlate data sampled at various locations and interpret the findings, and then be able to build filters that would yield the desired results.
But you can say that about practically any technology. Suppose you know how to keep re-arranging blocks of ice in order to regulate the temperature of food placed nearby. You can then say that a refrigerator only replicates what an individual with incredible patience and a lot of free time can accomplish.
Imagine the side walls of your room are just the right width apart to make a 51Hz wave bounce back and forth for much longer than other frequencies. Since the wave is bouncing across the width of the room, any seat between those walls will hear the long decay time.
Most EQ systems measure amplitude and try to bring down peaks in an attempt to get a flat frequency response. But if you've ever taken a SPL meter from seat to seat, then you know that the same frequency can vary in level from seat to seat. Using an EQ to bring down a loud peak in one location could make it too soft at a location where it was already flat. So EQing for flatness at the sweet spot can make others seats sound worse.
The better room correction systems measure in the time domain, looking for frequencies with the longest decay times. Depending on where in the room the measurement is being taken, these lingering sounds may not even show up as peaks. If you walked around the room with a SPL meter, the offending frequency could be loud at some locations and close to flat in other locations.
The goal is to isolate these ringing frequencies and dial them down. With their sound no longer lingering, other sounds that were masked by the overhang can now be heard more clearly. And since the problem could be heard from all the seats between the two side walls, the fix will also be audible from all those same seats.
Eletronic room correction doesn't replace passive treatments for things like first reflections. But it is useful, especially when trying to target particular frequencies (how do you get passive treatments to absorb only at 51Hz?). Keep in mind that more than 50% of what you hear is the room, and not your speakers. Good room correction helps cut down on the room's unwanted contributions so that you can hear more of the source material and more of what your speakers actually sound like.
Sanjay"
good luck
-jostenmeat
