Is there a way to figure out where to place acoustic panels in my HT?

[David Gaudreau]

Okay so I ordered some 2"x24"x48" Mineral Wool board today 14pc's to be exact. Picked up some nice stretchy grill cloth to cover then in, but now I was wondering if there is a program or something so I know where I should place the panels at in my dedicated HT. My room is 29'ft deep by 19'ft wide with 10'ft ceiling in the front and 8'ft ceilings in the rear. I have stadium style seating, 3 rows with 4 seats per row. I'm running a 7.2 setup. My HT consists of
2- Deftech BP7000SC fronts
1- Deftech CLR3000 center channel
4- Deftech BPVX/P surrounds (side&rear)
2- Deftech Super cube reference subs up front.

I have been told by many that I can get more out of the room by doing acoustical treatments to the walls and ceiling. I don’t know if it helps but my floor carpet goes up all four walls about 36". And my side walls are not flat, I have arches built in. Also I have some heavy black curtains in the front corners of the room behind the towers (from the side of the screen to the corners) Here are a few pictures of how everything looks. Please all advice on placement would be very helpful.
Thanks

 

[jliedeka]

As a rule of thumb, the best places for absorption are the front and back of the room. Reflections from the sides and ceiling will tend to give your sound a more spacious quality.

If you end up having problems with flutter echoes, however, some treatment of the sides might be in order. In that situation, diffusers may work better than absorptive panels.

Another consideration is taming the bass response of the room. 2 inch panels will not do much for the lowest frequencies unless you use them in corners.

If you really want to get a good handle on what is happening in your room, I recommend checking out Room EQ Wizard from Home Theater Shack.

Jim

 

[just-some-guy]

NICE room

looks to me that you are limited in placement = if you want to keep that room looking nice.

i would make panels that nicely fit into the arches. and some on the ceiling.

on a side note.
i would raise up the surround, especially the rears. and i would raise up the mains. but thats just me.

i bet that room room looks A LOT better than the pics show

 

[lsiberian]

The back wall behind the seating should be treated.

Corners are good to treat as well. Create a triangle. on the front corners.

 

[Bloodstriker]

NICE room

looks to me that you are limited in placement = if you want to keep that room looking nice.

i would make panels that nicely fit into the arches. and some on the ceiling.

on a side note.
i would raise up the surround, especially the rears. and i would raise up the mains. but thats just me.

i bet that room room looks A LOT better than the pics show

Aren't those all subwoofers? Or am I tripping?

 

[David Gaudreau]

Aren't those all subwoofers? Or am I tripping?

yeah you are right, subs in every speaker, surrounds have a 6" the center has a 10" the front have 14" +2 14" passive’s then there are the dedicated subs 14" + 2 14" passives.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Take a mirror, run it along the wall...anytime you see a speaker, that's a reflection point.

That's a /great/ room!!!!

 

[David Gaudreau]

So do I do this from the main listening position only? And do I do it with all 7 channels?

 

[lsiberian]

Take a mirror, run it along the wall...anytime you see a speaker, that's a reflection point.

That's a /great/ room!!!!

Sean Olive and Chris both advocate not treating the first order reflections because there is no difference in their research other than the power loss caused by treating the points. I was surprised to hear this, but I figure if those two say not to. I'm not putting the effort into doing it.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Interesting, but, different from what I've heard and experienced.

So do I do this from the main listening position only? And do I do it with all 7 channels?

It's up to you how far you want to go. I'd start with just the front channels for the listening position. Takes two people, one person to run the mirror along the wall and the other to sit in the chair and say when they see a speaker.

With all your seating, you could see how your treatments could start to look like a movie theater wall fast.

 

[David Gaudreau]

Yeah I sure can, I guess Ill just start with the back wall and sides then I might make some for the upper corners front and back. What about my ceilng?