my room has.... issues... alot of them

[craig7]

first the room is 10 3/4' x 9 1/2' and 7' 11" tall with hardwood(beat up) floors. i've heard that hardwood is bad so im gonna get a big rug in soon but im not sure that will make much difference. maybe i'll list my problems first.

• you can hear what im listening to everywhere else in the house (more than you really should)
• the bass "sweet spot" is never where i am, its always in the corner farthest from the sub
• this is an odd one but i have a radiator in my room (doesnt work) that sometimes rattles. any ideas?

i've tried the "subwoofer crawl" and the best place is always in the corner farthest from my listening position but when i put the sub there, then the opposite corner has all the bass then. im sure this will be less of a problem once i get my sub enclosure built and i get my new amp, but then it will make the other problems worse (hearing my system through the whole house). do i need bass traps, acoustic foam or what?

 

[craig7]

after alot of reading i have heard that corners ate typically problematic and bass traps are good for dealing with standing waves. while i still have no idea what a standing wave is, im gonna guess thats what my problem is. so would 2 bass traps in the back corners help?

 

[psbfan9]

Craig,

I would think any improvements you make to the room will help. You could ad styrofoam insulation which may be the cheapest route and would help keep the sound from leaking into the rest of the house.


This FAQ may help.

Acoustic Treatment and Design for Recording Studios and Listening Rooms

When bass frequencies bounce around in a room they generate standing waves. Standing waves are pressure nodes created when a sound wave reflected from a wall collides with the direct sound emanating from the loudspeaker. At some frequencies the reflections reinforce the direct sound, creating an increase in level at that location in the room. And at other frequencies the reflections tend to cancel the direct sound, lowering the volume or in some cases eliminating it altogether. (Standing waves can be reduced with non-parallel walls and an angled ceiling, but such construction is too costly for most home studios.) The variation in bass response caused by standing waves is perhaps the single biggest obstacle to mixdown satisfaction for home-studio owners. You create what you think is a terrific sounding mix in your studio, only to get complaints that it sounds either boomy or thin everywhere else.

Taken from this website.

Build a Better Bass Trap

 

[Josuah]

While styrofoam insulation will help prevent sound leakage, it won't improve the room acoustics much. You need to make your room less reflective to sound. Anything absorptive (bass traps, acoustic panels, filled bookshelves, fluffy sofas, etc.) will help with that. This will help with the first of the two problems you mentioned.

As for the rattling radiator, you probably need to figure out where the rattle is and fasten it down or something similar.