Speaker placement/Acoustic panel setup help? (Awkard shaped room)

[Brokenhill]

So i've recently moved into a 1 bedroom duplex and the acoustics here are pretty terrible, so i've purchased twenty-four sq. ft. (1'x1' squares) of acoustic foam panels as well as four 12"x12"24" corner bass-traps. I've done a fair amount of research (mostly information from Ethan Winer of Real Traps) but I would still appreciate some ideas based on my specific layout.
I'm wanting to know where to focus and how many panels to use in each area (like at first reflection points). I also don't know the best locations for my bass-traps since I technically have 10 options for their placement.

I have taken dimensions of my living space and also created a model of it in the CAD program Revit (to a 1/4" accuracy pretty much)...so the following images (wish I could upload a .pdf) should provide most of the information needed to help me. Supplemental / clarification information below:

- I have Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 speakers on 28" stands (strictly 2.0 system)
-The furniture and speakers are placed at close approximates
-The shelf (Ikea Expedit) in the corner is the only piece of furniture that is actually what I own, the rest of the furniture are close placeholders
-I have a futon, which I assume is fairly good at absorbing some wavelengths, and my head-height while sitting is about
-The Living Room and Kitchen are one room, but are separated by a low wall/raised counter-top
-The futon is currently about 6'11" away from the front wall (and less than 2' from back wall)

Any help would be greatly appreciated--thanks in advance!

 

[Hellcommute]

Bass Traps in front corners- higher is better. I have mine near the ceiling with 6" or so left open above. Looks like your listening position is about 9' or so from the front wall. I would suggest spacing your speakers at 6-7 feet apart (3-3.5ft off center line) and into the room at least 2ft off of the front wall. Then mess with toe in. Once your speakers are placed and you've listened critically for best results so far - then start treating the room. Slamming your speakers tight up to the front wall will increase bass output at the expense of detail and soundstage depth. Too far into the room and bass is gone. It's a balancing act.

You can google the Cardas Speaker Placement Method, or just work with your own placement options and common sense.

I had great success with 2'x4' panels vertically at the first and second reflection points in my room. Center of panel was roughly centered on tweeter. Decide where they go with the mirror method. I would use up what is left by treating the secondary reflection points. These are when you first see the right speaker on left wall with mirror and vice versa.

Do the first reflections first--then stop. Listen carefully. Sometimes this is all you need. Too much absorbtion will start to collapse the depth in the soundstage and make the recordings sound lifeless and dull. If you want more then treat the second reflections. I recommend not putting any absorbing material directly behind your listening position. I did this at first in my room with very poor results. Too dead.

My room for reference.

 

[Brokenhill]

Sweet, thank you!
I'm curious why you suggest leaving a gap from the ceiling with the bass-traps though.

 

[Hellcommute]

For looks with the screen and to give another point for soundwaves to get in and bounce around. Mostly for looks with the screen though.

 

[GIK Acoustics]

Unfortunately with the brick you'll likely have a lot of low frequency problems that the foam can't address, but you should be able to get some overall reduction in the decay times for ~250 Hz and up. I would start with what's been outlined above for placements, and look to eventually get thicker bass traps for the corners when you're able to. For what you can expect from bass traps compared to the foam corner bass traps, check this out: Comparing Acoustic Foam to GIK 244 Bass Traps (Ethan has a similar article on his website too of their own independent test)

 

[Brokenhill]

Good to know, thanks!

 

[Brokenhill]

What about a runner rug in front of the speakers? Would it make enough of a difference to be worth 80-140 dollars? And what would be a decent minimum thickness?

 

[JWL]

A rug might absorb some high frequencies (this isn't difficult) but the real question is how low a frequency it will absorb. Unless it is very thick it might go down a bit into the midrange but not much lower.

My experience with bass traps is that exact placement in the corner isn't too critical, usually I let aesthetics drive that decision. A lot of times when I'm tuning a room, I'll start off placing the bass traps on the floor leaning up into the corner before I actually mount them (usually vertically centered), and I can't honestly say I've ever heard a difference between the traps being on the floor and being vertically centered (or higher than center). There are arguments for both -- by covering trihedral corners (where 2 walls meet the floor or ceiling) you are covering the spot with the biggest bass buildup in the room, which is good. But, by mounting them vertically centered, you are increasing the effective surface area of the trap. So it's a wash in most cases.

 

[Brokenhill]

Fair enough. Thanks.