Treatment Design Support Needed

[ma7rix13]

Now that I have finished my DIY Front speakers and Sub it is time to get serious and begin listening to them the way the were designed.

I have reached the end of internet research and this is the design I came up with. I have a unique room that I did not see a lot of suggestions for, so I decided to through out some of my design and see what you experts think.

As side from what you see in the attached photos (sorry for the chessy paintshop job), I will do some ceiling treatments as well. In the future it would probably be best to make the drop ceiling even with the soffits.

So here are the my key questions:
- Since I really don't have a rear wall (well, there is one, but it is concrete and 30' away) would a good, thick "movie theater" curtain work as a 'rear' wall and 'room treatment' all in one?
- Would this design work? There seems to be a 'standard' place for room treatments that I researched, and I didn't see any custom 'placing' of treatments based on room mode calculations.

Thanks,
Paul

PS. The dog needs room treatment help too...

 

[jostenmeat]

The first places I would consider: The front wall panels, but rather than higher and in-between speakers, I would aim for a bit more directly behind the speakers. Then as much bass trapping as you'll allow at the front two corners, the best being superchunk traps from floor to ceiling. You can wrap them in AT fabric or something, to better hide them.

I wouldn't worry about the back wall for now, because it's so far away. From what it looks like so far, it is precisely the immediate HT area that will need the most treatments, most likely, due to the smaller dimensions compare to everything else.

Oh wait a sec, you meant to cut off the room with a curtain. I wouldn't worry about it personally. Someone else who is more knowledgeable might have better input for you. The main benefit I can see with a curtain is light control.

I would also not opt for the left sidewall treatments, unless you can do both sidewalls. There are equidistant, and if anything, that couch already gives that side more absorption as it is.

 

[Tubamark]

rear curtain

The rear curtain is a very good thing. The thicker, the better. If lightweight or not heavily pleated/folded, some sound will survive the round-trip to the rear wall and back to yer ears.
For extra points in damping bass, you can add a second curtain of mass-loaded vinyl or similar. What this does is a absorb and slowly release energy, making it very difficult for resonant modes (at least in that front-back axis) to develop. And of course mids and highs are not reflecting at all, given the open area behind.

The curtain is not so great if soundproofing -- preventing sound from getting into other areas -- is your goal.

Given the rear curtain and a dead ceiling I believe that you can do well enough by treating the first reflection points for the L-C-R mains, and the front wall, using the ol' mirror trick. Depending on the directivity of your mains, the upper corners are probably a good idea as well. The surrounds should be fine, although you may get some tonal mis-match between the side surrounds and rear surrounds due to walls versus curtain.

This room will work fine for home theater, but would be a bit dry (for many listeners) for 2.1 music listening.

Any ceiling less than 8' high should be kept as "dead" as possible. If you put in a drop ceiling or drywall, be aware of this. Most "acoustic" ceiling tiles will reflect a lot of low-mids back, making things sound boxier than they do with the dead ceiling as shown. Also be aware that if soundproofing is also a goal, a drop-tile ceiling (or drywall attached to joists) is not going to do the job.

If you have any questions, let me know.

-- Mark

 

[bpape]

The curtain with the additional MLV in it can help some as previously stated with some of the bass energy by being a limp membrane. The downside is that this now completely kills the rear portion of the side walls and the 'rear wall' in terms of allowing a more diffuse, non-directional surround field.

The deepest bass will still be an issue from the real rear wall. The modes will be very low in frequency though and pretty much impossible to address via treatment alone. Whether these modes become problematic or not is hard to predict with the large open area in the rear on the left.

Bryan

 

[Jessie]

The curtain with the additional MLV in it can help some as previously stated with some of the bass energy by being a limp membrane. The downside is that this now completely kills the rear portion of the side walls and the 'rear wall' in terms of allowing a more diffuse, non-directional surround field.
The deepest bass will still be an issue from the real rear wall. The modes will be very low in frequency though and pretty much impossible to address via treatment alone. Whether these modes become problematic or not is hard to predict with the large open area in the rear on the left.

Bryan

I am setting up my home theater as we speak. The plumbing system you speak of sounds great!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I find the fact OP decided to put towers as rear speakers and bookshelfs as fronts seems like an "interesting" choice ...

 

[Chitown2477]

I find the fact OP decided to put towers as rear speakers and bookshelfs as fronts seems like an "interesting" choice ...

I thought the same thing.