Forums https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl AUDIO FORUMS >> Room Treatment   >> Listening in a large, hard room https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1656082687 Message started by M_P on 06/24/22 at 15:58:07

Title: Listening in a large, hard room Post by M_P on 06/24/22 at 15:58:07 My second system is in a largish room in a last-century industrial building. The room dimensions are: 20’W x 40’L x 16’H. It’s my editing studio (I’m a documentary photographer) and surface-wise it’s “hard”. The floor is plywood, the walls are 5/8”sheetrock and the ceiling is wood. There are a few smallish windows at one end but they are covered with thick cardboard and accordion shades since photo editing requires dim consistent light. The system is simple: A Bluesound node feeds Roon from a Mac mini to an Elekit TU-8200DX which feeds two Big Betsy’s I built from Steve’s plans. It sounds great, but compared to my home streaming system (Decware UFO2 => Omega Compact Alnico speakers) it’s a little edgy, if that makes sense. I suspect it’s the reverb in the big room that’s absent from my small, carpeted office listening space at home which is filled with lots of books and furniture. I play the studio system at low levels (<75DB) and have it centered in the big room with the speakers pulled out from a long wall about 48”. They are about 8’ apart and my upholstered listening chair is about 8’ from each of them. There’s an unpadded floor rug in front of the speakers and I’ve got a half dozen padded shipping blankets folded and hanging in various locations around the speakers. So, the listening area is sort of a softer spot in the middle of a quite hard room. It’s really not bad, but I’d like to tone down some of the edginess. I’m hoping you far more knowledgeable folks can offer some thoughts about low-budget options that might round the sound a bit. Thanks! Michael

Title: Re: Listening in a large, hard room Post by Geno on 06/24/22 at 20:02:48 I'd start in the corners behind the speakers. Bass traps in each corner. Then, treat the first reflection points. Then, have a listen and see what you think. Best, Geno *Edit - Also, diffusion panels on the wall behind, at the mid-point.

Title: Re: Listening in a large, hard room Post by Same Old DD on 06/24/22 at 21:00:54 You did not mention a distance to the back wall. Interpolation tells me you are probably going to have some reflection points generated from the back wall, even after some diffusion is installed, which might be a concern. As Geno says, diffusion is going to be important, but you might also look at secondary reflection points from the back wall as another early part of your processes. Steve has articles that have addressed some of this. You might start here to help with ideas. Lots of concepts covered. There's more, too. https://www.decware.com/paper39.htm https://www.decware.com/paper14.htm https://www.decware.com/achowto.htm

Title: Re: Listening in a large, hard room Post by Sean on 06/24/22 at 22:27:28 Agree with what has been said above. In my room the wall behind me benefitted from treatment more than the side walls. Mostly due to my room being about 13’ front to back, 20’ something wide. With speakers away from front wall, it’s about 10 1/2 feet. For rear diffusion I made a BAD diffuser. Made the tv/wall in front of me “disappear” with some added depth.

Title: Re: Listening in a large, hard room Post by M_P on 06/25/22 at 21:29:43 Thanks for all the replies; these are all good suggestions. What’s making me wonder about all this is how the size of the room affects the sound. So, for what it’s worth: => The front of each 15” driver is 4’ from the front wall behind the speakers. => The sidewalls are 16’ from each speaker. => The back wall is about 9’ or 10’ behind the seat. => The ceiling is more than 12’ from the top of each speaker baffle. So it seems the reflections from each surface are further than typical from the source. That and the fact that I listen at relatively low volumes make me think I may need an atypical strategy. Or maybe I’m already benefiting from the large distances and low volume and that’s why, even in a room that should be quite echo-y the edginess is not all that bad. It’s just hard to know where to start: more absorption? Diffusion? How much? How big? I’m baffled.

Title: Re: Listening in a large, hard room Post by JBzen on 06/25/22 at 21:49:31 Looks like the space is being utilized, as set up, very well in the room. Could it be the Elekit causing the edginess? Have you tried the ufo with Randy's/Lii baffles in the studio?

Title: Re: Listening in a large, hard room Post by M_P on 06/26/22 at 16:44:41 Before I finished building the Elekit, I was powering the DIY Big Betsy’s with an old and not too bad Onkyo receiver. The combination did not sound bad, but the Elekit (so far with about 10 hours on it) brought a noticeable improvement. Still, switching out the Elekit with the Decware UFO would be an interesting experiment and I plan to try it. Thanks for the suggestion.

Title: Re: Listening in a large, hard room Post by JBzen on 06/27/22 at 12:42:13 Your welcome. The Elekit is most likely edgy being it's limit hours of use. It should improve over time. The only reflection point of concern that I can see in your room, as set up, is the wall behind the speakers. As Geno mentions treatment with diffusers/absorbers would help. Being you listen at low volume bass is most likely not an issue.

Title: Re: Listening in a large, hard room Post by M_P on 06/29/22 at 14:47:54 Well, I’ve had the system on for quite a few hours since my last post and JBzen was right: the sound has mellowed. I’m chalking that up to the Elekit burn-in as he suggested. The wall behind my speakers is my story editing wall. It’s always got 50 or more prints temporarily attached. Good news is I get to listen while I ponder the pictures. Bad news is, I don’t have a lot of real estate left over for treatment. But, I’ve got those folded shipping blankets from the floor to about 48” up the wall and I have a 4’W x 8’H space dead center on the wall behind the speakers. I can use that for a diffuser of some type. I was a cabinetmaker for many years so I can DIY something. Any suggestions for this specific situation? My continued thanks—you guys are generous with advice.

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