I always presumed that when I reached the "golden years" my life would be somewhat simpler ..... less complicated.

Hoo boy .....

It seems that my family is quickly moving toward what is quickly becoming one version of the "typical" American family ..... with two or three generations living under one roof, sometimes even more.

For the past few years, my daughter (early 30s) and her two sons (late teens) have been residing with us ..... and we are now in the process of moving my son (late 30s), his fiance and his six year old daughter and three year old son in as well .....

Now, this information is not meant as a complaint ..... since I love them all dearly and things might well change in the near future ..... or not .....

The point of all of this is that even though we have a pretty good sized home, something had to give to accommodate all of these warm bodies ..... and my current listening room and man cave are being re-purposed as bedrooms for the new additions.

What to do ? What to do ?

I recently saw a TV commercial for an insurance company that involved a "she shed" in the policy holder's back yard ..... so it occurred to me that this might be an option for me.
Not a "she shed", but a "he shed" dedicated to audio.

So, I ordered a 12' x 16' "garden shed" with a vaulted ceiling and have been working on it for the past few weeks.
Several of my friends are in various building trades, so running electric wasn't a problem and I will be having a "mini split" system installed to take care of the HVAC duties.

Here are a few photos of the results .....







I decided to use some diffuser panels that are based on plans from the Decware website from several years ago ..... a fresh coat of paint and they look pretty fine and work very well.









Sheer curtains added to the remaining windows







The windows are double pane, the entire structure is insulated and the sub-floor is 2" x 6" (12" on center) with 3/4" plywood.

Initial listening sessions are good ..... with a little fine tuning the sound should be very good.

I am very happy with the results and this will provide a nice "sanctuary" for me if things get too crazy on occasion in the "big house" .....

As always ..... I welcome visitors. So, if any of the forum readers find themselves in northern Kentucky (near Cincinnati, OH) ..... please drop in for a visit. Just let me know a day or two in advance and I will roll out the red carpet .....

Happy listening,
Randy

Randy,

That looks like a fantastic respite and listening room.  Congratulations on adapting to life and making the most of it.

Well Done.

JD

Thanks guys .....

Deuce,
The equipment stand was something that popped into my head when I saw some untreated Douglas Fir 4 x 4s at the local Lowe's Hardware.
I expected that it would be pretty heavy and massive ..... but after getting it put together it was too heavy for me to move by myself.

Thank goodness for one of those teenage grandsons mentioned in my initial post .....  

Best wishes,
Randy

Randy....

have seen that commercial... and had the exact same thought!  Nice setup.

my wife has also suggested that I "detach" my listening room... since my listening room is in our walkout basement right underneath the master bedroom on the main floor (story and a half floor plan).  And I tend to want to listen to music late at night.

I never thought of doing a wood floor though.  I had just assumed, if I did this, it would have a concrete slab floor.  But now you've put new thoughts in my head.

Mike.

I love your shed.  I've entertained similar thoughts.  Even after building a new house, I still am.  Then again, my wife might suggest I add a he hide a bed and a bucket.  :-[

Seriously, you did good.

Jim

Randy,

 Is that a curtain or a diffuser on the back wall?

Thanks Will.  I was checking it out via my phone.   Much better view via computer.  Even nicer.  Wish I had some in the front of the current shared listening room/den.

As usual ..... the Zen Master is absolutely correct .....

These simple diffuser panels do some amazing things for the sound.

On well recorded music, the sound stage / image extends several feet behind the front wall of the room and several feet past the side walls of the room .....

I will be enjoying the music and an instrument will appear outside of the side wall of the room .... spooky, but very cool.

Happy listening,
Randy

I'm thinking that there are acoustic covers for TV's out there, at least I think that I've seen them.
If you can get rid of that great big reflector that is your TV, things would sound better.

I have a 24" monitor between my speakers that I lay on its face when I get serious about listening.
But I'm kinda weird about stuff like that. I have a chair that I have to move too, because sometimes the only thing that I can hear is that damn chair!

Ok, I’ll bite - literally🤓

 

Seriously though, I’ve known all along that the window and TV behind my speakers are a problem. I’m still about a year out on selling my house (almost paid off) , and building a new one. All of these issues go away with the new build. Diffusion behind and at first reflection points.

Thanks for the ideas/input.  Snow day here, so we're on it.  (Looking at diffusers online)   Got to find/figure out some kind of design the wife finds acceptable.  But hey, at least she's willing.

Thanks again!

J

It does look cool Randy! Yes those standing waves are usally a big issue in rooms but one that can be tamed relatively with ease. I always liked your he shed. One day, hopefully soon, I am going to plan a audio listening tour around this great country.

Cheers
John

Nice, Randy! It’s funny how sometimes just a small change in setup in a room can make a big difference.

And I like the lower profile of the bass baffle, and that it’s tucked back more. I think the room looks better being just a bit more open in the center.

Very best,

Geno

Hi SP,

Good to hear from you ..... I'm pretty old myself .....

I have always been a big fan of Magnepans and once owned a nice pair of the 1.6 model.
There is something special about the sound of dipole speakers and I am guessing that is why I like open baffles as well as the Maggies.

The benefit of many single driver open baffle speakers is that you can power them with a couple of watts per channel.
The Decware SE84UFO (and all of the other Decware amplifiers) works very well with any version of the open baffle speakers that I am building.

If you would be up for a road trip from Tennessee to Kentucky, you are more than welcome to visit my "audio he shed" and hear several versions of open baffle speakers with various drivers paired with the SE84UFO amplifier.

Caintuck.OB@outlook.com

Best wishes,
Randy