Acoustical Treatments --Taming a recalcitrant listening room

[andyadler]

Attachment DeletedI finally got around to ordering acoustical absorption material from ATS and getting it more or less installed in my two-channel listening space. To save money, I bought six raw Roxul 60 sheets (24x48 inches each), plus enough burlap fabric to wrap them in. They are rigid enough to stand without frames, so I've arrayed four of them along my 12-foot-wide brick wall directly behind my speakers, and one apiece on the side walls at the first-reflection points. Lined drapes on the windows, rugs on the bare wood floors.

The difference compared to the previous, untreated setup is striking, and in truth took a bit of time to make its complete case to my brain. At first I thought I might have over-dampened the room (approximately 12x25x7), but after a couple of hours I concluded that it was more of adjusting my ears after long experience with an overly live, reflective room. What has resulted is laudable freedom from the smearing/comb filtering caused by my previously untreated walls, so that the imaging precision of my existing loudspeakers (soon to be replaced Spica TC-50s) is quite improved. And though I have yet to acquire corner bass traps, the quality of my subwoofer output is similarly better controlled. Overall, I feel I am hearing a more neutral, revealing soundscape than before. I did have to experiment with speaker toe-in -- previously I had been positioning the Spicas so they faced straight ahead. Now, with the absorption panels in place, the rolled-off nature of the TC-50 tweeter means that some toe-in became necessary if highs were not to be compromised.

Tomorrow I'm due to take possession of a pair of Ascend Audio Sierra-2 bookshelves, which incorporate a RAAL ribbon tweeter. These will be compared with KEF LS50s. Meanwhile, for a total of around $150 spent, the ATS treatments have reinforced the notion that modest dollars, judiciously spent, can bring substantial benefits.

BTW, please note the custom stands for these panels.  ;-)



Best from New Orleans...A.

[Bonzo]

Oct 1, 2014 11:40:13 GMT -5 andyadler said:

I finally got around to ordering acoustical absorption material from ATS and getting it more or less installed in my two-channel listening space. To save money, I bought six raw Roxul 60 sheets (24x48 inches each), plus enough burlap fabric to wrap them in. They are rigid enough to stand without frames, so I've arrayed four of them along my 12-foot-wide brick wall directly behind my speakers, and one apiece on the side walls at the first-reflection points. Lined drapes on the windows, rugs on the bare wood floors.

The difference compared to the previous, untreated setup is striking, and in truth took a bit of time to make its complete case to my brain. At first I thought I might have over-dampened the room (approximately 12x25x7), but after a couple of hours I concluded that it was more of adjusting my ears after long experience with an overly live, reflective room. What has resulted is laudable freedom from the smearing/comb filtering caused by my previously untreated walls, so that the imaging precision of my existing loudspeakers (soon to be replaced Spica TC-50s) is quite improved. And though I have yet to acquire corner bass traps, the quality of my subwoofer output is similarly better controlled. Overall, I feel I am hearing a more neutral, revealing soundscape than before. I did have to experiment with speaker toe-in -- previously I had been positioning the Spicas so they faced straight ahead. Now, with the absorption panels in place, the rolled-off nature of the TC-50 tweeter means that some toe-in became necessary if highs were not to be compromised.

Tomorrow I'm due to take possession of a pair of Ascend Audio Sierra-2 bookshelves, which incorporate a RAAL ribbon tweeter. These will be compared with KEF LS50s. Meanwhile, for a total of around $150 spent, the ATS treatments have reinforced the notion that modest dollars, judiciously spent, can bring substantial benefits.



Best from New Orleans...A.

Thanks for the post. Never seen ATS. Looks like they allow for quite s few options. Pretty cool.

[paintedklown]

That's awesome.

I always hear about the virtues of room treatments, but have yet to have a room I could dedicate to my setup. Glad to see the effort has paid off well.

[DYohn]

I've posted this before but it bares repeating: A good friend once said, "Proper room treatments let you hear less of the room and more of the system."

[deltadube]

Oct 1, 2014 11:40:13 GMT -5 andyadler said:

I finally got around to ordering acoustical absorption material from ATS and getting it more or less installed in my two-channel listening space. To save money, I bought six raw Roxul 60 sheets (24x48 inches each), plus enough burlap fabric to wrap them in. They are rigid enough to stand without frames, so I've arrayed four of them along my 12-foot-wide brick wall directly behind my speakers, and one apiece on the side walls at the first-reflection points. Lined drapes on the windows, rugs on the bare wood floors.

The difference compared to the previous, untreated setup is striking, and in truth took a bit of time to make its complete case to my brain. At first I thought I might have over-dampened the room (approximately 12x25x7), but after a couple of hours I concluded that it was more of adjusting my ears after long experience with an overly live, reflective room. What has resulted is laudable freedom from the smearing/comb filtering caused by my previously untreated walls, so that the imaging precision of my existing loudspeakers (soon to be replaced Spica TC-50s) is quite improved. And though I have yet to acquire corner bass traps, the quality of my subwoofer output is similarly better controlled. Overall, I feel I am hearing a more neutral, revealing soundscape than before. I did have to experiment with speaker toe-in -- previously I had been positioning the Spicas so they faced straight ahead. Now, with the absorption panels in place, the rolled-off nature of the TC-50 tweeter means that some toe-in became necessary if highs were not to be compromised.

Tomorrow I'm due to take possession of a pair of Ascend Audio Sierra-2 bookshelves, which incorporate a RAAL ribbon tweeter. These will be compared with KEF LS50s. Meanwhile, for a total of around $150 spent, the ATS treatments have reinforced the notion that modest dollars, judiciously spent, can bring substantial benefits.



Best from New Orleans...A.

did you order roxul from ats? not understanding that.. you can buy safe and sound roxul at the home depot.. and make you own traps

sounds like you treatment for this room has just begun my friend ...

buy another bag and build more..

I get the 23x47x3 inch stuff.. double it up to 6 inches for your traps.. make em 7ft high angle in corners excellent bass trap cheap..

tons of stuff u can do .. trust me your not done!!!

[andyadler]

I chose the Roxul because I wanted something rigid enough to be able to stand vertically without a frame. I don't think Safe n Sound, like Owens-Corning 703, is quite stiff enough. Perhaps I'm wrong, though. In any event the Roxul is substantially less expensive than OC 705, which was my alternative.

I will check out the other stuff, though. I'm also looking into diffuser panels...


A.