Great ideas and design issues. I reached out to a few different companies including GIK, everyone was very helpful in designing and recommending treatments for my main 2 channel. Folks were very pleasant to speak to and provided their expertise best they could based on my measurements and pictures of the space.
I’m kicking myself in the ass for not remembering his name but one gentleman gave me the absolute best advice and i am so very happy i listened to him. He told me to do my best to close up my fireplace, position my speakers well into the room and adjust my listening position and then he told me to call him back with my problem areas and concerns once i had actually tried listening to music in the room for a good long while.
Take your time w/ the room, enjoy the process and have fun, good luck I am sure it will sound great when all is said and done.
Resurrecting this thread from the dead given there is no current thread for discussing room treatment (not which I could find under the search box)
What is the consensus on using some type of diffuser behind the speaker in between them? I have seen examples where this approach was based on studios place into them in that spot in the monitor room. Is there a practical application in the home?
Specifically I’m in a pickle, behind my speakers is a wall of windows. I’m trying to figure out if this is accurate placement for a diffuser:
A) If yes, then trying to find a solution would not completely obstruct the window?
B) If no, what is a practical approach for a wall of windows?
It’s all trial and error and even though you’ll get a bunch of best practice recommendations, they’re really just a starting point.
If that’s what your setup looks like now the first thing I’d do is pull the speakers up so they’re at least a foot, two would be better in front of the plane of all of your gear, the rack the components etc. the less “stuff” between your speakers the better. Your afghan rug is great however I’d throw something a pair of small runners directly in front of the speakers as the bear wood floor is going to be somewhat reflective.
I wouldn’t worry about the windows as glass is relatively invisible to low frequencies and your shades are probably good enough diffraction to start. If they’re aluminum you’d probably be better off with wood. But a light curtain with the blinds behind is going to work well enough. You can open and close the curtains when you’re going to have a listening session.
I’d start there and listen a while. Without seeing your side walls I can’t say but the speakers look far enough away from the walls that you don’t need immidiate first reflection point panels to refract/absorb. Bookshelves, plants tend to be good items to have on the sides and you might already have them there.
A lot of listening, don’t make too many changes at once and always try to have a focus. What are you trying to fix and then implement a change. Don’t just do things for the sake of doing them.
Lastly the taller your ceilings, the more likely you’ll want panel above. Preferably between you and the speakers. It looks like you’ve got 10’ ceilings so you definitely want something that’s hanging two or three inches away from the ceilings.
All just basic best practice but should set you on the right path. Total spend even if you have curtains installed in front of the blinds should be about $300.
Thanks, for the tips. I should have mentioned this is not necessarily the most recent set up, only an example of the large window/
Been listening a lot off speakers since shifting the speakers to this orientation, I need a primer on room treatment and why a diffuser is recommended between/behind speakers.
You will get a better sense soon enough of what it looks like, and the challenges I haven’t mentioned yet.
Starting off small is the plan, not dumping a bunch of cash on all sorts of stuff, figured the diffuser was the lowest hanging fruit.
One big deal breaker, nothing to block the windows or the natural light from coming in. It’s a mental health thing.
Again, thanks for your suggestions, and guarantee you will have an ah-a moment where some of the issues you highlighted will make sense.
I am posting again, as my initial question got a bit lost regarding diffusion panel placement slightly behind and between speakers. Is there a consensus or someone able to point at an explanation for this type of placement?
The recommendation of a diffuser behind the speakers is just to get reduce indirect mid/higher frequency reflections that would cause smearing. It’s why the first recommendation in speaker placement is to get them away from the rear wall.
The further into the room you’re able to pull the speakers the less you need it in my experience. But they do work if you need them and have to put the speakers further back.
Perfect, thank you! this is all I was trying to figure out as I mentioned I have read and heard recommendations for both. I have 1m behind each speaker in front of the window, and each side of the speaker is 0.8m away from their respective side wall.
I am dropping my ideas of a mobile diffuser panel since that has minimal effect in the location I am concerned about.
From what I’ve gathered, (quadratic) diffusion is a technology that’s supposed to make your room sound larger than it is. It’s a complicated thing and above what I fully understand, but what I do know is that you need a certain amount of distance depending on room dimensions, you need more panels than you think you need, and you need your room modes managed. These are all good reasons why diffusion panels are the last thing to add (and properly built ones are expensive) and are considered the icing on top.
What I think most mean when they say “diffusion” is actually “scattering.” Books, blinds, and cartons all scatter a narrow range of frequencies to a certain degree but they won’t get you diffusion imo. My gik panels, for example, have a scatter plate in front of them to compensate for the deadness the building insulation does to the sound. Gik markets it as diffusion but I think that’s just nonsense. The scatter plates make the room sound a bit livelier but it doesn’t make the room sound bigger and airy whatsoever (which are qualities I associate with diffusion).
I am not sure if you hit reply in the wrong thread Keith? If I am incorrect, I do have ethernet wired throughout. On the power, it would require a lot of tearing through drywall and the cost is offset by running two power plants at the moment.
I am trying to make the room less big
Behind my seating area is the dining area and kitchen so its one long open space room.
I have plenty of books, artwork, clutter to cover this. I think, and my blinds are aluminum which is the one thing I would consider changing into another material.
Thank you for helping my understanding a little more, need thinking the wrong applications of terms such as diffuser panels.
I am not sure if you hit reply in the wrong thread Keith? If I am incorrect, I do have ethernet wired throughout. On the power, it would require a lot of tearing through drywall and the cost is offset by running two power plants at the moment.
LOL it was @EvilGnome6 because I didn’t realize his OP was last year
I have a couple of those quadratic diffusers from GIK that I placed behind my speakers. It wasn’t very scientific and I haven’t really moved them much but I was more like this
when I started so I just stuff aesthetically and moved it around a bit as I listened till it made a good difference. The biggest difference to me was in stage, layering, and tonal density. I say “big” but the changes were relative with biggest being in tonal density and separation. Stage impact is dependent on recording as well. Here is the post with my setup for reference.
It’s funny how much money and effort we put into our systems, then we take time to vacuum, dust, level every little item and put it “just right” in its spot yet the blue tape stays…
Did you decide on a secondary amplifier yet? It needs to be 300B or 45 based if you want some different character IMHO
Edit to add that the big 845’s or 211 work too if you feel a need for power…
I feel like the blue tape keeps me grounded (pun intended) after doing all you described so aptly
For now I took one last round the circle on tube rolling and bought a quad of NOS Genalex KT66s as my 6L6s are not competing with the 6550s I have. But that’s likely the last set of expensive-ish tubes I’ll buy (unless a decent set of EL34s shows up somewhere).
Next amp is going to be a 300B Cortese. Shindo is doing a relocation and not going to build till spring so have to wait anyways. I had ordered a Mr. T conditioner as well which is now on hold too. I don’t really need the power but do need about 7W or so I think. I’d like to experiment with 45 and 2A3 at some point but probably after the Cortese. 211 and 845 are also desirable but that’s further down the line.
My dealer is authorized Shindo, and had a few pieces in stock last I visited, not sure who, you are purchasing from but Arizona HiFi is authorized to sell Shindo.
I buy from BekHiFi in PA. I believe he recently got Shindo authorized but I was also talking directly to Matt at Tone Imports and he’s the one who told me about Shindo moving stuff. I was trying to get them to not include the stock tubes and give me a break for it as I wanted to get Elrogs so let’s see if that works.
I reached out to a few different companies including GIK, everyone was very helpful in designing and recommending treatments for my main 2 channel. Folks were very pleasant to speak to and provided their expertise best they could based on my measurements and pictures of the space.
