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Post by jamesb on Aug 5, 2017 18:06:55 GMT
I've seen discussions of placing speakers in bay windows before, but can't seem to find much relating to treating a room that has a bay window shaped area but doesn't actually have the windows. Can anyone offer any advice for the room I've tried to detail below? My room is in a basement below a living room which has bay windows, my room mirrors the floor plan of the room above. It has a low ceiling (I'm 6ft tall and can just about touch it without standing on my toes) and is quite small - maybe 18ft x 10ft. The speakers are placed in what would be the bay window if it wasn't in the basement. Floors are concrete with carpet + a rug. Listening position is just forward of the centre point of the room. A wooden coffee table is between the speakers and chair. Poor quality photo (sorry, I had to use my laptop's webcam and the light coming through those windows made it difficult).  Due to the low height of the ceiling and the ceiling mounted spotlights, I don't think any ceiling treatment will be possible. Placing traps at the point where the ceiling and wall meet above the speakers also isn't feasible as this would block the small windows which are the only source of natural light down here. A tv is between the speakers. My plan at the moment is to put traps (maybe 2x4ft mini traps) in each of the 4 corners of the bay window. My worry is that this might be a little visually overbearing given the small size of the room. Would the corners at the centre of the space (behind the TV) take greater priority over the outer corners? Beyond these traps I was thinking of some sort of diffusers to the left and right of the listening position, then maybe a diffusor at the back of the room above the bed (but I'd rather not do this), I was going to leave the rear corners alone. Here's a diagram, the red circles are traps, the red rectangles are diffusors (the app i used added a weird watermark) ...  Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Or should I reconsider? Thanks for your advice Attachments:
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Post by Hexspa on Aug 6, 2017 2:39:29 GMT
Hey james.
Congrats for taking the steps toward treating your room. No matter what you have, improvement can always be made.
The good news is that the majority of benefit you get from acoustic treatment comes from the first bit you put in the room; the rest is just sanding the edges.
I am hearing a bit of reticence in your tone, however.
As a remedy, I suggest deciding in advance what you are and are not willing to accept in terms of aesthetics, functionality and results from your treatment efforts.
The bottom line is that you have four or so parameters to adjust if you include cost. It should be mentioned that there is often wiggle room within the constraints of each domain i.e. placing panels and then measuring and evaluating results with an eye toward further positioning refinement doesn't cost more nor necessarily adversely affect aesthetics etc.
Compromise in any one area can improve others but whether that trade off is worth it to you only you can answer - and perhaps those points may shift over time.
Thanks.
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Post by rock on Aug 6, 2017 15:35:04 GMT
Hex has given good general advice. I'll be more specific but with the standard advice we have for most rooms...if that makes any sense.
BTW, what follows is a rehash of Ethan's "Read this first" so if you didn't, now is a good time to do so.
First, I would suggest you forget about diffusors (at least for starters) and treating the front wall and, that's usually the least of your problems. Consider starting with RFZ absorbers on the sides. Ceiling is good too, even if you can't afford the headroom for a hanging cloud, flush mounting even a 2" thick will be effective for RFZ.
Next, corner bass traps. Remember that a rectangular room has 12 corners, not only the 4 vertical ones. Your room is obviously not a rectangle but visualize the front being a simple flat wall. The "red circles" on the sides is where vertical corner traps go, floor to ceiling if you can. For the two "center circles" do nothing, at least for starters, you've for bigger fish to fry. Vertical corner traps can go in the rear corners too. Corner bass traps can also go along the wall/ceiling corners on the sides and rear without encroaching on floor space.
The diffusor you have planned on the back wall is not a bad idea but you will probably be better off with absorption on the back wall first. A diffusor can go in front of the absorption later if you need/want it OR you can buy Ethan's combination absorber/diffusor.
Cheers,
Rock
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Post by jamesb on Aug 6, 2017 17:30:39 GMT
I read the "read this first" post and the FAQ but I was constantly second guessing it (and most other advice online) because of the non-rectangular shape of my room. But you're essentially saying that I should treat this as I would a rectangular space right? If so that makes researching this further a lot simpler.
Unfortunately ceiling mounting anything is out of the question. I'm running the risk of falling out with my landlord just by wall mounting stuff. This probably makes traps at ceiling corner level difficult too. Floor to ceiling traps might be difficult too but we'll see. Does the lack of ceiling mounted absorbers change how I should approach the rest of the room?
Bearing your suggestions in mind I think I'll start with side absorbers and traps in the front corners, then move onto a back wall absorber and back corner traps when my budget allows.
One more question, with rear ported speakers would any treatment behind the speakers be beneficial? I'm using a stereo system with no sub if that wasn't clear.
Many thanks for your advice.
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Post by Hexspa on Aug 7, 2017 11:28:39 GMT
I read the "read this first" post and the FAQ but I was constantly second guessing it (and most other advice online) because of the non-rectangular shape of my room. But you're essentially saying that I should treat this as I would a rectangular space right? If so that makes researching this further a lot simpler. Unfortunately ceiling mounting anything is out of the question. I'm running the risk of falling out with my landlord just by wall mounting stuff. This probably makes traps at ceiling corner level difficult too. Floor to ceiling traps might be difficult too but we'll see. Does the lack of ceiling mounted absorbers change how I should approach the rest of the room? Bearing your suggestions in mind I think I'll start with side absorbers and traps in the front corners, then move onto a back wall absorber and back corner traps when my budget allows. One more question, with rear ported speakers would any treatment behind the speakers be beneficial? I'm using a stereo system with no sub if that wasn't clear. Many thanks for your advice. It all comes down to your experience level, desired level of exertion and outcome. If you can't mount on the ceiling then use the floor. In that way you can get similar results. Even without a port, treating behind a speaker can help. I'm big on measuring the room with REW and correct mic. The truth is that if you don't do that you'll really just be guessing, "tuning by ear" or trusting "best practices". Having said that, I can agree that front-of-room bass treatment and essential RFZ are probably the best places to start in virtually any space. One more point: I think that with many things there is a tendency to overestimate differences and preemptively overcompensate for those changes within a domain. For instance, with poker and moving up in stakes: is the play really that much different or is it mostly a mental hurdle? The shape of a room may differ but by asking yourself, "What do I want and what methods are used to obtain that?" you can probably clear up a lot of doubt. Every room needs control of ringing and boundary interference. Thanks. |
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