mixing room speaker placement suggestions

Hi, ryan. I understand you're looking for advice on how to best orient and treat your space. I have a few comments which may or may not be correct or helpful. What's up with that other space? Can you use it? Your room really isn't the dimensions you listed because you only have a partial rear wall. That's probably a good thing. Assuming you must use the current space then it's time to bust out that measuring mic and start positioning things. First take everything out but the speakers to get a raw measurement. Find the best place for speakers and listening position. Then you can add RFZ panels and bass treatment. Yes, 38% might be tricky with your space but experiment! You see how your panels are overhanging into your open doorway? That's unnecessary. The point of panels is to make walls disappear (or control ambience) so those panels are probably best served on a surface rather than a space especially if that distant wall is over 10' away or if you've verified it's significantly adding to your modal troubles. Don't lose sleep over the hollow doors.

Thanks.

I like to start with room selection.  I'm not an Acoustics expert but, if I comprehend correctly, your larger room won't suffer from "long reverb time".  To be 100% honest, I'm not even sure why larger rooms are considered better than small rooms.  Now that I think about it, there are probably several factors: modal ringing causing all types of interference due to close boundaries, walls being close enough to need early reflection treatment, limited positioning potential, etc.)  All I can suggest is that, at the very least, you have different dimensions in the large room.  Dimensions I can speak about (a little). 

By having 10' wide side walls and an 8' ceiling, your modal support is going to be bunched up.  There's also a multiple of 2' in there which I believe will be below 250Hz.  Your dimensions have to work together to give you even modal support.  Similar (and multiples) dimensions give you a sine wave effect where you have one strong resonance and then a harmonic series thereof.  If your room is ringing on G and your music is in Ab then you can see how this is a problem. 

Anyway, before I reveal all doubt about my ignorance, give the larger room a shot.  Sure, you might have a longer raw RT60 but you'll balance that with better bass (more than likely).  The mid-to-high frequencies are easy to treat with absorption panels; the bass is where everyone needs help.  Besides a room being quiet, having ample power, being accessible and more, that's exactly where room selection helps.  I really think you'll be better served by using your current space as source of "fresh perspective" as in you won't believe you ever considered working in there

Yes about the desk too, btw.  I mean you want the barest data available to get a baseline.  Of course, if the desk is going in regardless then you can just leave it in.  Then again, by removing the desk, you'll be able to identify what kind of effect it has.  Perhaps such specificity is mostly best respected in a highly critical environment like a mastering suite.  Regardless, by having many data points you can make more informed decisions about what you're doing with your time and efforts.     

Also, I like your fabric choice on the panels!  


Thanks.