Thread: Neophyte setting up new room. Advice needed.

Originally Posted by nedaust

I am seeking advice for setting up my new audio room. I have attached the room’s blueprint. I’ll refer to the wall with the window seat as “the west wall”. The room is on the ground-floor, has wall-to-wall carpeting, and has 9’ ceilings.

Changes that I’m planning to make:
- Cover the entire west wall with thick curtains (we won’t be using the west door).
- Turn the closets on the south wall’s west side into built-in shelves.
- Either acoustically isolate or physically move the furnace.
- Add a door to the east wall’s opening into the hallway.

Questions:
? Which wall would you use as the front? My speakers are sealed/non-ported (Magico Q3). I like the idea of using the west wall as front, with the curtains behind my speakers. However, based on the formula that Magico recommends for determining speaker distance to side-walls, while the speakers would be equidistant from the curtain, they would be different distances from the true front wall, with one in front of the recessed window and the other in front of the (non-recessed) door. Would that be a big concern, given that my speakers are sealed?



? Should I plan on putting my components into the west wall’s built-in shelves or on a free-standing rack? My understanding is that there are pros and cons in terms of the required lengths of various cords and vibration-isolation (the built in option would be wood without integrated vibration control).



Please feel free to offer any other advice you might have. I want to make sure I have the basic things right from the outset. Then, if it seems necessary, I’ll enlist the help of a professional.
Thanks!

1. I would use the North wall. My first reaction was the east wall, but I kind of like the North wall (actual photos of the room would help).

2. Put your gear in the built-in shelves, except for your amp(s) which you can put beside (monos) or between (stereo) your speakers. Just make sure you use XLR from your preamp to your amps.

About between the North and East walls; that top right corner. ...It's very rare that we see people using a corner of their room as the central focus point, but I feel that in your particular room it could work well acoustically. And the gear could go into that corner.
...That's a free opinion Ned, and welcome!

If I was inside that room I would have a better feel for it. ...And your room, from that plan, is interesting because it seems to be ideal for experimentation; any wall (East, North, West, or South) has interesting possibilities.

A professional would be a good help, in regards to acoustics, dimensions, exact cubic footage, furniture, windows, doors, etc.

Buck, your avatar is, different.

Sounds good Buck. We are here for you.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Hi Buck,

First, welcome to AS, Buck!

You have a nice sized room there. Congrats!

You have an almost square room (22x24). I auditioned my Alexias in a room of similar proportions (squarish) and it was quite boomy in the bass. You might have similar challenges with your room. Is there an opportunity to use a more rectangular room in your new house? If not, no worries, there are things that will help ameliorate any issues that may arise (acoustic treatments, dsp, etc). But if there are alternative rooms, you may want to consider that. Would suggest the North wall as well with this room.

Good luck with the room and please keep us posted as to how it progresses!

Hi Buck,

I think the other room might be a getter room sound wise. Great thing, you have options and see which works gets for you. But I'd bet on the rectangular room!

Buck, the space looks awesome! Great for reproducing music or making music! Very nice!

I’ve read that having other speakers in the room, besides the ones connected to your stereo, tends to have a negative effect on sound. Do you guys believe that to be true? Would guitar strings also resonate and have a negative effect?

No that is not true at all. If the strings resonate you can put thin paper in them to stop that. Honestly though that would be the least of your problems. In a room like yours you need a good amount of bass trapping in corners to help control null/peaks and long end decay (think of this like low end reverb). You also need absorption in the early reflection points. You can read and see videos on the topic.
Articles - Acoustic Panels | Bass Traps | Diffusors | GIK Acoustics
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