Thread: Viocustized my room!

Interesting work Mike and great to read you are noticing a difference.

Personally I'd give the Vicoustic vari-bass traps a miss. They are (IMHO) a gimmic.

Originally Posted by kiwi_1282001

Interesting work Mike and great to read you are noticing a difference.

Personally I'd give the Vicoustic vari-bass traps a miss. They are (IMHO) a gimmic.

I've heard that too. I'm going with tube traps. They are supposed to arrive Thursday.

Originally Posted by Mike

Thanks Van. Vicoustics makes a "fast bond glue" that you use in a cocking gun. I tried Velcro, but they fell off. I guess the manufacturer knows best. . The pattern was determined by Jeff in consultation with the manufacturer AFTER receiving my room analysis as measured by a friend of mine. That being said, if that last option isn't possible for you, then I would speak with Jeff at AV Solutions. He's done a lot of these rooms and has a really good idea where to start.

Hope that helps.


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If going down the Velcro route, 50mm (2") industrial strength self adhesive Velcro must me used. Not the generic brands either. It needs to traverse the width of the panel at each end.

The industrial strength Velcro has stronger adhesion & is typically used in the boating industry.

It is possible to use smaller strips but you would have to glue a thin ply onto the polyurethane foam.

It is costlier than using the purpose Flexi-glue but offers the option of removal.

Originally Posted by Mike

[...] The pattern was determined by Jeff in consultation with the manufacturer AFTER receiving my room analysis as measured by a friend of mine.

Hi Mike,

Any chance of some "before" and "after" frequency response, decay and reverberation time curves?

If memory serves me right you removed all your previous acoustic treatments when the D3's were in residence?

Cheers
Ralph

Originally Posted by kiwi_1282001

Hi Mike,

Any chance of some "before" and "after" frequency response, decay and reverberation time curves?

If memory serves me right you removed all your previous acoustic treatments when the D3's were in residence?

Cheers
Ralph

Ralph - yes. I'm not sure it will happen any time soon. My friend who did the measurements, Captain's giant oil ships and is usually gone for months at a time. He is home now for a few days, but maybe when he is home for a longer stint, I will ask him.

There is no excess ringing with piano, trumpet, etc. I'm listening to Nils Lofgren - Keith Don't Go. This was a song that reverberated around my room like crazy. Right now it sounds as if Nils is right here playing in my room.

I must admit, going from zero to all in, takes some getting use to. The change was so dramatic. I need to do a lot more listening. I'm running through the tracks that drove me nuts in my room before (for example, Jennifer Nettles - love her voice, but she would hit these notes and yowser! If it was too loud, it would come across as shrill). Not any more.

Here is something else that I've noticed. Before treatments, my room had a limit before things got ringy and out of control. Now, I can play MUCH louder and everything stays focused and in control.

I still need to read about your room ventures. Mark (MDP) was telling me how impressive it was. I will try to get caught up tomorrow.

Mike


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Mike....Now I'm just wondering ....What if you had all these room treatments in your room when you had a world class speakers like a D3 , Aida and Strads..... Well I guess its too late to know.....

Originally Posted by BlueMcIntosh

Mike....Now I'm just wondering ....What if you had all these room treatments in your room when you had a world class speakers like a D3 , Aida and Strads..... Well I guess its too late to know.....

I have world class speakers now.

The Aida's were just too big for my room. They would be different in a big 30 x 40 room. The D3's, well we know the problems and I think a treated room would have meant I played them louder and they would have popped earlier....now, the Strads? Man, I miss the Strads. Second best speaker I've ever owned.


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Mike...congrats on the room treatments and the upgrade in sound! If I am lucky enough to have a dedicated room down the road, I will attack room treatments first before entertaining any component upgrades/purchases. As your and many others experiences have attested to, the speaker-room interface when addressed seems to pay off the most dividends when considering optimizing SQ. Well done!

Thank you Cyril. I had a lot of help from Jeff and friends, Bart and John. The transformation was like going from a stairwell into a recording studio. Amazing.


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A tastefully done room that looks like a delightful place to listen to music. The change in sound must be dramatic! I've got four vicoustic panels on the way for my front wall. My ceiling is the biggest issue in my room. The curved face of the vicoustic megawood seems to be a nice answer for ceiling reflections. Thoughts?

WAY COOL.........LOOKS very, very nice and I am sure it sounds even better.

Cheers, Tom

By the way I see you have several great amps driving your ALEXIA. How does the CARY FE with 211's compare, and do you find it drives the ALEXIA to satisfactory levels? I am thinking of adding the CARY to one of our demo rooms to drive our speakers.

CHEERS, TOM

Originally Posted by bikeman71

A tastefully done room that looks like a delightful place to listen to music. The change in sound must be dramatic! I've got four vicoustic panels on the way for my front wall. My ceiling is the biggest issue in my room. The curved face of the vicoustic megawood seems to be a nice answer for ceiling reflections. Thoughts?

Welcome! Yes OmegaWood are good for ceilings. I use them on the side & rear ceiling perimeters (directly behind the listening position when looking up). Seems to work OK.

Originally Posted by Mike

Ralph - yes. I'm not sure it will happen any time soon. My friend who did the measurements, Captain's giant oil ships and is usually gone for months at a time. He is home now for a few days, but maybe when he is home for a longer stint, I will ask him.

There is no excess ringing with piano, trumpet, etc. I'm listening to Nils Lofgren - Keith Don't Go. This was a song that reverberated around my room like crazy. Right now it sounds as if Nils is right here playing in my room.

I must admit, going from zero to all in, takes some getting use to. The change was so dramatic. I need to do a lot more listening. I'm running through the tracks that drove me nuts in my room before (for example, Jennifer Nettles - love her voice, but she would hit these notes and yowser! If it was too loud, it would come across as shrill). Not any more.

Here is something else that I've noticed. Before treatments, my room had a limit before things got ringy and out of control. Now, I can play MUCH louder and everything stays focused and in control.

I still need to read about your room ventures. Mark (MDP) was telling me how impressive it was. I will try to get caught up tomorrow.

Mike


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Sounds like the Vicoustics are working wonders in your room, Mike. Great to hear.

Thanks Allen. It's a "shocking" difference.

Mike,

Huge congrats. The room looks terrific. Better yet, you are happy!

That's what is all about!

Originally Posted by bikeman71

A tastefully done room that looks like a delightful place to listen to music. The change in sound must be dramatic! I've got four vicoustic panels on the way for my front wall. My ceiling is the biggest issue in my room. The curved face of the vicoustic megawood seems to be a nice answer for ceiling reflections. Thoughts?

I would ask Jeff of AV Solutions to chime in here. This is what he recommends for me.




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Originally Posted by MRJAZZ

By the way I see you have several great amps driving your ALEXIA. How does the CARY FE with 211's compare, and do you find it drives the ALEXIA to satisfactory levels? I am thinking of adding the CARY to one of our demo rooms to drive our speakers.

CHEERS, TOM

Thank you Tom. The Cary CAD 211 FE's with the tube compliment listed below, is not only the best sounding tube amp I've ever owned, but the best sounding tube amp I've heard - period. The key was the tube combo below.

As for satisfactory levels, no problems at all. I am using the Cary SLP-05 which has a nice high gain. In that preamp, I'm using 1950 Sylvania 6SN7's, but will continue to experiment.

Two Tung-Sol military 6SL7 black glass from 1950s - from Nikolay at Tubemaze - info@tubemaze.info

Two EL34PH's from: Psvane EL34PH Replica: ?More transparent, has more bass punch?more dynamyc sound spectrum? | Psvane & Shuguang Treasure Audio Tubes, Caps and Amps

Four 300b's from: Psvane WE300B 1:1 Replica (pair) | Psvane & Shuguang Treasure Audio Tubes, Caps and Amps

Four 845's from: Psvane WE845 Western Electric Replica tubes (pair) | Psvane & Shuguang Treasure Audio Tubes, Caps and Amps



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Originally Posted by Mike

I would ask Jeff of AV Solutions to chime in here. This is what he recommends for me.




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The Multifuser is more of a diffuser with little absorption as with the Omegawood its more of a dual purpose panel, it absorbs and diffuses but much less efficient at diffusion compared to the Multifuser but the omegawood will absorb a bit more up top than the Multifuser. There is also the DC2 diffuser which diffuses but not so much in the lower freq. like the Multiwood diffuser does and absorbs very little......In rooms that have carpeted floors or large thick floor rugs with little bounce (reflective) I like diffuser type panel for the ceiling and if the floors are hard surfaces like woods or tile with lot's of bounce (reflective) then a multipurpose panel like Wavewood, Omegawood or even Cinmena premiums or a mix of work nice.

Thank you for this! I've got slate floors and a lot of glass to deal with. While I have an area rug in the listening area, I'm not sure it's big enough or textured enough to make a real difference. At this point I'm trying to make a choice between more traditional panels or the omega wood...with aesthetics being a big consideration since everything is in the living room.

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

The Multifuser is more of a diffuser with little absorption as with the Omegawood its more of a dual purpose panel, it absorbs and diffuses but much less efficient at diffusion compared to the Multifuser but the omegawood will absorb a bit more up top than the Multifuser. There is also the DC2 diffuser which diffuses but not so much in the lower freq. like the Multiwood diffuser does and absorbs very little......In rooms that have carpeted floors or large thick floor rugs with little bounce I like diffuser type panel for the ceiling and if the floors are hard surfaces like woods or tile with lot's of bounce then a multipurpose panel like Wavewood, Omegawood or even Cinmena premiums or a mix of work nice.

Originally Posted by bikeman71

Thank you for this! I've got slate floors and a lot of glass to deal with. While I have an area rug in the listening area, I'm not sure it's big enough or textured enough to make a real difference. At this point I'm trying to make a choice between more traditional panels or the omega wood...with aesthetics being a big consideration since everything is in the living room.

Before dealing with the ceiling you may want to address the walls and corners first, unless you have already done so or the ceiling is the only place you want to treat or can treat......

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

Before dealing with the ceiling you may want to address the walls and corners first, unless you have already done so or the ceiling is the only place you want to treat or can treat......

I will be doing things simultaneously. The reason I think the ceiling is the biggest issue is because I've got lots of space from the speakers to the side walls....8 feet from the left speaker to the side wall and at least double that between the right speaker and wall. The ceilings are vaulted and sloping down towards the listener.....creating the only reflection point in the room when using a mirror. It's a weird room....big, with many large passage ways leading to the entry way, dining room, hallway, etc....hard ultra-reflective surfaces abound....when in the listening spot, a loud clap produces echoes that seem to go on and on and on. The room reminds me of the description mike gives before treatment. The sound falls apart when the volume goes up....

Originally Posted by Mike

Thank you Tom. The Cary CAD 211 FE's with the tube compliment listed below, is not only the best sounding tube amp I've ever owned, but the best sounding tube amp I've heard - period. The key was the tube combo below.

As for satisfactory levels, no problems at all. I am using the Cary SLP-05 which has a nice high gain. In that preamp, I'm using 1950 Sylvania 6SN7's, but will continue to experiment.

Two Tung-Sol military 6SL7 black glass from 1950s - from Nikolay at Tubemaze - info@tubemaze.info

Two EL34PH's from: Psvane EL34PH Replica: ?More transparent, has more bass punch?more dynamyc sound spectrum? | Psvane & Shuguang Treasure Audio Tubes, Caps and Amps

Four 300b's from: Psvane WE300B 1:1 Replica (pair) | Psvane & Shuguang Treasure Audio Tubes, Caps and Amps

Four 845's from: Psvane WE845 Western Electric Replica tubes (pair) | Psvane & Shuguang Treasure Audio Tubes, Caps and Amps



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THANKS MIKE for your reply. What was lacking in the sound prior to your tube rolling on the CARY FE 211 ?

CHEERS, TOM

Bass and dynamics weren't as good as the DAG. Now they are.

Mike,

Again, your room looks great.

I have been procrastinating a bit knowing that I need to apply some acoustic treatment to mine. How did you make your selection? Did you measure with a mike?

I may have to visit Jeff when I'm in San Fran in April.

Thx!

Mike , I like what you have done with the wooden acoustic panels. They look great. As far as tube traps go I would suffer before I would put them anywhere but hidden in a corner.

Originally Posted by Ritmo

Mike,

Again, your room looks great.

I have been procrastinating a bit knowing that I need to apply some acoustic treatment to mine. How did you make your selection? Did you measure with a mike?

I may have to visit Jeff when I'm in San Fran in April.

Thx!

Thanks Mike. I didn't use a "Mike", but a friend used a "mic". .

After we had measurements, I worked with Jeff and he worked with Vicoustics and TubeTraps.

Originally Posted by still-one

Mike , I like what you have done with the wooden acoustic panels. They look great. As far as tube traps go I would suffer before I would put them anywhere but hidden in a corner.

I said that too, but I'm taking the plunge. Feedback from folks like Allen and others has been so positive.

The speakers are Macadamia color. Blame my poor photography skills!

Been tempted to consider trying 4 x Vicoustic CinemaRound on the ceiling directly overhead equipment & speakers....Thoughts anyone?

Currently have 6 x DC2 in the centre & 8 x OmegaWoods flanked around them starting from the 1st reflection point. The CinemaRound would offer aesthetic symmetry to the ceiling.

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