should I shorten my room?

[noise gate]

I've got a space set up in my basement for "listening", it's 11' wide with my speakers placed near the back wall. The room is 40' long, it's 11' wide for about 20', then one side opens up. The oposite end from my listening space is the tv area. Celing height is about 7'6"

Actually it's my teenage son's TV area, that's another story.

Anyways I have my Lazyoy located about 10' back form my speakers in the centre of the room. That distance is flexible, and may change. Because.....

I'm thinking of putting up some kind of a divider behind my chair. NOT a permanent wall. Maybe not even as high as the cieling. I was thinking maybe those acoustic office dividers ( straight? curved? ), maybe some sort of foldable screen divider - fabric covering? upholsterd perhaps? Possibly some type of a curtain.

Basically I have a space about 11' wide by up to maybe 20' long to work with. It's a one man show space. 2 speakers , 1 chair. Kinda selfish if you think about it.

I'm a pretty handy guy so I can make / modify whatever is a good soulution. (handy, not rich. I ain't spending $1500 sq. yd for Nasa fabric ) Just looking for some advice.

My purpose is to segragate the space so I can do my thing, my kid can do his . Also wondering if it will improve the sound characteristics of the space. I'd prefer somethng moveable so the space is flexible. Also if it's moveable I figure I can experiment with positioning to "Tune" the space.

 

[VolvoHeretic]

Build two 5.5 foot panels, hing one side of one of them to the wall, hing together the opposite side of that panel to the second one, and on the opposite side of each hing, build a floor support with two castors under them to hold up the swinging sides. I can draw you a picture.

 

[Spectrum77]

Have a look at Cardas room dimensions info calculated around 'golden ratio' measurements. http://www.cardas.com/content.php?area=insights&content_id=29&pagestring=Room+Setup+4

 

[noise gate]

Golden Ratio... I like the sound of that...


Is that anything like the " Golden Mean" the diminsional relationship they used for building things like the Parthanon, which also amazingly corelates to the dimensoins of the human body, like that Davinci picture with the guy in the circle with the lines that divide him up?

 

[Tapehead47]

Nothing selfish wanting your own space. I assume you're the home owner and probably the main income. Many guys like a place to get away to.

My room is 12' x 12' and I find it just fine. It would be nicer to have a larger space. Maybe 16' square or so. I'd just like to spread out some of my gear and have more seating for guests.

 

[Spectrum77]

Golden Ratio... I like the sound of that...


Is that anything like the " Golden Mean" the diminsional relationship they used for building things like the Parthanon, which also amazingly corelates to the dimensoins of the human body, like that Davinci picture with the guy in the circle with the lines that divide him up?

Pi, and all that. There is a formula that you can substitute your room dimensions in and it will calculate L X W X H. The idea is to have length, width and height all mathmatically dissimilar so that nasty room nodes are minimised. At least that's how I understood the theory when reading during the planning stage of my listening room.
Ethan Winer has plenty of good info, too.

 

[BankShot]

My room is 12' x 12' and I find it just fine. It would be nicer to have a larger space. Maybe 16' square or so. I'd just like to spread out some of my gear and have more seating for guests.

Someone feel free to jump in and correct me on this but I was told very early on that when setting up a listening room or space NEVER to do so in a square room? Something to do with profound standing waves in square rooms. I have never had one so all I can do is quote what I was told. And it was by more than one very knowledgeable audio person................:scratch2:

 

[noise gate]

I clicked that link spectrum posted ( thanks by the way ) on the cardas formula's. Looks very helpfull from the brief look I took at it.

The dimensions aren't what I'm realy concened withat this point. That's one reason for the Moveable partition part of my plan. It can be moved to find the optimal dimensions for listening, then slid out of the way if need be.

What I'm really wondering is materials. The accoustic proporties of the divider. Hard surface, Medium , or a Soft absorbant surface, perhaps with wings so I can go swimming and ride horses..Ooo did I say that last part out loud

 

[sebrof]

Build two 5.5 foot panels, hing one side of one of them to the wall, hing together the opposite side of that panel to the second one, and on the opposite side of each hing, build a floor support with two castors under them to hold up the swinging sides. I can draw you a picture.

Another option and similar to Volvo's idea, I saw this on one of those decorating shows I watch with my wife (whole 'nother story).
Instead of hinging on the sides of the panels, have them mounted on poles that rotate in the center so that when open they are parallel to the side walls, when closed they make a back wall. This might be easier to mount and get sturdy than the side hinges. Just a thought.

As far as square room being the worst, I understand that to be the case. But my understanding is also that you never want to reduce the size of a small room, so if you have a small square room don't make it a really small rectangular room. I don't think that applies here though.

 

[Tapehead47]

Someone feel free to jump in and correct me on this but I was told very early on that when setting up a listening room or space NEVER to do so in a square room? Something to do with profound standing waves in square rooms. I have never had one so all I can do is quote what I was told. And it was by more than one very knowledgeable audio person................:scratch2:

I'm aware of the lousy dimensions of my space. But here it is and here it will be unless I win the lottery.
I have a couch and chair, and the walls are full of stuff that act like baffles. Two windows with bamboo blinds, carpeting, and many shelves which act together to cut down on reflections. Or so I'd like to think .
My speakers are gigantic in proportion. Standing waves are not a problem. Their size and proximity create a 'nearfield' effect.
I'm not recommending 12x12 dimensions, only saying this size space works well for me.

 

[Spectrum77]

Another idea for a square room is to try setting up speakers and listening position diagonally across the room.

 

[dumptruck]

Am I understanding this right? Your speakers are on an 11' wall, with side walls straight back for 20', and then it opens into a larger space? If so, I would leave the wall behind the speakers "live", put something that will absorb as much as possible on side walls, focusing on the area where the reflection will go straight to your listening position (easily found with a mirror and helper), and don't even worry about the open back. The side walls and floor pretty much have to be your biggest problems in this room, IMO.

 

[noise gate]

That "Cadras" site spectrum posted is very informative. As per formula's for figuring out speaker locations.. I had my sides set pretty good, but pulled them way farther out from the back wall than I would have thought necessary and moved my chair in closer than I did before . Almost following the rules of the info on the Cardas site. ( what can I say I always liked to colour outside the lines ). The difference on Sarah Mclachlins "Angel" was very noticable. I talked to a buddy in another city who does audio sales/consulting and he figures the "office divider " portable partition things would be a good step ( used ) for what I want to achieve. I think I'll look for one one the weekend. Like Tapehead47 I have to live in this space, and so do other people so perfection may not be an option, but that don't mean we can't make the best of what we got , right?

 

[Tapehead47]

Following the Cardas formula to place my Fortes I would have to move them 3' from the side walls and 5' from the back wall. Considering my room is 12'x12' it just wouldn't be practical. I could do it, but they'd be too close to the sofa and in the middle of the room. Maybe if the room was 24'sq it could be beneficial, but even then it would be an awkward setup.

So I just have my speakers slightly toed in to cut down on bass reflections.

I thought the office divider idea was a good one, too. A lot less work and easily moveable. And you can pin a calendar up and some family photos (grin)

 

[1audiohack]

noise gate;

If you look at the modal distribution of the golden ratio (from memory) 0.618 X 1 X 1.618? this supports 2/3 octave mode separation. the acoustic ratio (also from memory) of 0.7937 X 1 X 1.2599? supports 1/3 octave mode separation.

The dimensional ratio of a small acoustic space determines the low frequency performance of the room, period. You can bandaid a bad one but you will never make a bad one great. If you are going to install a wall, do some math!

All the best,
Barry.

 

[noise gate]

Math? That's why I'm not installing a permanent wall, I'm installing a movable room dividing thing. If It's in the wrong place I can just skidder it back and forth. And if it don't work out, well, it is December, lots of calanders to be had. " It's a little bit cheesy, but nicely displayed.".. Frank Zappa

Actually I will be doing some math. I carry a calculator at all times for work so I don't have to do the Guzinta's and times bys or take aways in my head.