Bay window behind speakers... a what-if question...

[vdfsamba]

Behind my stereo, lies a bay window. Nearly 9 feet wide, and a foot and a half deep, it has to be effecting my sound. I seek a wider soundstage.

I'm running tube with a sub. I've upgraded cables and have no issues with lost frequencies or booming bass within the room. It actually sounds quite good. Since moving into silver interconnects, i've realized a soundstage with a phantom center channel, 3 feet behind my speakers. I have nearly nothing outside my speakers and would like to widen that soundstage. This is going to be a simple question to start... How to widen a soundstage when the wall in question is a parabolic bowl? C, simple.

Should I acquire a 4 foot sonotube, cut 12" wide strips, and hang them as a diffussion curtain infront of the bay window? Is there any know solution for a bay window behind a stereo?

thanks, Jack

 

[Old Guy8]

Post some pictures of your room/setup. Description of room size, doorways and furniture positioning. Can help with ideas. And how much your willing to spend. Is there audio uninterested residents that have to sign off on changes?
There's a range of degrees of audiophiles and budgets on AK. You could get the $50 solution up to $5000 recording studio type treatment solutions.
Do you have any window treatments there now? Would dense curtains that darken room fly?
You could experiment hanging a few thick comforters or $10 moving blankets over opening. Hear if moves sound toward better.

 

[shrinkboy]

i have the same setup and find that with a console table in front of the windows, with a large lamp on that table, curtains, furniture,etc that i get quite the soundstage, almost to the point of a surround effect on some cuts.

 

[JoeESP9]

The biggest audio improvement you can do to any window including a bay window is heavy curtains.

There is a large window on my front wall. It has venation blinds and heavy insulated curtains. Those two items make such a difference you can fine tune the sound by changing the angle of the blinds and/or the amount of opening there is with the curtains.

If you want to check if bass traps will be efficacious try stacking two rolled up sleeping bags in a corner and listen for a while.

 

[vdfsamba]

Post some pictures of your room/setup. Description of room size, doorways and furniture positioning. Can help with ideas. And how much your willing to spend. Is there audio uninterested residents that have to sign off on changes?
There's a range of degrees of audiophiles and budgets on AK. You could get the $50 solution up to $5000 recording studio type treatment solutions.
Do you have any window treatments there now? Would dense curtains that darken room fly?
You could experiment hanging a few thick comforters or $10 moving blankets over opening. Hear if moves sound toward better.

I'll followup shortly in the next day or two. It's not a live room, it's not a dead room. Living room empties into the dining room, linearly. It's 13 feet wide, 23 feet long, with a 6 foot opening into the dining room, so I'm not dealing with back wall reflection. I wonder if traditionally, defussion behind the setup benifits or degrades imagery... I'll be in touch. Thanks guy's, Jack

 

[vdfsamba]

The biggest audio improvement you can do to any window including a bay window is heavy curtains.

There is a large window on my front wall. It has venation blinds and heavy insulated curtains. Those two items make such a difference you can fine tune the sound by changing the angle of the blinds and/or the amount of opening there is with the curtains.

If you want to check if bass traps will be efficacious try stacking two rolled up sleeping bags in a corner and listen for a while.

Ain't that someth'in... It's like watching earnest T bass loosening or tightening the cap on metal container to get the right sound... reading about coupling, decoupling, or speaker spikes, and at somepoint as a what-if, I propped my speakers up on pencils to see what happens, and the change in sound was dramatic... yeah, this a craft of gradations of gray. It's never hard and fast rules.

 

[JoeESP9]

Sorry, but your response doesn't make much sense to me.

Is it supposed to be funny, sarcastic or what?

Using a calibrated mic and REW it's very easy to see how much difference changing the position of blinds and curtains makes to the sound

In any case, IME, the differences are very audible.

 

[vdfsamba]

Sorry, but your response doesn't make much sense to me.

Is it supposed to be funny, sarcastic or what?

Using a calibrated mic and REW it's very easy to see how much difference changing the position of blinds and curtains makes to the sound

In any case, IME, the differences are very audible.

wow, no disrespect... subtle tweeks do make a noticible-audible difference... wow, no disrespect

 

[vdfsamba]

In regards to the former, I have a budget of a church mouse. I fell in to tube audio on accident and have never looked back. I lost my dad in 2013. He was a jazz musician, and roughly 80% of our conversations revolved around music. I'm here, because I give an S. I'm here, because he's not.

 

[vdfsamba]

Wow, when I read about decoupling, I put my speakers up on pencils as a test, and I heard the difference. When I read about speaker cables can be on wood floors or wool carpets, but not on acrylic, I lifted them up, and I heard the difference. When I read about isolation, when I read about interconnects, I went that route, and I heard the difference.

 

[Old Guy8]

In regards to the former, I have a budget of a church mouse. I fell in to tube audio on accident and have never looked back. I lost my dad in 2013. He was a jazz musician, and roughly 80% of our conversations revolved around music. I'm here, because I give an S. I'm here, because he's not.

Sorry about your loss.
Lined curtains are usually a good treatment for windows. Wouldn't be cheap.
I use some 3D metal wall art on front wall facing my speakers, for diffusion. I have Magnepans, which being dipoles do benefit.

 

[vdfsamba]

I live in the getto, and have an appreciation for this stuff

 

[vdfsamba]

Sorry about your loss.
Lined curtains are usually a good treatment for windows. Wouldn't be cheap.
I use some 3D metal wall art on front wall facing my speakers, for diffusion. I have Magnepans, which being dipoles do benefit.

Thanks, I've heard heavy curtains are thought of as an effective treatment, but lack a lot of the desireable aspects needed as a solution. I don't have a vito living in my home, so my options are pretty much open, including, building a false wall in front of the window, installing lights behind it so that at night it doesn't look like a spooky dark house... this is a weird issue, ... will diffusion enhance, or destroy a soundstage, when positioned behind the system?

 

[Old Guy8]

Thanks, I've heard heavy curtains are thought of as an effective treatment, but lack a lot of the desireable aspects needed as a solution. I don't have a vito living in my home, so my options are pretty much open, including, building a false wall in front of the window, installing lights behind it so that at night it doesn't look like a spooky dark house... this is a weird issue, ... will diffusion enhance, or destroy a soundstage, when positioned behind the system?

I'm no expert on accoustics.
You could build or buy diffusion or absorber panels. There are absorber panels offered with outrigger legs. I know GIK Accoustics offers them. Could be moved where needed. Could be placed in front of windows or where ever beneficial. Moved out of way for window view/light.

 

[vdfsamba]

I'm no expert on accoustics.
You could build or buy diffusion or absorber panels. There are absorber panels offered with outrigger legs. I know GIK Accoustics offers them. Could be moved where needed. Could be placed in front of windows or where ever beneficial. Moved out of way for window view/light.

That's exactly what I'm thinking about. It's a question of absorbtion or diffussion. It's also a question of how completely, the issue of a bay window needs to be treated or completely resolved. Previously, I said that this is a craft of gradations of gray, refinements are incrumental. Strangely, it was some DIY siver cables that finally displayed a phantom center chanel between and behind my speakers that I had never heard before.

 

[Old Guy8]

Have you perused this listening spaces thread?
You might find some good glass treatment examples that would apply for you.

 

[E-Stat]

A mentor of mine used a room with bay windows to great use for many years. Asymmetric walls help minimize room modes.

Diffusion would be good for dipoles, but simple drapes would serve well, too.

 

[dcmfan]

will diffusion enhance, or destroy a soundstage, when positioned behind the system?

Do a search on posts from @tomlinmgt. He's done a ton of exploration on absorption and diffusion and explains it well.

A heavy curtain will absorb sound, eliminating some frequencies from bouncing around. Diffusion will scatter the sound but to work well the diffusers need to be built in a way that scatters it evenly.

Another option for widening soundstage would be to play with speaker positioning and toe in/toe out. Moving speakers farther apart or angling them less toward the center might get what you are looking for.

 

[tomlinmgt]

Where is your seated listening position located (stated as distance in feet from speakers)?

 

[tomlinmgt]

No on the sonotube "curtain". You'll create periodicity artifacts (lobing) and that's no good. You'd be much better off filling that area up with houseplants. Rubber tree is good...big leaves at different angles and grow tall. Ficus is good, too. Curtains have been suggested...that's good and safe but won't manage mid range content and lower.
But I doubt that window is making a very big mess out of things since you have the blinds covering the glass. You might just need to spend more time tweaking speaker positioning and listening spot location. I'll await your answer to my first question.