Moving into a new listening room

Morning all

After spending the last few years in the conservatory listening to to my collection, My wife and I have comprised that she’ll get her conservatory back and I'll move upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms.

So over the next few weeks I’ll be firstly be clearing out and redecorating. The room is pretty much the size I’ve got now been 9ft x 9ft square, not big by any standards but I can make it work and have an idea where things will fit. It also has a built in cupboard so my guitars will also be up their with me, the cupboard space will also allow me to store cleaning gear, sleeves, etc allowing what space I have be clutter free. I’ve worked out I also have storage space for another 1800 Lp’s Using the storage cubes I’ve got.

I was wondering and if any fellow members can see any acoustic issues I may encounter given the room is square rather than rectangle. Lastly the room colour is going to be all white, bit I’d perhaps like the focal rear wall where my setup and speakers will be to be a different colour, My stand colour is natural bamboo shelving with the frame been powder coated white, speakers are light maple veneered. I’m leaning towards a turquoise colour? Any other colour ideas would be welcome.

 

Have you thought about room treatment? With this size and shape I recommend lots of bass traps.

What kind of speakers? Small monitor standmounts will be your best bet in a small space.

 

Sure. Square is always a problem because room modes across multiple room dimensions pile up at the same frequencies when you have the same dimensions along multiple room axis. Ideally for a good sounding room you'd have modes spread out evenly. With a 9 X 9 X presumable 8 room, you're going to have a pile of up mode related standing waves all through the lower midrange and into the bass. You can try to do as much broadband absorption and bass trapping as possible (as much bass control as possible is always something one should do anyway IMO), but it will be easy to over damp the high frequencies doing a lot of absorption in a room of that size because you probably won't be able to do much diffusion, because diffusing needs more space between the diffusors and your ears than a 9X9 room is likely to easily allow.

 

If you are using a turntable especially, having the gear rack in the cupboard area of the room should help. By not having anything between the speakers, the soundstage can be expanded and cleared-up a bit. The benefit of moving the turntable from the speaker proximity is less rumble from acoustic feedback. I do this in my room. I have a flat panel TV on the wall between the speakers, but that is of course optional. I set-up the gear as usual but in the adjacent space (a walk-in closet off on one side of the same room in my case, and then run speaker cables to the loudspeakers in the listening area. I also run hdmi video to the TV monitor in there so that sources are all in the audio rack.

As far as color of the walls go, I would choose something more subdued for the most relaxing feel over the longer stays there. Bright or intense colors can make people less comfortable after a while.
-Bill

 

Get the speakers positioned first and set up the rest of the room accordingly Speaker Placement Calculator

Color wheel - Wikipedia

 

Speakers in question are Standmounted Quad 11L’s, love these speakers!

 

A quick pic of my rack, need a colour that compliments it, any ideas?

photo upload site

 

I'm in pretty much the same boat - moving to a new listening room that is smaller and square (about 10' x 10'). I've sold my "big" furniture from my current listening space / office (16' x 24') and am packing up my LP collection to move. I've decided I'm not going to sacrifice any of my gear for the new space and I'm keeping both pairs of speakers I run on that rig.

While I have it mapped out as to where everything is going to go, I've decided to wait until I actually move into the space to see how things sound and go from there. I do know I'm buying an area run almost large enough to almost cover the entire floor to "soften things up a bit" and I'll go from there. Best of luck with your new space - I hope you can get it set up so you enjoy it as much or more than your current space!

 

I'll bet Better Homes and Gardens doesn't get linked to from here very often:
Color and Wood Tone: Choose Colors That Go Together | Better Homes & Gardens

 

With a small square room you might want to consider setting your speakers up diagonally.

Small room, diagonal placement - images?

My room is square, and I use Alan Perkins' method with good results along with some room treatment. There are still some nulls & modes, but the "big boom" has been tamed.

https://www.dinew-high-fidelity.de/images/raumakustik/Speaker-Set-Up.pdf

 

My issue with small square room is the room null between 90 to 150 hz, depending on the speakers position vs sitting position. Sorry to say that I can't offee any good advice. I ended up moving to larger room where I have more freedom of speakers placement.

 

Visit the paint store with a print of your rack photo in tow. Based upon the picture of that room there, you like the natural wood look. You could go with a peanut butter sort of color front and back and an off white for the side walls. That would be an interesting visual and have some of both colors of the rack but in a bit darker shade, easier on the eyes IMO. It's hard to say without being there and seeing furnishings, etc.




-Bill

 

Thanks Bill

Been looking at paint colours this afternoon and plan on a trip to my local store at the weekend. My wife suggested a Clay colour, not too far from that room colour you’ve posted.

 

Setup for nearfield listening and square room.Good luck.Cardas Room Setup Guide

 

Regarding color, the larger paint stores in the US have "color consultants". One can bring them a photo or small piece of material, and they will suggest a color scheme. The service here is free. I was happy with that when I designed my room. Perhaps such services are available in the UK? (Or perhaps your wife has served as the consultant already.)

Remember also that most acoustic treatments can be ordered in custom colors at a small upcharge. In the US, Guilford of Maine fabrics are in wide use, and Guilford will send swatches of any colors you want to evaluate. Again, this is free in the US, but even for a small charge, it may be worth paying to wind up with a harmonious decor.

I agree with @33na3rd that a diagonal setup might be best in your situation. I have heard it work quite well in a couple of rooms.

I also agree with @chervokas that a lot of bass trapping will be needed, and you will have to watch out for overdamping of the treble. Proper diffusers will be too close to your ears, but I've had good results using things like RPG BAD panels and GIK Alpha panels just a few feet from the ears. They add enough scattering to avoid deadening the room.

 

I was compelled to look up the meaning of "conservatory," as it means something different on this side of the Atlantic, as you can see below:

con·serv·a·to·ry
kənˈsərvəˌtôrē/
noun

1. 1.
   NORTH AMERICAN
   a college for the study of classical music or other arts.
   synonyms: conservatoire, music school, drama school
   "a teaching job at the conservatory"
2. 2.
   a room with a glass roof and walls, attached to a house at one side and used as a greenhouse or a sun parlor.
   synonyms: summer house, belvedere; More

If you want the space to be relaxing, I advise against going with a cool color. I originally had my small listening room painted a pale blue, but since repainting it a deep orange, the atmosphere became so much more pleasant.

 

Evening all

Spent the afternoon measuring up and making plan. As you can see I’m pretty limited! Everything to scale, bottom right corner is a door, so when shut it adds an empty space on the right side of the room behind listening area.

 

Have you considered putting the speakers in the window instead? At the moment, you're going to get a lot of reflection on the left hand side.

 

Spent this afternoon clearing the room with decorating planned before I move in, with the room empty I did sit on a chair with the window wall opposite to get a perspective. As the window wall is slightly longer, I would be sat nearer to the speakers as apposed to the seating position in the plan, whether this would be an issue I don’t know?

 

Bass ( in my experience) will be the biggest issue. If your not a bass head ( I am) it should be ok. I’m familiar with your (old) room, loved it. Hope the new one is as much fun.. it should be

 

Many thanks, looking forward to moving in choosing a colour scheme etc. With the room now completely empty the work shall begin in the next coming weeks.

 

Your space looks a lot like what I have; my room is 8' x 12'. I found that putting acoustic panels at the first reflection points on the side walls makes an enormous difference.

 

I am considering hanging acoustic panels, but will probably need to move my seating position from the original plan, Like Robert C suggested seems the obvious choice.

 

...or stick to your plan, and lean them against the wall so that they do not have to be affixed.

 

You'll be practically listening near field regardless of which way round you set things up, so I don't think that would pose too much of an issue. See what feels more comfortable I guess.

Yep. I have a window to my right in our media room, got a panel lent up against it