Small Room treatment... wife friendly

Does anyone have any advice for acoustic treatment for a small room 11 ft x 9.75 ft?

I would like to keep it to a bare minimum and discreet(ish) if possible to keep my good lady wife happy.

All I will say is that without my sub switched on the bass can at times over power. I suppose I could use tone controls on the Yamaha As501 but would prefer not to as it generally sounds good with no EQ.

My listening position is approx 7.5 feet from the speakers which are 6.5 feet apart and 10 inches from the back wall. As you can seen I have over bought furniture and as a result there is not much space at the side of the speakers.

 

Most of the problem lies with your listening position at back wall. I have simmilar problem. Partly solved it with stuffing a sock in speakers bass ports. Other than that I don't know what to recommend as a whife friendly solution.

 

Why don't you put the speakers on the short side of the room and the listening position in front of the door, so you can have the speakers far from the wall and the listening position a bit more into the room? Your bass response will get much better, I suspect

 

Looks like the room is nearly square so that’s tricky. I’d be going for speaker placement first?

I’m sure someone can chip in here but there was a method where you position one speaker first and get that right and then move onto the other. For the life of me I can’t remember what it was called!

I’d be thinking of working on that as it’s free.

Outside of that GIK acoustics have some useful guides and info https://gikacoustics.co.uk/acoustic-advice/

 

The bass port are underneath the speakers and its one of the reasons I got the wharfedales, as the reviews rated them as not fussy when it comes to placement.

 

Is the bass the only issue you want to rectify?

I would try moving the speakers out a bit more from the back wall and moving the couch just a bit forward.

 

Not sure really, just curious as whether the room would benefit from a few mods. But I think I will try moving the couch.

 

Donate the room to your wife (maybe she has her own hobby that requires some space?) and put your system in the living room if that is an option.
If you really need to have it in that room, personally I would go with some smaller standmounts that you can slide into the room (and out from the sidewalls) and try nearfield listening.

 

Ideally . . . if you moved the tall media cabinet to the next wall under the picture, you could relieve that congestion, center the screen (yea, pitb) and have a bit more flexibility w speaker placement.

 

The speaker location off center is good! Leave that alone! You already have a carpet down and drapery on the window, a good start. For room treatment, two things come to mind, The first is an upholstered sofa, and maybe slightly smaller to fit the room better. Cloth upholstery helps to control room reflection, which in a small room you want as little as possible. The second is drapery on the back wall. And thirdly as an extra, acoustic ceiling tiles would help room acoustics a lot. I believe all three should be approved by the lady of the house. Oh and when listening close the window drapery.. also helpful would be heavier/thicker drapes.

Another idea could be a canvas painting to replace the reflective glass framed piece.

The left speaker so near a corner may be the reason for overwhelming bass.
You're getting a lot of reinforcement there. However centering the speakers may be better or worse.

Maybe this would be a better idea? This room would be perfect as a computer room. I see a media desk, with a pair of near field speakers, and a slightly smaller video screen. This would be compact and tidy, plus the bonus is that near field works better in smaller rooms. You'd have better sound, and then have the flexibility to couple with a strategically placed sub.

 

First have the curtains closed when you are listening, the window glass it reflecting a lot of sound. looking at all of the hard surfaces in that room I bet you are getting a bit of an echo. Buy a few panels like High Quality Acoustic Panels and Sound Absorbing Panels - GIK Acoustics and put them on the back wall.

Those two things should improve your listening experience.

 

@Bolster, you stated, "All I will say is that without my sub switched on the bass can at times over power." Where is your sub?

That room will be difficult with speakers that large, IMO. My only suggestion not mentioned yet is a large absorption panel directly behind your seating position. Your head is too close to wall.

Also, what is that tree right out the window? It looks like a palm of some sort.

 

I agree. I don't want to start any trouble here <<but>> I think it's unfair that the wife expects the husband to be happy with a good system, in the smallest room in the house. Personal happiness at home is important, both self interests and shared interests. The largest room in the house should be for sound... and decorate tastefully for sound. Clutter-free usually works with the ladies I have found, grille cloth on, no bare speakers, no wires showing.

That said, near field is the best solution for small rooms, such as a computer desk. I am very happy my setup, and it sounds amazing! For a larger video screen, the desk can be a few feet from the wall.

 

Anything thin or flat on the wall won't do much for bass. This looks like a job for corner bass traps. Read about that here -

Bass Traps 101 - Your Ultimate Guide to Bass Trap Placement

But in the world of the WAF, that bass control knob is the real but perhaps compromised answer. Marriage involves compromise, though.

 

I'll echo: some artwork on canvas could help. Hang a tapestry or quilt on the wall. Large pillows strategically located, even it if requires building benches or shelves to elevate them.

I might suggest that IF this has been relocated as your "man cave" you could simply assert your right to do what you need to do in order to make it comfortable and "right" for yourself. As it is, I don't necessarily see this as a room that she hangs out in much. I'm happy to be wrong about that though.

Making this the perfect listening space will be difficult. But there are some things you can do to make it less reflective. Honeslty, hanging some kind of heavy material on the walls might be the easiest way to change the acoustics.

Good luck!

 

Yes this is my dedicated "man cave" and this area used to be a small bedroom which was knocked through to a surplus to requirements toilet... not sure if my wife was making a veiled comment as to my music tastes

 

GIK offers acoustic art panels and you can provide the artwork that gets applied. Let your wife choose the art? (hence buy-in)

Acoustic Art Panels - GIK Acoustics - Canvas Art that Reduces Noise

 

The best wife friendly solution is to buy her a bigger house.

 

If it’s acceptable then corner bass traps would be of most benefit I’d imagine.

Drapery and wall coverings would only impact high frequencies and make the bass issues more obvious.

Perhaps some bass traps and a miniDSP room eq to balance it out?

 

Hello, speaking from a similar position where I used to have my seating against a wall, I read a lot about room treatments and this always came up. Place absorption on as much of the back wall as possible. It will get rid of so many (not all) unwanted reflections that smears the sound that it will help increase your listening pleasure.....a lot.

After that, hitting the first reflection points is always a good idea. A little time researching this and you could increase your enjoyment in that space.

Good luck!

 

I agree, just got to find a way of changing the aesthetics (custom enclosure screened enclosure possibly) prior to the installation of any bass traps as a quick search on Ebay pull up what appear to grey foam dust traps.

 

The subwoofer is under the tall cabinet and its mainly used for movies. The tree is actually a Cordyline, which is apparently a large shrub... I had to google it as I thought it was a palm too.

 

Hera are some budget-friendly and nice-looking panels: ® UA Acoustics — Acoustic Foam & Panels | Bass Traps |Diffusers

But as others already mentioned: start with speaker placement first. It will provide 90% of improvement, and acoustic panel - maybe the remaining 10%

Cardas method of speaker placement works well in small rooms.

 

Hi, you got already great advice. Perhaps the following is also helpful:
This was the solution a German magazine came up with for a similar room with a measured frequency response via microphone.

The sitting position is in the center of the room, away from the back wall. Carpet in front of listener and cabinets or similar things on the side. Important are the bass traps in the corners.