Too small for a listening room?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Hogues, Sep 26, 2016.

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  1. Hogues

    Hogues Forum Resident Thread Starter

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/s6mx60tcs5irtiv/Listening%20Room.png?dl=

    I'm thinking about creating an actual listening room but I'm worried that the only room that I have available is small. I've posted the drop box link to a crappy sketch of the room that I made because I had trouble inserting a picture. my plan is a desk along the 6.5 foot wall with two tower speakers on either side. the two marks along the five foot wall are doors, one to a closet and one to the hallway. I'm thinking of putting a rack in front of the unused closet door. I know that I'm probably leaving a ton out but id appreciate any thoughts. thanks!
     
  2. HiFi Guy 008

    HiFi Guy 008 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    Would it be possible to post of pic of your sketch here? I think you may get more responses that way.
     
  3. Hogues

    Hogues Forum Resident Thread Starter

    [​IMG]


    I keep trying but all I get is the above. I insert the drop box link in the photo section but it doesn't seem to work. since everyone else is able to post photos, I'm 100% I'm doing something wrong.
     
  4. anothertribe

    anothertribe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central California
    Here ya go....
    [​IMG]
     
  5. Hogues

    Hogues Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks! although now that its up there my awful drawing/penmanship is on full display.
     
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  6. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura

    Location:
    Virginia
    Consider yourself lucky! I only have a listening "nook" in the living room.
     
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  7. Hogues

    Hogues Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Believe me, I do! I just want to find out if its worth the money to set up a listening room. I don't want to spend a bunch of money for poor results.
     
  8. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Set up something simple first and see what the result is. I think it could work:)
     
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  9. mrvco

    mrvco Member

    You could always start with a nearfield desktop system.
     
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  10. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    You'll be listening nearfield in that room so you'll need speakers that work nearfield. If your tower speakers can do nearfield then it should be ok. I'd recommend a good pair of monitors on stands though.
     
    forthlin, SandAndGlass, mds and 7 others like this.
  11. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Small rooms can be made to work if the components are carefully chosen, you spend some time finetuning speaker/chair positioning, and add some room treatments. My own room is only slightly larger - 8 x 12 - and it sounds quite good in there.
     
  12. Jvalvano

    Jvalvano Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    I am by no means an expert. However, over the years myself and friends of mine have made a myriad of different type of rooms 'work'. My guess is that you can make yours work with some patience and the right components.
     
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  13. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    My room is wider, but the listening position for me is about 6-7 ft from the speakers and there's no chunk blocking out one corner, so in some ways it's quite similar. I have large windows to the right, no room treatments (not interested in them in the slightest - my home isn't there to accommodate my stereo, rather it's the other way around and it sound excellent in any case) and the whole setup works well. Quite doable indeed.
     
  14. ashulman

    ashulman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Utica, NY
    Bass is going to be a problem, so I would consider not going too deep and living with it, or putting bass traps in most corners at least. Also since the room is asymmetrical I would make sure my listening position was set up so the speakers would be symmetrical to boundary walls if possible. Phase is an important aspect of speaker positioning and different boundary distances will affect phase. At least that's my limited understanding
     
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  15. Hogues

    Hogues Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thank you for all of the responses! Sounds like it's worth a try.

    Thanks. I'm not sure that I can so speakers that are symmetrical to the boundary walls but I'll take a look. I would like to try to use bass traps and other acoustic treatments.

    Thanks. I was thinking about Salks or Philharmonic monitors if I go that rout. Any other suggestions would be appreciated, though maybe I should just start an equipment thread.
     
  16. pscreed

    pscreed Upstanding Member

    Location:
    Land of the Free
    I've been banished to a spare bedroom in our old house for some time, it's only 10x11. Nearfield listening can forgive a multitude of sins, and per suggestions already made I would look into monitors on stands.

    I have also really enjoyed building a nice headphone rig in my room.

    Anyway I'd definitely say go for it! There's nothing like having a dedicated listening space.

    Good luck and keep us posted.
     
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  17. Hogues

    Hogues Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks, I'm excited to get it going. Now the hard part begins.
     
  18. TommyTunes

    TommyTunes Senior Member

    Fine room, get a nice pair of monitors and a small sub, keep it simple snd you will be rewarded.
     
  19. I've been in mastering suites smaller than that so yes, it can definitely be done - good luck :)
     
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  20. Hogues

    Hogues Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better about trying this out.

    I really have to do some research about the difference between bookshelf and monitors and then start really looking at brands/models. Right now, I'm a little lost.
     
  21. Hipper

    Hipper Forum Resident

    Location:
    Herts., England
    Will you be sitting at this desk when listening? Is there space either side of the desk?

    What you need is enough flexibility to move the speakers around to get the best sound from them; i.e. not just stick them in a corner.

    It seems to me suitable speakers would be relatively small with not very deep bass - nearfield listening as has been mentioned. That means that they will integrate (the drivers will act as one) at the distance your ears are. Distance from speakers to ears is therefore a key measurement here and you should mention this when checking speakers out.

    They could sit on the desk (on suitable pads), on narrow speaker stands sitting on the floor, or on wall mountings. The gear itself could sit on shelves on the desk wall, or maybe side wall.

    If compromises of positioning and perhaps lack of room treatment have to be made you might consider some sort of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) to get nearer to a good sound.
     
  22. Mike 33

    Mike 33 Active Member

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Had to do a metric conversion since I was educated in Europe :)

    My advice is don't even bother. Way too small to get audiophile results if that is what you're after.
     
  23. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    And being lost is half the battle:) hmm GI JOE?
     
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  24. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Don't forget to post pics of your new listening room.
     
  25. Hogues

    Hogues Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I will, but it's going to be a while. Lots to de before then.
     
    Manimal likes this.
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