Listening room acoustics, recording techniques, favorite CDs

My wife recently robbed Ft. Knox and replaced all the flooring in our house. This included replacing living room carpet with what I now know is LVP but would have called fake wood a few weeks ago. This transformation, almost overnight, from a somewhat “dead” listening room to a really “live” one led me immediately to order a large Persian rug and then to start this thread about the relation between listening room acoustics and the types of recordings we listen to. What follows are observations prompted by my recent experiences.

1. With an amp set at the same level, a “live” room is louder than a “dead” room.

2. Close miked studio recordings with little added reverb sound best in “live” listening rooms. If a studio recording was too “dry” to begin with, the added room reverb gives the music a chance not to just come out of the speaker and fall straight to the floor.

3. Recordings of piano, orchestra, opera, etc. using more distant mike techniques designed to capture natural reverb sound best in “dead” listening rooms. A “live” room sound added to a good recording made in, say, the Concertgebouw just smears things, hurts imaging, hides clarity. The same recording played back in a “dead” room lets you hear deep into the actual room where the musicians were playing—counterintuitively making the perceived concert space grow larger the “deader” the listening room.

4. Close miked studio recordings with more reverb added to some tracks than to others—e.g., lots of reverb for the vocalist, dry as dust for the drums—are aided by a very “live” room in certain ways but hurt in other ways: a blending of recorded reverb and room reverb homogenizes separate tracks and lessens the sense that the various parts of the tune were phoned in; but the overall effect can often sound too much like rehearsing in a gym or a marble bathroom.

5. Looking back over the years, having set up my system in both “live” and “dead” rooms, I realize that the sound of each room influenced my listening choices. Years ago when I had no other choice but to put my system in a glass and tile and wood paneled sun room (“live” off the charts) my most-listened-to CDs tended to be fairly dry studio recordings that could use a reverb boost during playback. Later, in a house where I was able to set up a dedicated listening room in a basement I finished myself and put acoustic treatments on walls and ceiling until it was quite “dead” I listened more to music recorded in large rooms with plenty of reverb already imbedded in the CD.

6. Since good recordings are made with a variety of techniques including among other things natural reverb, artificial reverb, miking at different distances, etc., no room treatment is best for more than maybe a third of a good collection.

7. I can’t wait till the Persian rug arrives.

 

Mmmm, good excuse to rob the federal reserve bank and add some over-stuffed furniture and some wall "art" with some absorption/diffusion properties!

Post pics!!!!

 

Here’s the room as it now is, quite “live”:

 

Hint - if you inch those speakers a bit further apart, you treat the walls behind them with something - they may be getting a reflective bounce from that window pane back there.

Curious, what's on the wall opposite the stereo? Flat surface? Got any reservations about draping attractive fabric from the ceiling, or in the upper corners? Do I see a fireplace mantle just out of camera range? What's above it - another flat surface, such as a large portrait, or mirror? Howabout moving that flat, slick-surfaced leather chair a bit further back away from your speakers...?

 

I usually do have the speakers a bit farther apart. I was testing bass response with them at different positions (with sine waves I burned onto a CD) and forgot to put them back in their usual spot before snapping a pic.

Some of the decor is not negotiable. This is not a dedicated listening space. In fact, the speakers often have to be moved out of the way entirely for socializing. My wife has been very sympathetic to my needs as a musician, orchestra teacher, and hi-fi enthusiast. I, in turn, am quite content compromising with her with regard to home decor. It’s how you stay together for 40 years.

When I listen “critically” I often adjust the blinds at an angle to break up reflections.

I’m not a fan of the leather chair’s location but that’s where it needs to stay because of compromises already mentioned. At some point I may be able to take it upstairs and replace it with an upholstered chair that absorbs more sound.

Behind the main listening position is a fairly large opening into the kitchen and dining room.

Despite these problems it’s actually quite amazing how good it sounds—even better with the store sample Persian rug we had in the house last weekend. Looking forward to the permanent rug that should be coming in a week or so.

 

Based on my experiences with wood (pine, oak, maple) floors, a good-sized rug in front of the speakers will help balance the sound considerably.

I do agree that lots of room reflections at home can detract from a recording that reproduces the venue's ambiance well; and that local reflections can produce a pleasant pseudo-ambiance on drier recordings. I think that with a balance, it's possible to get something good from most recordings -- though some are unredeemable.

It's a lovely room, and in my mind's eye, I see a small party going late.

 

That was exactly my experience with a loaner rug last weekend. I will post a pic when the permanent rug is installed.

 

If your mind’s eye also sees empty wine bottles, and if your mind’s ear hears more laughter than city ordinances allow, you are not far off the mark!