Side Wall 1st Reflection Damping??

[tkyong1]

System:
Primare D20 CDP
Primare I20 Int. Amp.
ProAc Studio 125 Floorstander
Siltech Paris I/C
QED Silver Anniversary bi-wire
Supra Lorad Powercords

Now, my set-up:

Speaker to
- front wall = 50" (1/5 of Length).
- side wall = 40" (1/4 of Width).
- Apart = 2 meters

Listening position
- 9' from plane & 8' from back wall (1/3 of Length)
- with a movable carpet between speakers & listening.

Sounding
Music sound lighter but with good sense of depth.
LF is tuneful. HF is smooth.
I found those cds that i hate to listen in the past are listenable now (especially the Denon HI-FI Strings) which sound a little etch in the past, now sounding lively and musical.

In fact, i found that the classical cds that i owned now sounding much more musical, less bright.

Question
1. Will it be better if I place some absorbing materials at the 2 1st relection points on the left & right side wall? What will I get? How big the area I need to cover?

2. Will it be better if I place some absorbing materials at the centre of front wall? What will I get? How big area I need to cover?

Thanks

[kexodusc]

I've been experimenting with room treatments the last few months in my system.
I've found the biggest improvements for stereo came from placing material at the 1st reflection points, and behind the speakers on the front wall.

Bass traps also help a lot, but I need to make a more permanent solution in my case.

I didn't stop there, 2nd reflection points and the ceiling have also received treatment now.

Sonically, I find the soundstage is even wider (not a huge difference, but noticeable, and pleasant), definitely deeper, and most importantly, imaging has acrosst the soundstage has been improved. Less echo and "noise" is quite desireable. I'd say it tamed the brigthness a tad, but that wasn't really a concern for me.

To answer your questions:

1) It will be better if you treat your room. I think the minimum amount of treatment at these points would be about 4 sq feet, but the more the better. The first 12 inches off the floor aren't all that critical, and probably the top 12" as well...but the more material on those sides, the better. I'm planning 6 x 2 ft panels to stand vertically.

2) The front wall stops echo and can clean up sound that would otherwise get smeared, I think it's worthwhile to do as well. You want to strategically place as much on the front wall as you can to cover reflective surfaces, but behind the speakers where most sound would reflect, and in the center are probably a must.

www.auralex.com has some great information on treating rooms. I ended up buying some of their products. But I've decided to construct my own panels using better absorption materials. There's plenty of good DIY sites out there, if you're interested.

[hermanv]

I find the commercial sound treatment products mostly ugly and overpriced, many alternatives exist.

Treating first reflection points will go a long way for improving sound. Due to the wife acceptance factor consider wall hangings. The kind made from extra thick carpet with a woven or tufted in scene is a good example (try for a design that is not perfectly flat). In My room the open drapes bunch perfectly on one wall at the first reflection point, a wall hanging fills the need at the opposite side..

I have always had good luck with the opposite wall, oppsite surface, idea. i.e one wall hard surface the wall across from it soft, Open beam ceilings? Then carpet the floor. Lots of glass shelves, tables then get some soft furniture. Lot of windows, get drapes or a soft surface for the opposite wall.

An all soft room will sound dead and uninteresting whereas too many hard surfaces will sound hard (glassy, over etched?)

After treating your room your speakers might sound better in a different spot than they where they used to be.

[MOON]

The way to find the 1st refection point on the wall is by sitting in your listening seat, having someone hold a small mirror and move it along the side wall going from the listening position towards your speakers.

When you see your speaker in the mirror, this is the 1st reflection point. If you have electrostatics, 1st refection points are less of a problem.

Cheers

[jtgofish]

Tk,If only more people took this approach to HiFi they would not only save money but also get the best out of their system.Good imaging is so important to really drawing you into the music.You are on the right track with your system too .
There is good advice in the other postings here.
Just one *****y with your system.Have you tried some solid core copper cable[like Kimber].You may find this will give your system a smoother sound that make spurious room effects less obvious.Multi strand,and especially silver can sound coarse and shouty by comparison.

JT

[jmg56]

System:
Primare D20 CDP
Primare I20 Int. Amp.
ProAc Studio 125 Floorstander
Siltech Paris I/C
QED Silver Anniversary bi-wire
Supra Lorad Powercords

Now, my set-up:

Speaker to
- front wall = 50" (1/5 of Length).
- side wall = 40" (1/4 of Width).
- Apart = 2 meters

Listening position
- 9' from plane & 8' from back wall (1/3 of Length)
- with a movable carpet between speakers & listening.

Sounding
Music sound lighter but with good sense of depth.
LF is tuneful. HF is smooth.
I found those cds that i hate to listen in the past are listenable now (especially the Denon HI-FI Strings) which sound a little etch in the past, now sounding lively and musical.

In fact, i found that the classical cds that i owned now sounding much more musical, less bright.

Question
1. Will it be better if I place some absorbing materials at the 2 1st relection points on the left & right side wall? What will I get? How big the area I need to cover?

2. Will it be better if I place some absorbing materials at the centre of front wall? What will I get? How big area I need to cover?

Thanks

Hello,

i own studio 125 speakers and i am focusing on primare I20.
First : what si your experience of this combination ???
Secondly : You add CDP from Primare as well. I am wondering if CDP tube like Consonance would improve voices ???

Thanks a lot from bretagne.