How to best reduce echo in smallish home office

[Pariah Zero]

My office setup has a floor plan somewhat like the following:

The screen is the entire width of the desktop, and it's in an alcove of sorts, with 1m long walls on each side.

The issue I have (or at least, the one I'm interested in mitigating) is that while the center channel sounds more or less clean, the left and right channels seem to have an "echo," and it seems to be at about human vocal frequencies. I imagine it's simply the sound reflecting off the adjacent walls, and is at least partly due to the fact there's no toe-in (or even room to do it right now).

If I want to reduce that echo, I imagine some sort of stand where I can toe in the speakers would help. Maybe there's a benefit of using acoustical panels on the left and right walls? I'm not sure what to prioritize (if anything).

For what it's worth: the back wall is flat, and about 10 feet from the front wall; the right wall has a door, but when it's closed it continues to the back wall. (I could update the layout picture, but I'm not sure it'd help)

So... where would I start? I have REW and a calibrated UMIK-1, so I can certainly make measurements. I don't know how to use them to identify the problems, but I can make them.

Thanks

 

[digitalfrost]

Generally speaking, putting absorbers at the first side wall reflection should help. Depending on the room and distance to the back wall, either put dispersion or absorption there. You can DIY stuff, for example using Basotect, or buy panels from GIK Acoustics or other companies. Their Tri-Traps fit into corners.

 

[respice finem]

But, how much space will be left? If it was my "office", I would opt for headphones (seriously).

 

[gwing]

Your floor plan shows the office as 1m deep so I'm assuming this is just the alcove.

Putting the L/R speakers in the absolute corners of a tiny alcove doesn't seem a recipe for clean audio. Perhaps mount them outside the alcove?

 

[Ropeburn]

A cheap method is fluffy carpets on the front and back walls. Reduces direct and second reflections quite some. Advantage: choose colour and design to taste, looks nice.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

I would look for stands that clamp on the desk, move the speakers slightly in to form an approximately 4' listening triangle, and have the speakers in a corner placement. so the backs of them pointed at the corners, the fronts at you (shoulders likely, but it depends on speaker and preference).

To start. Treatment after placement if needed.

You might just try putting the speakers on the desk and toeing them in... just to see if the potential sidewall issue is changed. Might as well try that before investing in some stands.

 

[DanielT]

Some tips:

Wood acoustic diffusers have become a decorative item - loved the idea!

Hi As an acoustician I am tired to tell people not to think room treatment only as absorption. In most small rooms absorption often creates more issues than it solves. Diffusion is a better solution. However, all I hear: they are expensive, ugly and difficult to place in a room. I am hence...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Mattress, and or thick carpet at least 5 cm. Put it where you want. If you think it doesn't look nice, cover it with suitable fabric, with a motif you like.
(prices in SEK)


Put carpet in the room. I don't know what it's called in English, a carpet that covers the entire floor:

 

[Bjorn]

If you treat specular reflections, it will handle both the negative reflected energy and flutter echo.

Avoid thin absorption.

 

[Bloomer]

It appears you're sitting in a horn. If possible, keep the speakers away from the alcove inside and outside corners and play with spacing and toe in. They may end up much closer together than you'd want. You can mount a folded blanket, carpet scrap, anything absorbent, about a meter square on a T frame and move it around to experiment with where echos occur, then apply acoustic material that looks good. That's a small room, all of it could be an issue.

I'd move to headphones, treating the room could be more of a hassle than the results are worth.

 

[DVDdoug]

You can mount a folded blanket, carpet scrap, anything absorbent, about a meter square on a T frame and move it around to experiment with

That's what I was going to say - I'd try some temporary rugs/carpet/blankets/thick towels, etc., as an experiment. If that helps you can "upgrade" so acoustic panels or something more visually attractive.

And if there is no rug/carpet on the floor, adding a rug may help.

 

[Palmer]

Found this at my Home Depot. Stunning, actually - right next to the plumbing isle. Next they going to have Lyra cartridges and Oracle Delphi tables - in the tool section...
Price seems pretty good, four panels in a package for 50.- and well made. I'd buy it, if I needed it...

Cheers

 

[Bloomer]

Found this at my Home Depot. Stunning, actually - right next to the plumbing isle. Next they going to have Lyra cartridges and Oracle Delphi tables - in the tool section...
Price seems pretty good, four panels in a package for 50.- and well made. I'd buy it, if I needed it...

Cheers

View attachment 494856

Strangely enough, HD has a few acoustic products. They stock rock wool sheets where I live. Who'da thunk!

 

[Palmer]

Strangely enough, HD has a few acoustic products. They stock rock wool sheets where I live. Who'da thunk!

Lucky you, not in my neck of the woods - but I've been through soooo much of that stuff, I think I'm done.

 

[Bloomer]

Lucky you, not in my neck of the woods - but I've been through soooo much of that stuff, I think I'm done.

I hear ya. I built one huge fabric covered rock wool panel and the cost was about the same as a decent set from GIK.

 

[Ropeburn]

Found this at my Home Depot. Stunning, actually - right next to the plumbing isle. Next they going to have Lyra cartridges and Oracle Delphi tables - in the tool section...
Price seems pretty good, four panels in a package for 50.- and well made. I'd buy it, if I needed it...

Cheers

View attachment 494856

50$ for a good m² sounds pretty good indeed, if it sounds good, that is...

 

[DanielT]

Found this at my Home Depot. Stunning, actually - right next to the plumbing isle. Next they going to have Lyra cartridges and Oracle Delphi tables - in the tool section...
Price seems pretty good, four panels in a package for 50.- and well made. I'd buy it, if I needed it...

Cheers

View attachment 494856

Are they acoustic panels made by Fibrotech?

Fibrotech - Produkter

Vi erbjuder akustiska lösningar i vacker design och bra kvalitet. Med akustikpaneler från Fibrotech säkerställer du den bästa akustiken för ditt hem.

fibrotech.se

They have become popular in Sweden anyway. They are installed by people in homes who are not that interested in good sound. They are installed just as much or maybe more in those cases because they are considered a nice interior detail.

 

[Palmer]

Are they acoustic panels made by Fibrotech?
View attachment 494860

Fibrotech - Produkter

Vi erbjuder akustiska lösningar i vacker design och bra kvalitet. Med akustikpaneler från Fibrotech säkerställer du den bästa akustiken för ditt hem.

fibrotech.se

They have become popular in Sweden anyway. They are installed by people in homes who are not that interested in good sound. They are installed just as much or maybe more in those cases because they are considered a nice interior detail.

I don't think so, unless they were re-branded for the purpose of mark down, without damaging the brand. In terms of potential harmful chemicals used - in the foam particularly - I would go with the Danish product. One never knows... Appreciate the link, bookmarked.

 

[JayGilb]

You could disconnect the center speaker.

 

[Pariah Zero]

You might just try putting the speakers on the desk and toeing them in... just to see if the potential sidewall issue is changed. Might as well try that before investing in some stands.

Not possible: Doing so will block the (large) monitor. The room is indeed not ideal for sound; I'm trying to make lemonade with the lemons I've got.

Putting the L/R speakers in the absolute corners of a tiny alcove doesn't seem a recipe for clean audio. Perhaps mount them outside the alcove?

Strictly outside won't work - it'd be in a doorway on one side, and another area I'd need to be able to walk through regularly on the other. I can put them at the end of the alcove (where the other end of the table is), and doing that is absolutely worth trying.

Mattress, and or thick carpet at least 5 cm. Put it where you want. If you think it doesn't look nice, cover it with suitable fabric, with a motif you like.

Put carpet in the room. I don't know what it's called in English, a carpet that covers the entire floor:

Carpet that's 5 cm thick?!? My brain is exploding thinking about what that'd feel like to walk on. Probably broken ankles...

At least a few decades ago, "a carpet that covers the entire floor" was referred to as "wall to wall carpet." I actually haven't heard "wall to wall carpet" as a phrase for, well, decades, so your phrase works perfectly. It is, however, a perfect chance to repost this comic:

I hear ya. I built one huge fabric covered rock wool panel and the cost was about the same as a decent set from GIK.

And that's considering you now have another 8-10 batts of ROCKWOOL (← Autocorrect did that bit of branding?!?) to make even more panels.

It appears you're sitting in a horn. If possible, keep the speakers away from the alcove inside and outside corners and play with spacing and toe in. They may end up much closer together than you'd want. You can mount a folded blanket, carpet scrap, anything absorbent, about a meter square on a T frame and move it around to experiment with where echos occur, then apply acoustic material that looks good. That's a small room, all of it could be an issue.

I'd move to headphones, treating the room could be more of a hassle than the results are worth.

The room (as a whole) is roughly 10 feet / 3m on a side. Other practicalities for the layout are why the desk & monitor are in the alcove, instead of, well, anywhere else.

To me, headphones are kind of a huge hassle as well. For one, I wear headphones 8 hours a day for half of my workdays, and by the time my workday is done, I can't wait to be rid of them.

Being able to use speakers and take the #%@& headphones off has been the best part of the home office. My most comfortable open-back headphones (Sennheiser HD-6XX's), while a world better than anything else I have, they're still fairly stuffy, hot, and uncomfortable to me. I also have issues with IEM's and other headphone form factors.

Another factor is I was born with tinnitus (I've never known a day without hearing it), and most headphones use either passive isolation or active noise cancelling... which makes my tinnitus worse.

So yeah... headphones are on paper a good idea, but far less so in my particular case.

That's what I was going to say - I'd try some temporary rugs/carpet/blankets/thick towels, etc., as an experiment. If that helps you can "upgrade" so acoustic panels or something more visually attractive.

And if there is no rug/carpet on the floor, adding a rug may help.

There is carpet covering the entire floor, but that's a good idea: I am definitely going to try putting up pillows, plush animals, piles of just-cleaned laundry, etc. to try out how that works. I realize they don't have the mass of some acoustic panels, but it'd definitely give a hint as to what may or may not work.

You could disconnect the center speaker.

I mean, yeah, there may be reflections, but as I said originally, perhaps not with enough emphasis: I can play exclusively through the center, and it sounds fine. Then I can disconnect the center and use the stereo L/R speakers, and that's when I hear the echoing. I'm not sure what disconnecting the center speaker would help as I've already tested that option. I'm game to learn, of course, but I just don't see it with what I've tested & observed.

 

[DanielT]

Carpet that's 5 cm thick?!? My brain is exploding thinking about what that'd feel like to walk on. Probably broken ankles...

I was a little unclear. Side absorbers, or absorbers anywhere other than on the floor. A 5 cm thick carpet is, as you point out, quite thick.

Regarding thick carpet. Here is my limit for what I accept and what I appreciate. Not in terms of sound but walking on it, style and so on:

When I see thick rugs covering the entire floor, I see 1970s fashion in front of me. Even in these rooms: