Speakers positioning in asymmetric room

[krazygyal]

Hi everyone,

I want to design a studio to record/produce music and also mix, and master eventually. I am planning to build some acoustic panels to improve the room acoustic.

I mainly produce electronic Reggae/Dancehall and Hip Hop music, but I have some instruments like a melodica, and maybe some small percussions that I'd like to record. I also have an electric bass guitar but I rarely use it for making music.
I also record vocals, mainly for interviews, and occasionally for songs.

Now, I'm just wondering where is the best spot to place my speakers. My biggest challenge is that the room is somehow asymmetric.
I've put diagrams below and also designed it in 3D here:

SketchUp

Draw, orbit, push-pull: make anything you can imagine in SketchUp, anytime you imagine it.

app.sketchup.com

On the first diagram, I put the speakers on the desk, but I think I'm gonna get speakers stand because they must be placed 1 meter away from me. Also, there are 2 desks but I haven't got the second desk yet and I may keep only one desk for now.

I probably should get a u-mik MiniDSP calibration mic to make this right.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[Redacted]

What are you going to play and record? - I mean, electronic instruments (pure DI), or mic'd instruments/vocals (eg guitar/dums)? If it's the latter, you'll need quite good sound absorption in the room, as you may not want the room to feature in what the mic's record.

As for electronic room compensation for listening on your monitors, then I'd say not so much, as you may not want to create an "ideal room" that is a long way from what your target audience will be listening in....

Nevertheless, you'll get 180 degree opposite viewpoints on here, so I'd say try some recordings and playback and see how it goes before getting into buying more kit.....

In fact, why not post some recorded snippets on ASR? Half of the members have golden ears and will tell you what you need to buy!

 

[ryanosaur]

Your room is more symmetrical than not. That little nook to the far right of your diagram should play a very inconsequential role in your overall acoustics.

From the diagram, I’m guessing it’s an upstairs room with a gable roof? Frankly, I would think you’d be served better by rotating your desk 90° counterclockwise so that you aren’t under the slope of your ceiling. This would allow you to wall mount your speakers above the plane of your desktop and aim them toward you and hopefully minimizing any diffraction.

 

[Redacted]

Your room is more symmetrical than not. That little nook to the far right of your diagram should play a very inconsequential role in your overall acoustics.

From the diagram, I’m guessing it’s an upstairs room with a gable roof? Frankly, I would think you’d be served better by rotating your desk 90° counterclockwise so that you aren’t under the slope of your ceiling. This would allow you to wall mount your speakers above the plane of your desktop and aim them toward you and hopefully minimizing any diffraction.

But beware of rear ports if wall mounting speakers....

 

[krazygyal]

Your room is more symmetrical than not. That little nook to the far right of your diagram should play a very inconsequential role in your overall acoustics.

From the diagram, I’m guessing it’s an upstairs room with a gable roof? Frankly, I would think you’d be served better by rotating your desk 90° counterclockwise so that you aren’t under the slope of your ceiling. This would allow you to wall mount your speakers above the plane of your desktop and aim them toward you and hopefully minimizing any diffraction.

Yes, it is under a roof but I read in the Kali's guide that it is best to place my desk in front of the shortest wall. They also mention a 38% rule, I'm not going to apply it because it'd take too much space.

So far I was planning to put the speakers on stands. Wouldn't it work if I mount them on the sloped wall?

What are you going to play and record? - I mean, electronic instruments (pure DI), or mic'd instruments/vocals (eg guitar/dums)? If it's the latter, you'll need quite good sound absorption in the room, as you may not want the room to feature in what the mic's record.

As for electronic room compensation for listening on your monitors, then I'd say not so much, as you may not want to create an "ideal room" that is a long way from what your target audience will be listening in....

Nevertheless, you'll get 180 degree opposite viewpoints on here, so I'd say try some recordings and playback and see how it goes before getting into buying more kit.....

In fact, why not post some recorded snippets on ASR? Half of the members have golden ears and will tell you what you need to buy!

I mainly produce electronic Reggae/Dancehall and Hip Hop music, but I have some instruments like a melodica, and maybe some small percussions that I'd like to record. I also have an electric bass guitar but I rarely use it for making music.
I also record vocals, mainly for interviews, and occasionally for songs.
I'll post some samples later. I haven't unpacked my new monitors yet...

 

[krazygyal]

But beware of rear ports if wall mounting speakers....

For now, I plan to use stands because I'm not 100% sure where I'm gonna put my stuff.

 

[krazygyal]

Your room is more symmetrical than not. That little nook to the far right of your diagram should play a very inconsequential role in your overall acoustics.

From the diagram, I’m guessing it’s an upstairs room with a gable roof? Frankly, I would think you’d be served better by rotating your desk 90° counterclockwise so that you aren’t under the slope of your ceiling. This would allow you to wall mount your speakers above the plane of your desktop and aim them toward you and hopefully minimizing any diffraction.

Yes, the room is under a roof.
If I turn the desk the other way around, I would have the door behind my back. I'm not sure it's a good thing.

 

[krazygyal]

I put the mic in the middle of the room and recorded a few words and claps : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1W-5lHqeMDUt_FN_kowfV6f-Pp65KlFKJ?usp=share_link
The room isn't acoustically treated at all. There's a few boxes, a desktop in a corner and a convertible bed in the opposite corner.

 

[ryanosaur]

Yes, the room is under a roof.
If I turn the desk the other way around, I would have the door behind my back. I'm not sure it's a good thing.

From a Feng Shui perspective, certainly not. you can hang a mirror, though. As it stands, that door would still be behind you according to your drawing and proposed desk placement.

It is your spot, though, so absolutely do what feels best to you. More than anything, I would just encourage you to keep an open mind as you lay out your room so as to take advantage of best placement for both acoustics and workflow.

From a design perspective, I would argue that most of the space under the slopes is unusable from a practical sense, unless you are only 4’ tall. If you consider the amount of room volume under those “wings,” it can be argued to be fairly inconsequential and the very nature of those slopes will eat up additional space in your setup. If you try to have 1-2 feet between speakers on stands and the slop while sitting 1m away, and managing desktop diffraction, you might lose more space than you want to.

 

[ryanosaur]

But beware of rear ports if wall mounting speakers....

Yes, but you only need 2x port diameter to be absolutely safe. Many Monitors have front ports and eq options to help tailor response based on placement constraints.

To me, this will be a lesser problem than getting the room setup for best acoustics overall and good workflow.

All needs to be considered, tradeoffs weighed.

 

[krazygyal]

From a Feng Shui perspective, certainly not. you can hang a mirror, though. As it stands, that door would still be behind you according to your drawing and proposed desk placement.

It is your spot, though, so absolutely do what feels best to you. More than anything, I would just encourage you to keep an open mind as you lay out your room so as to take advantage of best placement for both acoustics and workflow.

From a design perspective, I would argue that most of the space under the slopes is unusable from a practical sense, unless you are only 4’ tall. If you consider the amount of room volume under those “wings,” it can be argued to be fairly inconsequential and the very nature of those slopes will eat up additional space in your setup. If you try to have 1-2 feet between speakers on stands and the slop while sitting 1m away, and managing desktop diffraction, you might lose more space than you want to.

Well, on Kali's guide, they recommend "a minimum of 60cm (about 2 feet) from the back of the speakers to the back wall." I thought that could be under one of the slope.
The mounting kit also costs 3 to 4 times more than a pair of monitors stands.

Yes, but you only need 2x port diameter to be absolutely safe. Many Monitors have front ports and eq options to help tailor response based on placement constraints.

To me, this will be a lesser problem than getting the room setup for best acoustics overall and good workflow.

All needs to be considered, tradeoffs weighed.

All the ports and EQ are on the back panel.

 

[ryanosaur]

I own some Kali Monitors.

One of the dipswitch settings accommodates placement close to a wall. Even the ones with a rear port.

Cheers!