Square room horror

[Yameyo]

Hi all

Thought I might as well post this here in case anyone finds it interesting or useful. I'm trapped in a room with the dimensions (metres) of 4x4x2.1, and with a basic 2.1 setup. I'm waiting for my new AVR to arrive, but after a lot of experimentation with REW room simulator this is the best I could do with placement (see pic). At present the cut off of the subwoofer is set to 80hz, and I have to have the volume of the subwoofer set to the absolute minimum otherwise the bass becomes physically uncomfortable (room modes, I assume). When the AVR arrives and I can perform some in-AVR room correction and set crossovers for all speakers properly, I'll update with the actual in-room before and after measurements. Spousal acceptance factor likely to be low (see pic). What I did find interesting was that it was very clear in REW that placement of the sub dead centre between the speakers produced the best response. The sub is pulled out 1.2m from the front wall (measured from the driver not rear of the box).

REW simulation

Picture of placement

 

[TSX]

Have you got any room treatment in your room?

 

[abdo123]

In Square rooms you want to get the subwoofer as close to the center as you can.

 

[Yameyo]

Hi guys

No room treatment as yet. Trying to avoid the temptation to buy cheap acoustic foam. Have been looking at GIK Turbo Traps as a possibility.

 

[TSX]

In all rooms within “normal” size (6x6x3m), you will haven’t horribly sound with no treatment. Look at Acoustic Insider on the Tube and forget about GIK and foam. The ceiling is way underrated, and has a dramatic effect on the sound. Way mores than most other things. Good sound doesn’t need necessarily to be rocket science. What are your options regarding room treatment? Do you have some images of the room?

 

[ZolaIII]

Try with one more sub (to fill the gap) and bass traps on wall behind and corners to lower 43 Hz peak you have. No foam, wool and thick one. Move main's of the wall a bit and a bit closer together to give left one more space to breathe. I don't know where is the port on those Focal's, recognised Sub and that it's front ported.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

My second system is in a square room of barely larger dimensions than your room and I have enjoyed it for years. However, the room has a fair amount of acoustical treatment, the system always employs DSP-based roomEQ, there are multiple subs and it is a multichannel system (either 5.1 or 5.1.4). All of those contribute to the taming of the acoustics.

 

[krabapple]

Room EQ DSP might bring down a lot of those peaks.

You're also likely getting some SBIR having the main speakers up against the wall. Are they designed for that?

 

[Yameyo]

Hi guys

Thanks for all the input - it's very much appreciated.

1. Sorry, will post pictures of the room when I can. Don't have any to hand. There's a stone fireplace to the left of the room and a sort of stone alcove/shelf extending into the room near to the left speaker in the picture.

2. A second sub is a possibility once my new AVR arrives, as it supports dual subs. AVR is a Yamaha RX-V6A. I know YPAO is not always very highly thought of, but I also have a UMIK-1 and I believe the AVR allows for tinkering with the PEQ manually to some extent.

3. The speakers are Focal Aria 906, front-ported. I ended up with the placement so close to the wall based partially on the results of REW sim, but also the suggestions (link below) which you may have already seen around the web. I'm not averse to trying them in a different position, though! The sub is a wallet-friendly Polk PSW10.

The #1 Speaker Placement Tip That Speaker Manuals Get Completely Wrong — SonicScoop

Speaker placement tip #1: it’s not enough to simply set up your speakers in an equilateral triangle and be done with it.

sonicscoop.com

 

[kiwifi]

If you block the port on the mains (with a pair of socks) it will be much easier to integrate the sub. Measure the low frequency (-3dB) point of the mains (close mic) and then set the LPF on the sub to match. Play some bass heavy music and increase the volume of the sub until you can just hear it having an effect.

 

[Descartes]

In Square rooms you want to get the subwoofer as close to the center as you can.

Who told you that? Any scientific publications to back that up!

 

[ZolaIII]

Who told you that? Any scientific publications to back that up!

It will give a +6 dB bust but of course you don't want to do that but put bass traps in front corners and wall.

 

[Descartes]

It will give a +6 dB bust but of course you don't want to do that but put bass traps in front corners and wall.

Publication and data please

 

[ZolaIII]

Publication and data please

I will give you a hint. Who is most beloved publicist and conglomerate hire?

Why the fuss with subwoofer specs and brands?

I've been doing a lot of learning since discovering ASR recently. When it comes to subwoofers, I find a lot less data (at ASR and in general), and more of brand-loyalty or brand-shaming than for other areas at ASR. Even in the subwoofer comparison thread by sweetchaos, the frequency response...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Knok your self out.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Publication and data please

It’s called room gain. Google it.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Who told you that? Any scientific publications to back that up!

Start with Floyd Tool, Sound Reproduction (Chapter 8) and then the Geddes research. Come back when you are done or have questions.

 

[ZolaIII]

Start with Floyd Tool, Sound Reproduction (Chapter 8) and then the Geddes research. Come back when you are done or have questions.

Take a look at any of their "reference room's" than print that book and burn it and when you are done do what ever you want.

 

[LTig]

Hi all

Thought I might as well post this here in case anyone finds it interesting or useful. I'm trapped in a room with the dimensions (metres) of 4x4x2.1, and with a basic 2.1 setup. I'm waiting for my new AVR to arrive, but after a lot of experimentation with REW room simulator this is the best I could do with placement (see pic). At present the cut off of the subwoofer is set to 80hz, and I have to have the volume of the subwoofer set to the absolute minimum otherwise the bass becomes physically uncomfortable (room modes, I assume). When the AVR arrives and I can perform some in-AVR room correction and set crossovers for all speakers properly, I'll update with the actual in-room before and after measurements. Spousal acceptance factor likely to be low (see pic). What I did find interesting was that it was very clear in REW that placement of the sub dead centre between the speakers produced the best response. The sub is pulled out 1.2m from the front wall (measured from the driver not rear of the box).

Try the other way, as Genelec recommends in their sub manuals: move the sub close to the wall and pull the sats at least 1.2 m away from the wall.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Take a look at any of their "reference room's" than print that buck and burn it and when you are done do what ever you want.

Very constructive.

 

[krabapple]

Alternately, put two subs (fed the same content) on front wall at 1/4" width positions, and sit ~2/3-3/4 of the room length from the front wall, centered between the left and right walls. The front wall sub placement attenuates or eliminates the worst width modes (as Floyd Toole noted generally, not specifically for a square room) , while your seat position puts you between the worst length nulls and peaks. Theoretically at least. Real world in-room performance can differ.

Take a look at any of their "reference room's" than print that buck and burn it and when you are done do what ever you want.

Like many online contrarians, you seem angry. Perhaps type more slowly?