Revisiting this thread, I'm very impressed with how you've mapped out a design to get the most out of a small, historically-dimensioned room with a fireplace. We just moved to Baltimore from Texas, and the proliferation of fireplaces in the 1880-1920s era homes has been a bit of a shock as we check out houses and I consider listening room options. This is inspiring to see how you pulled it off with some dedicated focus.
And kudos to your partner for embracing it.
How far are the speakers from the listening position, and what are the sound qualities that led to that choice? It doesn't quite look like the classic isosceles triangle from the photos, but it obviously works well for you.
PS - I mention the fireplaces because in so many rooms their placement totally complicates the audio placement options.
Thanks for the comment Open Mind Audio!
As mentioned in an earlier post, before putting the projection screen in there, my listenig position was the reverse - sofa against screen wall facing the bay windows. I have tended to prefer a more immersive sonic experience so between 7 to 8 feet was a typical listening distance for me (sometimes 6 1/2).
When I did the room reno the fact the Right speaker would now be placed somewhere in the walkway in to the room meant I had some restrictions. But thankfully where the speakers "have" to end up, to clear the entrance-way for traffic, is pretty much precisely where I would have placed them anyway.
Well out from the back wall behind them, which I like to smooth out the bass response and about 7 to 8 feet from my listening seat. I play with both the distance between the speakers and with my listening distance. Given the room has acoustic treatment and that big room opening, it seems to handle bass quite well, generally speaking. The portion of the sofa I sit on has big furniture sliders, making it easy to simply slide the seating position back or forwards to get the orientation I want with the speakers.
I often play with room acoustics to get what I want - which includes altering speaker positioning, listen position, and position of curtains along reflection points.
One recent "acoustics hack" I've discovered has been really gratifying. I like to be immersed in the sound, so I tend to move closer to the speakers. But the trade off I usually find is that the sound can get a bit more headphone like, less tactile and punchy and lively. So further back, drums, guitars, sax whatever have more live tonality and focus and punch, closer everything bigger, smoother, but a bit less "there." I've recently tried adding a curved diffusor which I place on top of the large home theater center channel which sits between and behind my two channel tower speakers. What this does is liven up and focus the sound which is really great for closer listening distances - for instance a drum kit snare and kick drum pops out of the mix with more texture and solidity and "thereness," as does every other element in a mix. Therefore, I can even move closer than 7 feet, get a really immersive sound, and one that is dominated by the acoustics of the recording and yet it's more like moving closer to live instruments rather than the sound becoming too soft and headphone-like. Overall this is the most amazing sound I've achieved in my system, I think.
Also, as I think I mentioned earlier, though the Right speaker ends up inches away from the end of the sofa, it does not perceptibly affect the sound - bass/mids/highs sound similar and even from both speakers.
I recently received my
Joseph Audio Perspective speakers back from being upgraded to the new version, so they have replaced the Thiels shown in my previous pictures. Currently they are 7.8 feet apart and I sit around 7.2 feet away. Here they are:
This shot gives an idea of the distance from the projection screen area (again, my L/C/R home theater speakers are covered in black velvet, their stands as well, so they tend to disappear visually in to the screen 'stage' area):
This is a shot of my AV racks in another room down the hall - both 2 channel and home theater sources/amplification contained here: