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Your kitchen or your stereo room?

D

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I know a lot of us are utilizing a room that connects to the kitchen as our audio space/room. This arrangement allows possibly for more overall space since the connecting room is typically built as a family room. Question is how much of a penalty is one paying for this arrangement. IMHO the penalty is too high in the SQ. The kitchen will always impact with the room...the smell of cooking, the hard reflective surfaces of the cabinets and the appliances, the noise factor...wife is cooking, husband is cooking...you are trying to listen and so on.
Anyone able to really get around the kitchen/audio room interaction?
 

fas42

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Yes, by getting the SQ as it leaves the drivers of the speaker good enough. Then the recording space, acoustic completely takes over the whole open area, including the kitchen - my other half loves good sound, so has zero issues with this happening ...
 

amirm

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Open floor plans are impossible to characterize as each one is different. In general however, higher volume is one's friend when it comes to bass reproduction. The transition frequency goes lower making bass problems are less severe.

My current 2-channels system is in a loft that opens to the rest of the house. It sounds excellent. Some of the best sounds I have heard them reproduce. Note that I did have to bring the reverberation time lower with a thick shag carpet on the floor and furnishings.

As to smell and such, I like to be included in the rest of the house's activity. I know others like the solitary experience but I get claustrophobic that way for music listening. For movies, I have a dedicated room but I don't enjoy listening to music there.

BTW, good to see you here Davey with these important topics. :)
 

RayDunzl

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Mine is open on the left rear corner to the kitchen and beyond.

If there is some disturbing "noise", it's usually me making it.

The right speaker would be at the most distant point in this house buying picture:

upload_2016-5-22_23-56-37.png


And looking the other way from the right speaker position:

upload_2016-5-22_23-57-41.png
 

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

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Question is how much of a penalty is one paying for this arrangement. IMHO the penalty is too high in the SQ.
What SQ penalty? Compared to the typical shoebox listening room, large, irregular open-floor plan rooms can offer great acoustics with ample diffusion characteristics and minimal reflections.

They also have the potential for great bass performance. In my living room, after equalization bass response sounds smooth and even with consistent intensity at virtually any location you want to sit. Compare that to your typical shoebox room where bass is hot near any boundary, reducing in intensity the closer you move to the center of the room, at which point you have a “bass hole” with substantially reduced level compared to peripheral locations. Basically, the bass is different in every seat in the room. Not my idea of sound quality.

The kitchen will always impact with the room...the smell of cooking, the hard reflective surfaces of the cabinets and the appliances, the noise factor…
I expect in most situations the cabinets and appliances are so far away from the speakers that any reflections they cause (unlikely to begin with, unless they are line-of-site from the speakers) will be thoroughly swamped by the early reflections.

As for as noise and aromas, easy solution: Just wait and do your listening after dinner. You’ll enjoy it better on a full stomach anyway. :)

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
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