Room Acoustics Suggestions

[bobman1235]

OK. I probably have the worst room possible for home theater, but it's all I have, so I'm hoping I can get some tips to work with it.

I have a basement "apartment" (cut me some slack, just got outta college :D ). Reasons it's bad acoustically :

1. The room I have my stereo set up in is actually a combo living / dining room with no separation between them, so the left side is wide open.
2. The walls are wood panelling.
3. The floor is tile (I have an area rug in the living room half, where the a/v setup is).
4. Pretty low ceilings (7.5 ft or so).

I've included a pic of the setup below, with the speakers shaded black, and a blue dot where the main "listening position" is. The little circle in the middle of the pic is a lolly column, which kind of precludes moving furniture around.

Anyways, I just finally got a real receiver (HK 525) and expected to be wowed... DVDs sound really good, I'm amazed how much more the rears come out after being calibrated, but music sounds.... glaring and harsh, and anything even moderately loud is very ... fatiguing to my ears, if that makes sense.

So, I guess my questions would be regarding placement (though I don't have much room to work with there) or possibly wall treatment... I have some spare carpet laying around, if I maybe lined the wall behind the speakers does anyone think that would make any kind of difference?

I know a lot of folks around here aren't huge fans of the RTi70's that I have, so I'm hoping the answer isn't "that's just how they sound kid, upgrade or deal with it." Oh, and speakers are connected with 14 guage Home Depot speaker wire. I'm using a Pioneer 578a for DVD and CD listening.

Thanks for any help!

[steveinaz]

Try these:

- Bass/Treble is set to flat
- Less toe-in on the Rti70's

[bobman1235]

Originally posted by steveinaz
Try these:

- Bass/Treble is set to flat
- Less toe-in on the Rti70's

Yeah, the 70's aren't really toed in that much, I just got sick of using paint and got sloppy :)

I do have to play with angling tonight though, I was exhausted after re-wiring everything after work yesterday.

[PolkThug]

Hmmm.... I thought the RTi70'a were the opposite of harsh. Tell us more about your tone controls and are the speakers set to small or large on the receiver, etc.

Also, could you add where the rug is at, on your diagram?

Regards,
PolkThug

[bobman1235]

Originally posted by PolkThug
Hmmm.... I thought the RTi70'a were the opposite of harsh. Tell us more about your tone controls and are the speakers set to small or large on the receiver, etc.

Also, could you add where the rug is at, on your diagram?

Regards,
PolkThug

Tone controls were flat, although I did toy around with them a bit with no noticeable effect. I had them set to large... I'll try small although I hate to offload too much sound to the sub-par subwoofer I have.

The rug basically fills the entire right half of that room... I added a yellow square to show where.

[Zero]

I have personally come to find that the whole RTi series is incredibly forward and to these ears, quite fatiguing. Unless you feel the need to install a resistor in line to the tweeter, we will have to investigate other means of correcting this speakers naturally very forward presentation.

First let us talk about your room. Tile flooring is a nightmare for reflections. Since your room has a large opening, you most likely suffer from a lot of reverb constantly being tossed around, and un-evenly so. The combination of that situation gives you a “bouncy ball” effect. This problem can be helped (not cured) by installing corner loaded acoustic treatment. Please visit http://www.eighthnerve.com/response.html for affordable options. The folks at eighth-nerve are very helpful and can further diagnose where to place their products in your listening area.

Your wood paneling walls can adversely effect frequencies above 5khz, which could definitely contribute to the fatigue you are experiencing. Putting carpet up may reduce some of the reverb from 10khz on up, which may be just enough for you. Experimentation is always recommended, although I rarely hear of carpet being a decent solution, unless incredibly thick (shag, Korean, etc).

Room treatment is one of the best things you can do for your system. It is also the most over-looked and ignored part of this hobby. I have little experience working with this stuff, so I will differ you to a link of someone who does know. This is an older thread on another forum explaining the basics in room reflections and possible treatment methods. Please visit:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=28194&forumID=37&catID=1&search=1&searchstring=

For quick links to manufacturers of acoustic-panels, please visit:

http://www.audiotecusa.com/
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/421150/
http://www.realtraps.com/

With the RTI and even the LSi series, I have come to find that both speakers enjoy being spaced far apart from one another. It looks to me like you have them just a hair too close. Move your main speakers out a bit, and toe them *out* just a bit. You should retain the center stage while getting greater dispersion and an over-all “fuller” sound.

The Harman Kardon is a notoriously smooth piece (and a good choice) of equipment. You should experience very little grain or “harshness” from their current crop of products.

That is about all that pops to my mind for the moment. Good luck.

[bobman1235]

Originally posted by Zero
That is about all that pops to my mind for the moment. Good luck.

Pops into your mind eh? :eek: That's fantastic. I appreciate the help! I'll see what I can do on the cheap for now, including repositioning and the like, and certainly look into some room treatment options you suggested. Christmas time is coming :)

Thanks again!

[PolkThug]

How big is your TV? I think I've kept my Rti's around 6 feet apart.

[bobman1235]

Originally posted by PolkThug
How big is your TV? I think I've kept my Rti's around 6 feet apart.

It's a 32" inch TV, the stand is probably 3 feet wide. Not too much room to play with there, but I'll try widening it up a bit.

[bikezappa]

If the stairs are open to the room, I would try reversing the room sonically. Put the sofa next to the stairs and the tv and the main speakers along the wall. You can do this test by just moving the main speakers and listening to music.

This is a no cost option, just requires moving stuff around.

Have a blast!

These modifications will never END!