Better sound in a closed room?

[Early B.]

My 2-channel audio system is in the living room (12' x 18'). This room has a 4 foot wide entrance from the foyer. I want to install french doors (I think that's what they're called) that slide flush into the walls so I can close off the room whenever I want. The main reason for doing this is to prevent children who come when they're parents are visiting from straying into the "grown folks" room. I don't want them pushing buttons and tinkering with the equipment. Besides, we have the "good furntiture" in that room and we'd like to keep it that way.

Anyway, before I pursue it, I was wondering what kind of benefit, if any, I could derive by playing music in an enclosed environment. Does anybody have any experience with this?

Thanks.

[VR3]

Today...

Go out to your car...

And turn up the stereo REALLY loud.

Make sure you have all doors shut, windows up...

Ok, now roll down the windows.

In a car, the high end (atleast the ones I've sat in) will clean up considerly with the windows down. It also seems like you can 'turn it up louder' with the windows down.

Just something to think about ;)

Either way, this is a retractable wall, so to speak. Even if it sounds worse, you can always move it out of the way when you dont have company...

[MacLeod]

That is simply because glass is a horribly harsh reflective surface. High frequencies bouce off em and come back sounding like ****! So when you rol the windows down there is a lot less for the highs to bouce off of. This is why you NEVER install tweeters in the dash firing up.

[VR3]

Yes, that makes sense...

But just opening the moon roof seemed to help flatten out the highs inside the truck...

[MacLeod]

Same thing. The inside of cars SUCK for audio. Thats why most high end competitors tear out the interior and rebuild it with fiberglass and make it very minimal. Even opening the sunroof removes a harsh reflective surface so it just bounces right out rather than back into the car.