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Curtains behind speakers help sound better?


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Hello all,

 

I'm moving in 2 weeks in a new house and i will have the possibility the have a rack

of tick cotton curtains behind my music setup in a big open basement room.

 

Picture one if from my current place setup, pict two is a montage of what it could be with the actual curtains...

then the third pict is my new place with the pict 2 collage in it. The curtains could also be place on the left wall

that you don't see in the 3rd picture, from the back of the left speaker to the sofa.

 

Will this brings more ambiance to my sound ? give more bass ?

or it will absorb all the sound ? Back of sound system or left wall ?

 

Thank you for reading.

 

montage.jpg

If You Got Ears, You Gotta ListenCaptain Beefheart

 

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will not really affect bass, but will act to some extent as a diffuser and absorber (i.e. high freq.s) so I'd expect some improvement 

 

you could also hide some tmts. behind the curtains

 

I'd try to keep both sides equal

 

try various setups and pick one you like -- or pick one REW likes...

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Ouch! this books is for serious people... way much to complicated for my little brain... :)

If You Got Ears, You Gotta ListenCaptain Beefheart

 

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just browse it and look at the figures fig. 11.21 & 2.3 and one other one which I forget

 

you basically need to figure out where the bass region (big waves that interface with the volume set by the walls) ends

 

and where the high freq. region begins - it is about rays (short waves that act like a ray) that bounce off the walls

 

if I knew an easy web site to send you to I would...

 

also, stick some more art on the side wall incl. right by the couch

 

the art can be sound tmt panels, specially covered with an art print - make or buy

 

you can also ask for advice from GIK, which makes room tmts.

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I'm not there yet, so the room is empty now. Thank you, appreciated help.

If You Got Ears, You Gotta ListenCaptain Beefheart

 

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I have done that.  There is a wall-width of window behind my speakers and, in earlier days, I had heavy acoustical theatrical drapes.  When we remodeled, we installed normal domestic lined fabric drapes and immediately noticed a bit of brightness.  I installed two 2'x4' Corning 703 6" thick panels behind the drapes.  They are placed towards the sides so that we can still open the center for the view.

IMG_0642A.JPG

Kal Rubinson

Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile

 

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Hi-

IME, you will much improve sound if you put bass traps in the corners behind the speakers (and you could also make the curtains full wall length if you don't want them to show). 

 

Question: the third pic makes it look like you will have the listening couch along side the wall on the right. I'd definitely place the couch in front of the wall (a bit closer to the speakers). Apologies if I misunderstood.

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3 hours ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

 

Thank you, will read.

If You Got Ears, You Gotta ListenCaptain Beefheart

 

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4 hours ago, firedog said:

Hi-

IME, you will much improve sound if you put bass traps in the corners behind the speakers (and you could also make the curtains full wall length if you don't want them to show). 

 

Question: the third pic makes it look like you will have the listening couch along side the wall on the right. I'd definitely place the couch in front of the wall (a bit closer to the speakers). Apologies if I misunderstood.

 

Yes the setup will be mostly like in pict 2 with the single place chair making a corner with the big sofa... except that there will be no table between the two, but a corner of wall. I sit in the middle of the sofa for perfect center and i will be at 13 feet from the back of the speakers to listen.

If You Got Ears, You Gotta ListenCaptain Beefheart

 

MacMini 2018, 4xi3 3.6GHz, SSD, 20Gb, macOS Sonoma > Audirvana Origin >

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Just a note about curtains.

 

They absorb high frequency sound. Depending on the material and thickness lets say starting above 300Hz . If you smother any wall in curtains you will start to get a less 'lively' more dead sound.

 

Curtains will do nothing to reduce bass resonances (the booming sounds that blurs the articulation and definition of bass and hangs around aka rings, smearing everything else, burying detail)

 

Curtains can be used effectively if they coincide with *first reflection* points. You want to 'kill' ie absorb first reflections. At above about 300Hz sound becomes more directional and like billiard balls will bounce off hard surfaces back to your listening position greatly interfering with sound quality.The big glass screen you have between the speakers, a great reflector, is therefore probably not a great idea.

 

Some folks place diffusers behind the speakers to scatter or break up the sound. Some would argue it is better to absorb the first reflection.

 

David

Sound Minds Mind Sound

 

 

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1 hour ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

If you smother any wall in curtains you will start to get a less 'lively' more dead sound.

 

Curtains will do nothing to reduce bass resonances (the booming sounds that blurs the articulation and definition of bass and hangs around aka rings, smearing everything else, burying detail)

 

In fact my post here was about that ''lively'' thing... if it will reduce liveliness then it is no good to have them behind my sound system...

 

You guys are more technical then me,  i love my sound at my place right now... i put a little more bass in the very lows in Audirvana EQ for my liking in this place. I just wanted to know if adding the wall of curtains will give me more ambiance and if it could bring more bass in my room. I won't install all that, making holes to hang them if it is not giving me something more to my sound there.

 

The speakers outside edges are at 9 feet apart and i sit in the perfect middle at 13 feet away, there is a tick carpet in between them and me, and yes the TV will stay there :) 

 

For you Ralf11 :) the layout you see in blue are doors and columns. i enter the room at the door near imac and there is a nice window above the plants rack. the triangle is like 8 feet by 12 draw like that.

 

As i said i'm not there yet and this is the layout i will be using till now and see how it sounds will paintings added and posters on the walls. The 2 library shells were also place at the ''bar'' place at first in my layout and the bar near the window... i love to see it, it's funky furniture, but there, make entry more light coming in :)  be there October first...

Layout 1 1.jpg

If You Got Ears, You Gotta ListenCaptain Beefheart

 

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I want you to figure out the angle of that red triangle with you at the apex.

 

Then I want you to put some curtains or artwork covered panels behind each speaker.  They will not affect bass.  Bass is determined by big long waves in your room that are reinforced as they 'stack up' - but you have an open floor plan (like me) so that won't happen ... much.  The bass will not be a problem.

 

Next, that TV between the speakers is not the best idea (mine is in the same spot and I just live with it).  Or toss a blanket over it - if worth it, you can make a cover to go over it while listening (more art prints).

 

The carpet is perfect (I put a rug and a Golden Retriever there).

 

Your biggest problem is that the room is asymmetrical (like mine) - live with it or buy a new house.

 

The window can reflect treble and make it sound too bright but those plants fix that if they are dense enough.

 

 What are those green squares?

 

Finally, I want you to Google:

 

DIY QRD diffusers 

 

then pick thru the results until you see info on how to cop up a bunch of 2x2's or 4x4's to make them yourself for cheap.  If you do not have a WAF problem you can make 2 of them for cheap, cover them with art panels or not and stick them behind the speakers, or along the side walls, etc.

 

You have a pretty good room situation so how much time you put into it is up to you.

 

There are further things that can measured, tests to be done, and things made or bought - at some point, the law of diminishing returns starts to bite hard.

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14 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

What are those green squares?

 

:) they are things that you put your feet on to relax... don't know in english... 20inx20inx20in in leather too.

thanks for all those infos... 

If You Got Ears, You Gotta ListenCaptain Beefheart

 

MacMini 2018, 4xi3 3.6GHz, SSD, 20Gb, macOS Sonoma > Audirvana Origin >

Wyred DAC2 DSD Special Edition > Proceed AMP2 > Focal Cobalt 826 Signature Series >

Audirvana Remote > iPhone 13

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3 hours ago, RunHomeSlow said:

In fact my post here was about that ''lively'' thing... if it will reduce liveliness then it is no good to have them behind my sound system...

 

You guys are more technical then me,  i love my sound at my place right now... i put a little more bass in the very lows in Audirvana EQ for my liking in this place. I just wanted to know if adding the wall of curtains will give me more ambiance and if it could bring more bass in my room. I won't install all that, making holes to hang them if it is not giving me something more to my sound there.

 

The speakers outside edges are at 9 feet apart and i sit in the perfect middle at 13 feet away, there is a tick carpet in between them and me, and yes the TV will stay there :) 

 

Yes, the more soft furnishings, rugs,carpets, curtains etc you have the "deader" or less "lively" the room will sound and less high frequencies bouncing around. It sounds less open, more shut in. You know how the sound of a room changes when it is empty and then you move all your stuff in and carpet, add curtains and you change the "ambience" of the room.

 

The trick is to find the right balance.

 

The curtains will not affect the bass,one way or another.

 

I dont think it is a great idea to totally cover any wall with absorbing material. There was a practice where some did this behind the speakers end of the room (the so called "live end, dead end"). The best approach IME is to treat the room acoustically where it is needed.1)Bass traps in corners (and half and quarter points if you want to reduce the bass harmonics, but at least the corners. 2) Absorb first reflections by placing soft wall hangings or the like at the reflection points (including the ceiling and floor.....floor is easy, carpet or rug....ceiling is not so easy. 3) add diffusers at other places is optional.

 

Throw a blanket over the TV when listening to music and see if it makes a difference (first reflection point)

 

I would pull that left speaker out more from the corner. Generally speakers should not be close to corners as it reinforces bass resonances. In your case it is an asymmetrical arrangement and one speaker will be booming more compared to the other. Not ideal.

 

Sound Minds Mind Sound

 

 

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some call those Ottomans - don't worry about them

 

I don't think you'll need bass traps due to the very open nature of the room - you can always try them

 

BTW, when he is talking about reflection points that is not for bass - it is the ray tracing thing I mentioned above - for higher freqs.

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On 9/14/2017 at 10:47 AM, firedog said:

IME, you will much improve sound if you put bass traps in the corners behind the speakers

 

In my experience, it's worth testing the bass response first at the listening spot (with a frequency sweep 0-200Hz) to see if there is a frequency at which standing waves produce a bass boost, and then check if there is a need for specific bass traps to reduce that resonance

 

http://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_frequencychecklow.php

 

Bass traps are great to fix problems in the bass response, but not every room/speaker combination has these problems.

Claude

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