room treatment effectiveness

My new speakers (ESP Boshran SE) produce an energy excess of 11 db at 200 hz in my room. The only placement that lowers this figure is with the speaker 8 inches from the wall and then there is no sound stage. The speakers are a sealed box design with two mids, two tweeters, and two bass drivers per speaker plus they are taller and wider than my B&W's.

I borrowed a Rives PARC and used a 7db cut at 195hz with a 3.8Q that worked well. If I can do the same thing with room treatment or make an appreciable improvement I would rather do that. Otherwise, I need to buy a PARC or bail on the speakers.

My old speakers which I set back up over the weekend are B&W N802's and they don't exhibit any response peaks like the ESP's. It is obvious from listening that the two different speaker's power response into the room is very different.

Would room treatment be beneficial for the B&W's if they stay? They certainly would not benefit from a PARC. I am contemplating my next move.

2chnlben, I did use a Rives PARC for a week and it did take the majority of my 200hz peak out and improve the sound. The room in general does not promote clarity and has a minor bump at 40hz and 80hz with suckouts at 50 and 60hz. I think I need to improve the room as much as possible and then go with the electronics.

My local dealer is going to build me a notch filter centered at the 195hz I really need. They, (AZ HiFi) already market a notch filter but it does not go high enough to fix my problem but it might be a solution for you. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably buy a PARC unless my room treament is really successful.

I've contacted the dealer that sold me the speakers and also sent in information to GIK Acoustics to see what they might recommend for room treatment.

The room is 14W x 14.75L with a vaulted ceiling that is 8' on the left to 11.6' on the right wall. The right wall is 7" tall with a soffit that sticks out into the room about 2' and then up for another 1.5' for a total height of 8.5'. Then the upper portion of the wall is open into an adjacent 10W x 25L room.

I tried moving the seating position out by a couple of feet and that made things worse. It seems like the 200 hz note is loudest centered between the speakers and several feet out from my listening position which is close to the wall. The corners of the room are less affected. I don't like the speakers in my face and having them positioned 8' into the room just won't work for me.

It's odd that one speaker has such a pronounced peak and the other does not even when placed relatively the same in the room.