Room acoustics needs help.


Since I moved into a new house, my new living room sounds terrible. The hardwood floor is all throughout the house. I believe it is the reason for the bad sound quality. I made some wall panels and hung them on the wall behind the speakers, and on the side walls it help a lot. However, the sound of the music and the voice of the singer seems to be way behind the speakers and not extended. Looks like there are reflection or deflection somewhere in the room. I wonder if an area rug, 100% wool will help extend the music. My room size is 14'x22'speakers are placed on the short wall 4' away from the back wall, 2-1/2' from side wall, and 9' from speakers to listening chair. On one side wall have a hallway in the mildle of the room, and another one at the end leads to another room. Other side wall has 2 windows, and wall behind the listening chair has a 8' wide bay window. Any professional help will be appreciated. Thanks.
ht802
That sould read $30.00, guess my shift key didn't shift too well. I have both of these books, both are great.
Jadem6 is stealing my recommendations! I got into this Thread preparing to say exactly what he said about Everest. (Could I dare to hope that he got the idea from me? All I can be sure of is that I didn't get it from him.) If you want to hear about DIY RPG-style diffusors or DIY Argent Room Lens clones, please get in touch--I send out 10 pages single-spaced on these topics on request. But read Everest first, by all means, to get an idea of all you need.
I was so excited to have found an acoustics thread before you Tom. I must say Tom here has helped me out even more than the book, so if you need further advise after reading the basics, Tom is a Saint!
J.D.
In addition to the above, you might try the $100 computer software "Room Optimizer" from www.rpginc.com. It evaluates your speaker and listener positions in your room and searches for better setups. It also suggests positions for acoustic room treatments, including both absorption and diffusion. Its analysis evaluates both the short term comb filtering effects due to the room's first reflections along with the longer term room resonance modes. I have found it to be a help in improving my room. For more information, you can read RPG's white paper on the software www.rpginc.com/cgi-bin/byteserver.pl/news/library/ropt_wp.pdf