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Speakers on the long wall

My Vandersteen 2Ci speakers are now on the long wall of a 13' x 20' room with a 7' 7" ceiling, roughly centered on the wall and about 10" from the front wall, with a TV between them. The listening position is about 9–10 feet away, on the opposite side of the room in front of three windows, and one of the short walls has a 6' opening into the kitchen.​

In a previous setup the speakers were on the 13' wall and sounded excellent, but returning to that arrangement is no longer possible. With the current long‑wall placement, the sound is shallow, a bit lifeless, and the soundstage is poor. This seems to point strongly to room interaction.

This seems like the kind of room many have successfully tamed with careful placement and treatment, so practical advice on how to proceed with room treatments and positioning would be very welcome.

Vandersteen 2Ci, McCormack DNA‑0.5, Marantz CD player.

scooterbug
tcutter's avatar
tcutter
386 posts
 

Vicoustics has some not-unattractive options.

 

Regarding overall room treatment, you really have gotten some great advice about what to place and where. Absorption at first reflection points and diffusion throughout the room as you can fit it in. Try to be symmetric. Good luck.

elliottbnewcombjr
7,695 posts
 

You might try DBX Cross Dispersion Toe-In when watching the TV, sitting off center

https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11516

mattw73
190 posts
 

Seems like you lost your closer side wall reflections. In my experience some speakers perform better when actually having those side reflecting points..& some do not. 

Good informative points & opinions shared here. I need to try some of this. 

 

lanx0003
1,926 posts
 

Op,

ABfuser and TAD are hybrid absorber/diffuser panels available on the market, but they tend to be expensive. You might want to consider a DIY approach using bookshelves. Consider multiple tall (84-inch), 5-shelf bookshelves along the back wall. Use the lower two shelves and stuff them with R23 Rockwool (6″ thick, ~$2.50/sq. ft.; I think it works better than fiberglass). You can cover the Rockwool with fabric or place decorative items in front so it doesn’t look unattractive—decorations can themselves act as partial reflectors. Use your imagination.

Use the upper three shelves for books, placing them in varied orientations. Again, be creative. To recap: the bookshelf serves as a free and effective diffuser. When the lower compartments are stuffed with thick R23 Rockwool, it can help absorb low frequencies while simultaneously deflecting mid-to-high frequencies at and above listening level. 

In a constrained space, the long wall setup is tougher, at least for me.  I feel for you.  Good luck and let us know what you end up achieved.

 

lubachl
116 posts
 

OP: I encountered a similar situation this year when I moved and underwent the process of setting up a new sound room.  The dimensions were almost identical to yours, mine being 15’ X 22’, with the ceiling being 7’8” high.

My speakers (AG Trios) were placed along the long wall.  The floor is heavy carpeting over concrete, the walls and ceiling are standard sheetrock.  There is an array of windows along the front wall.  The sound in this new setting was almost exactly as you described, disappointing!

This is how I fixed it.  First I put some gray triangular pillows from my old sound room in the corners.  I believe these were from Michael Green’s RoomTunes. Then I ordered diffusers for the back wall (the chair-side wall) from a company called Woodupp.  The specific panel I used is called acoustic wall slat panels.  They are inexpensive and look good cosmetically.  See photo.

 

This combination had brought my sound room back to life.  Good luck to you.

 

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