Room treatment with acoustic panels

This is always a fascinating topic. While at the School of Architecture at the University of Toronto, I was fascinated by Roy Thompson Hall that was designed by a legendary Canadian architect Arthur Erickson. This marvelous conceet hall is home to the Toronto Symphony. I didn't know very much about acoustics back then but I was nevertheless intrigued by its design, so much so that I visited a few concert halls across European cities.

My music room is in one is my refurbished barns in the countryside.  It's not acoustically designed by any means but it's a peaceful space where I relax and listen to music namely jazz, jazz trios, classical and acoustic guitar/ambiance music. I created diffusers using wood elements that actually define the room but whether they work acoustically or not I couldn't tell you.  I do have plans to install 4 ceiling clouds and an artistic 3D wooden panel on the front wall as a diffuser but given the design and esthetics of my room I can't or rather don't want to do more than this. I've rendered my room as it exists with the very ceiling clouds and 3D wooden panel that I'm be purchasing in the fall.  I guess I'll know then if these clouds actually do anything.  BTW, these clouds will be 1/2" thick felt hollow boxes filled with 6" thick Rockwool Safe and Sound acoustic insulation and will be suspended 4" from the ceiling. You can see the rendered clouds in my profile.  Again, great topic!

@ricred1 If your happy then that's all that matters. Me? I'm happy too. There's always going to be something better in this hobby, usually at a higher price. For now I have enough rabbit holes of my own, LOL!

@frank009 Thank you, I wish you the same. Enjoyment is what it's all about.

@gkelly Nice to hear you obtained great improvement with the treatment. I won't pretend to know all the audiophile jargon, but the panels sure make a good system sound even better!

@hilde45 LOL! Sounds good to me (pun intended). 

@tcutter Thanks. I actually do listen to the folks on here when it's something I think I can accomplish. I have received an immense amount of help from the Audiogon community and it's very highly appreciated. 

@wolf_garcia Hey, whatever works for you as long as you like it. I gotta tell you though, I was quite happy with my sound before trying the panels too. I wasn't expecting much from room treatment because of that. I sure was surprised though even with just some of the panels situated. Companies like GIK Acoustics do offer a money back guarantee so why not take some for a test drive? 

@tuberist Maybe. I never delved into room treatment before simply because I never heard of it before joining this forum. 

@nd1der Call GIK or send an email. I didn't have time to figure out the web function they use to draw out the listening room and explained that to them. I measured EVERYTHING in the listening room and drew it out on paper. Then I sent the image to GIK and they took care of the rest. They will bend over backwards to help you. 

@kevemaher I believe GIK even recommends using REW. Again, for me, no time to delve into something else new. I usually work 60-65 hours a week, take care of the lawn, house etc.   

@fire_water Glad I piqued your interest. It is a fascinating  subject for sure. I've learned some of it recently. You stated "I created diffusers using wood elements that actually define the room but whether they work acoustically or not I couldn't tell you." Take them out of the room. If you hear a significant difference or not will give you your answer. It's immediately noticeable. 

Hey toddsyr,

I’m working on a similar plan using GIK. 

If you want to maximize your investment and take it another level, with minimal effort and cost, I can highly recommend working with Kevin Fielding. I’ve seen pics of his listening room...he practices what he preaches. 

You send him REW measurements and a few screen shots, and this is what you get (and FaceTime/WhatsApp consults) for way less than most here spend on an interconnect, or even few GIK panels.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_27JndFi-2HYjtwqYWtf1LlBMfVXV9P5/view?usp=sharing

@toddsyr lol if I could I would.  The diffusers I'm talking about are actually room partitions and can't be removed. One consists of eight pieces of 250 yr old rustic beams that I've cut down to 60" lengths and weighting 550 lbs. The other partition consists of a tall frame of random pieces of fire wood. While these are actually architectural elements they double as room diffusers in that they are uneven and staggered chunks/lengths of wood. Some fine people here on Audiogon have suggested that I've inadvertently created diffusers. But how well they actually work I'm not sure.