Treating our room. Part II
 

Last year, there was a first step in getting our room acoustically optimised.
You can read about that here:

https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=38497

After Ben's first visit, we ordered the panels and small blocks he carefully chose.
Something went not quite well, the order that arrived in The Hague proved to be the wrong one.
Then there was a very serious delay in the factory.
But finally the panels arrived at our house a couple of months ago.
I placed the small blocks in the corners (and I managed to do this in an incorrect way! :D), and the red panels in the fauteuils, and made an appointment with Ben.
What we also did between Ben's visits: placing a thick Nepalese handknotted carpet on our wooden floor.

And so last month Ben came!

I told him we already noticed some improvement: less echo, a considerably quieter room.
In fact, I was expecting some further improvement with his second visit, but no miracles.
We would still remain stuck with our glass wall on the left side, wouldn't we?

We started by measuring the first reflection points.
I sat down in the sweet spot and he told me what to do.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5614.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5615.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5616.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5619.jpg

Same thing on the other side.
Because of the window, we knew the panels could not be placed in the 100% ideal location, but it would be very close.
Then Ben started measuring where the magnets were to be glued:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5620.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5622.jpg


Up goes the first one:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5623.jpg


With each step, the moment I thought: "Now it is perfect!", Ben went a step further in meticulously adjusting.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5625.jpg


Positioned right next to our old Pioneer 60".

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5626.jpg


Now the next 2:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5627.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5628.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5629.jpg

The 3rd panel:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5630.jpg


And then placing the small block as it should:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5631.jpg

The left side, the same procedure.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5633.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5634.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5635.jpg


The system with the panels simply attached with the glued magnets allows you to adjust in a later stage (we are considering a 4K 65" TV!).


http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5636.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5637.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5639.jpg


99.9% horizontal is not enough!

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5640.jpg


Second one on top of it:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5642.jpg


Then the third and some final small alterations to the position:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5643.jpg

Nice looking for panels

Time to listen!

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5644.jpg


We started with a couple of albums from the label Ben has bought, see trptk.com
Check it out, it is fantastic!
I'll try their 5.0 downloads soon, but here we listened to the "simple" CDs.

For example this one:

https://trptk.com/wp-content/uploads...sible-Link.jpg


I can tell you, it was not simple, at all!
My criterion for a good concert is: I have, at least, shed some tears.
Well, hearing Maya Friedman and Daniël Kool playing Fratres, an Arvo Pärt piece I know so well, moved me to tears. Many.
Ben noticed and was visibly happy.

What a massive difference these 6 stupid pieces of plastic made!!
Well, they're actually not stupid, they're even attractive.
They're installed now for 5 weeks.
Mostly our guests don't even notice them.
And some people have asked us if they're art objects...

So there we were, the best sound ever in our room.
I thought by then, congrats Ben, a job well done!
Ha, I didn't realise we were not even halfway the work...

Ben started again moving the right speaker, mm by mm.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5645.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5646.jpg


He used the same track from Rebecca Pidgeon again, "Spanish Harlem", over and over.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5647.jpg

In the sofa, back on his knees, back to the sofa, back to the right speaker:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5649.jpg


Each time a subtle, but noticeable difference:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5651.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5652.jpg


He says the Vivids are truly excellent speakers, but their woofers on the side make it a bit more difficult to get them ideally positioned.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5653.jpg

It took us almost an hour for the right speaker to fully satisfy Ben.

Then we did the left speaker.
Only some minor adjustments were needed.
Minor and Ben: that still means 20 minutes! :D

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5656.jpg


End result:

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5654.jpg

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...e/IMG_5655.jpg


Like I wrote before: the best sound ever in our room.
With these final speaker adjustments everything fell even more into its place.
I didn't know this would possible in our certainly not optimal room.
The first visit gave us 4 dB more bass, a better soundstage and more depth.
This second visit gave further improvement on all those points, and made the music much more real, as in: really in our room.

Thank you Ben!
This costed me as much as a couple of good cables, but it brought an improvement not even a 50K source would be able to offer.

Yeah, they are.
RTFS is the label.
German product.

Treatments and placement do work!

Like you said the gain from this is like a new component proving you can gain more for less in this hobby

Enjoy Your Sound 🤺

Bart.......I can feel your excitment and your satisfaction with the results. I am truly pleased for you. I know very well how properly located acoustic treatments can transform a room into an outstanding performance venue. Your new panels are attractive and add to the visual interest of the sound system. Very well done.

Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Bart. It has been fascinating to watch Ben van Leliveld at work, in some cases millimeter by millimeter, through your great photos in both Part I and Part II. And glad you're happy with the results.

Great thread, thank you!!!

Thank you Bart for sharing this journey with us. Very interesting.

Thank you!
And yes indeed, they do work.
You hear about it but don't realise it fully until you do it yourself.

Thank you Dan!
It was AA with its numerous threads about room treatment that made me aware that there was more that could be had in our system. :thumbsup:

Jim, Ben is fantastic.
A true music lover also, and he wants to spread knowledge about good sound.
About the pics: iPhone 7 Plus! :D

Mark, my pleasure.
Great to share our enthusiasm with like minded-people.

Flemming, thank you.
By the way, your forum name makes me think of the music label. :D

Bart here are something that i am not aware of , please elaborate ! :scratch2:

Bart very impressive, looks nice and I am sure it was spending $1000s+ on gear in terms of improvements. Room treatments are a must IMOP yes :)

A great room is a starting point and often over looked.

That was very interesting Bart, thank you. If your system gave you goosebumps before, they must be bigger now. I did notice though that it looks like Meta escaped to the garden while the tuning was going on.

Flemming, the label trptk I mentioned in my earlier posts.
Just a silly remark, I know.

Dave, thank you.
Indeed, I started this thread to stimulate members who haven't done it yet, to look at optimising their room.

Tony, thank you and yes, she did escape for a moment... until she prepared us a great meal. :thumbsup:

Excellent, Bart, THX for sharing.

The tiles are bigger and deeper than I anticipated.

Looking forward to an opportunity to audition

Very nice, Bart, very nice. I'm glad you are pleased with having done this.

Do the red panels stay in the chair(s)? I've not heard of a configuration like that.

Lovely carpet.

At the end, did the acoustician measure the room again with his microphone?

Jacques, you and Liesbeth will be very welcome!

Hi Tim, the red panels are at the first reflection points.
When we don't have guests, we leave them there.
If we have visitors, we don't do critical listening, and we put the panels away.

Ben did not measure again, we both were very happy with the end result.

Looks great, blends with the room nicely.

Was mandatory for the Missus!
And I also like some harmony in our living room. :thumbsup:

Absolutely, no reason you can’t have both sound and looks.

Congratulations Bart. I still remember fondly my last visit (and only) visit to your place.

I’m still enjoying very much my Halgorythme but now in a very narrow English house

Those speakers look so great in the room. I love the way the reflections work with their shape.
I have seen photos of just the speakers and was indifferent about the shape, but in a room it's beautiful.

Thank you Bart for sharing your experience with the room treatments and congratulations on achieving a wonderful improvement in your sound system.

Very happy for you!

Georges, it sounds so much better now with the better speaker placement and the treatments (and thick carpet).
You're welcome any time to visit!

Thank you!
I've grown quite fond of their looks.
And my wife loves them too, what's more to wish?! :banana:

Carlos, thank you!

Thank you Bart for sharing your project with great photos from a superb room.
I take it the treatments on both sides of the tv is intended for the first reflection of the treble. If so...
I have always thought that sound waves in the higher frequencies traveled straight forward from the membrane with little omni directional energy. And treatments would be more efficient on side and back walls.
But I have limited knowledge in this area and would be grateful if could you enlighten me on the thoughts behind the placement.