2. tech-talk
  3. 1199207958

Loft floorplan / listening area - please critique

Need some advice on positioning and speaker styles for creation of listening area in the living room area of loft apartment.

I have uploaded a piece of the floorplan with the proposed speaker positioning (approximate of course) at this link. Note that the ceiling heights are 12.5ft:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff163/gmolinari/room.jpg

I would like to use my system when friends are over and for the whole family to enjoy and that is why i would like it positioned as shown in the attached. The other option was to use what is shown as 'Bedroom 2' as the listening room/den but i thought this room was a little small and again would not be able to project the music into the main living area. The problem of course is that there are a lot of large windows in the living room and it is also quite a large area. We will probably have blinds of some sort installed on the windows, but unlikely to have curtains.

I would appreciate any suggestions on speakers or room treatments to look into. My wife is sensitive to having too much audio treatment hanging on walls or on floor so i need to integrate everything in a way that is aesthetically pleasing. I am fascinated by the MBL 101E and plan to go demo these soon, although I have read that they are very sensitive to the room and positioning. On the positive side I think this type of speaker might have the capability to really fill the large volume of the living areas with luscious music.

Would love to hear critiques and comments about how you would go about setting up a 'livable' listening area in this type of space. In my previous home I had a more traditional room so I am new to the loft environment.
superquant

Showing 1 response by nrchy

nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,111 posts
 
Unless you have really small speakers, bedroom two is too small. If you get the MBL's then it is completely out of the question! The first thing that grabs my attention is you speaker placement. You have what appears to be two big windows close behind them. Sonically that's going to be a big problem. The reflections are going to ruin your soundstage and everything else.

The farther you can get from the windows, the better your system will sound. How would your wife respond to sliding your system 45 degrees and centered around one of the corners? That might help minimize the influence of all that glass. You could move the system into the left hand corner, then the sofa would be away from the door of bedroom two...

It looks like it might be a fun music room if you can tame your reflections... Good luck!

O

o

.
More to discover