Request for assistance please room treatment


I do have it treated now, but I don't think it's correct. I need to treat it properly. I've tried a multitude of different positions, absorption, diffusion, trapping, etc. and my walls are starting to look like swiss cheese. I'm at the point now where I need to strip the room, putty, sand, and paint. But when I re-install the room treatments, they have to go in the correct position the first time. This is where your assistance comes in. I've tried many different web sites and so on, but it all seems best guess. I'm hoping to lean upon your "experience".
My room is 22'long, 11'wide, and 7'4" high, and is in a finished concrete basement. I look forward to reading your suggestions.
Thank You.
128x128shawnlh
It's very easy to overdo room treatment. My system greatly improved and got more alive when I removed most of it. A number of friends had the same experience.
Room acoustics is 90% science and 10% the "black arts". You need to measure your room to understand what is going on and what needs to be addressed. You must take a scientific and pratical approach to treating a room. It takes time with a lot measuring and remeasuring, listening and relistening, the proper treatments with an understanding what they do, trial and error, and a ton of patience.
Shawnlh...
You haven't stated the problem area with the sonics in your room. Based on your photo, the room is very well damped (maybe over-damped).
BTW, I agree that toeing-in the speakers might make a change for the better.
The book Mechans refers to is "Get Better Sound" by Jim Smith, highly recommended. He has also done a video, though it's more of a video version of the book. He's currently working on a more in depth product, but progress has been slow. The ultimate solution to your problem is to have an acoustician come and evaluate your room, but that is a relatively expensive solution ($2000+ for the evaluation only).
Hi, You use room treatment to solve certain issues that will not be altered by your equipment selection. Can you describe your actual issues? Are you having problems with imaging, low frequency buildup, etc? It is hard to know what to recommend without knowing what you are trying to improve. The first thing I notice is that your room is exactly twice as long as it is wide. That is going to give you some really nasty standing waves at certain lower frequencies and their harmonics. I would expect that to not sound so good. I just googled to find a reference for you and found this link:
http://artsites.ucsc.edu/ems/music/tech_background/TE-02/modes/Modes.html
The fundamental frequency of concern is going to be more effected by room geometry than surface treatments. Can you angle any of the walls? This can be done in small pieces, perhaps four feet long so that you do not lose too much floorspace.

Another typical problem in a room is the first order reflections. These are much easier to reduce, but using absorptive treatment won't do much below 100 Hz.

An easy way for you to find those is to use a mirror. Sit in your normal listening position. Have someone move the mirror around flush to the side walls and the ceiling. If you see the tweeter in the mirror, then that is an area of a first reflection. Those points will all be somewhere between the speakers and you on the side walls and ceiling. This happens on the floor as well, so just put a rug in between you and the speakers, you can use the mirror to see where the rug wants to go as well. The material that you use for the absorption matters as well.

There is a lot more to this than what I am pointing out here, but these are the items that typically cause issues in a rectangular listening room. I would need a lot more info to actually suggest more. Hope that helps.