Best Acoustically Untreated Room You Have Heard?

Bookshelves, lots of bookshelves. Where there are no bookshelves a rough brick wall is also ideal. Normal furnishings should round things out to create a close to ideal acoustical environment. You don't want to cancel too much reflected sound or the room will sound dead. I agree with the above poster that cathedral cielings can sound great. The best room I have heard had a big stone hearth at its boundary - and the room extended all the way around it into a sort of foyer. Something magik happened as the sound travelled around that large defining element in the room.

It just so happens that my forty-two year old family room is among the best I've heard acoustically. We bought the house 4 years ago and I've had 4 completely different systems in that room ranging from about $4k to $32k retail. Each system had a special sound characteristic that in some ways are not reproduceable with the more current and expensive system upgrades, i.e. a certain mid-bass, etc..

Room description:
o 18'L x 13'W x 8'H
o 3 large ceiling beams going parallel with
the front of the speakers.
o Real wormwood paneling with recessed joinery
every 6 inches or so.
o Built-in book cases behind each speaker.
o Few windows
o Thick berber carpeting with thick pad underneath.
o Large cloth pillowed sofa and large cloth ottoman

The only two things I've done in the room was install 3 dedicated circuits/lines for each component and I installed recessed lighting and dimmer (on opposing phase at the service panel) so that there'd be no floor or table lighting.

They say that room acoustics can make upwards of about 80% of the sound characteristics. I believe that to be true as some of my much cheaper systems in some ways sounded so much better than some $20k, $30k, and higher systems I've heard in dealers shops.

Luck of the draw.

The Totem Winds at Surround Sounds in Exton PA. Best speaker I have heard in an untreated room. Very expressive, tremendous imaging and soundstage.

My living room, I would kill for the sound I used to get in my living room. It had windows, stairs, furniture and knick nacks all over the place. I just got my system situated in my new dedicated room and it is horrible, the only way I can listen is to sit about 6ft from the speakers with them in the middle of the room. Stehno is sure right about the room contributing more to the sound than the system itself. My new room as it sits could have a million dollar system and it wouldn't matter. I guess I'm gonna have to go the ugly room treatment route.

This may sound dumb but the sound was improved in my system when I went from a sofa to a leather Lazy Boy. The Lazy Boy is the biggest they have and has a back that is 8" above my ears and is 38" wide. I had a very bright node 6" behind my head with the sofa, but with the Lazy Boy I can recline into that node area and it sounds smooth and natural. I figure it's all the over stuffing at each side of my ear and the fact that back reflections are absorbed and defused by the back side of the chair.

Also I have a number of wool rugs on a wood floor. Rug on rug, this is a very atractive way to deaden the bright floor. Wool curtains, full length even if the window is shorter. Wool curtains over a wall with Corning fiber board behind it, much like a movie theater (I have not done this in my house, but for a basement situation it would work good. I have installed this in a couple home theaters I've designed and it looks great, it's a great way to add color and texture to a room)

J.D.