Room treatment in phases...where to start

Thanks folks. I am thinking that with my semi nearfield listening, open back wall and monitors, I dont need bass traps in the corners. Probably all I need is some treatment on the front wall.

it is very funny you ask.

years ago I purchased a large room treatment pack from Room Tunes, Michael Green. I had put up pretty much all the treatments as I thought more is better. The system sounded good, but with too much i was losing a lot

Just this past weekend, I decided to pull the reflective strips which are on the wall in front of me, behind my equipment. I got a soundstage back. I got a placement of images, i got focus and more top end life.

to learn from my mistake, I would suggest you it in small phases and by all means, do a lot of comparison with each step.

i currently still use corner tunes, some reflective strips on the side walls, a RPG skyline piece behind me, and Shakti Hallographs in the corners. My front wall remains bare.

Thank you justlisten. Your comment about leaving then front wall bare is interesting to me because that is the only place where I want to use treatments. Right now I am listening to music with a bunch of pillows stacked up on the ball between my speakers. I get better layering of the instruments and side to side separation. I will probably end up getting the GIK 242 panel covered with some custom artwork.

My dealer believes that the center of the front wall should be a hard reflective surface. This is consistent with a listening room a friend of my has which was designed by the acoustic firm Rives. The front of the room has a very large, curved, convex reflector made of wood. The corners of the room have bass traps built into them.

Another friend who does home theater design uses small absorption/diffusion panels on the side walls at the first reflection point in some setups. The panels are covered with fabric that matches the room decor and look decent. You could try some absorption on the side wall.

I think most rooms really do not need that much treatment to sound good. Careful speaker placement and use of room furnishings to provide diffusion (e.g., books and records on shelves) work fairly well. The biggest problem is usually incorrect placement of the speakers and the listener because of the requirements of room decor or practical considerations. One common problem is a big coffee table between the listener and the speakers. If you can avoid these kinds of problems, you are more than halfway home.

08-01-13: Larryi
My dealer believes that the center of the front wall should be a hard reflective surface. This is consistent with a listening room a friend of my has which was designed by the acoustic firm Rives. The front of the room has a very large, curved, convex reflector made of wood. The corners of the room have bass traps built into them.

Thank you Larryi...I am going to give it another listen tonight with and without the pillows on the front wall. This feedback is very interesting. When I look at people's room setup, I usually see either some sort of diffusion like the curved surface you refer to or absorption panels. Now I am utterly confused on what to do. What I do know is that I need minimal treatments in my room. Unfortunately I cannot treat the first reflection points because there is a window on one side and a closet door on the other. Hmmm....what do to???