Acoustic TReatments - What, How much, & Where?

Nice resource page (Rives).

Checked it out but am not happy with what I read:

"Speaker Placement
I don't want a hard wall on one side and a massive opening to a kitchen on the other. It will be virtually impossible to get a sound stage and imaging with this"

Well crickey - that describes my listening room.
Time to sell my rig and put in a big screen ???

Rives - thanks. I've read so many web pages lately about the Basics of Acoustics, products, DIY, modes, speaker placements, waveforms.. etc. I'm losing it. You're not connected with the website are you? Doesn't matter actually, but it came to mind.. as I had just read about a review of what I thought was a Rives analog EQ, though it was quite old. 3 or 4 years ago, I think... Stereophile. But I thought that a way to go eventually.... if I had too. Money will decide that issue all by itself. I will look over things at the site in any case. Again, thanks.

Weim_boy
I'm not far from your situation... I've two openings in my room, one to either side... one larger by far than the other... and they are not quite inline with one another... almost. I can close off the openings. I will soon. Probably my Xmas present to me. Doors! A swell present, huh?
RE imaging
Perhaps they meant "without treatment" things would be tougher, though I'm not sure, not having read that section yet.

I would suggest that you pick up a used RTA. (real time analyzer) A Behringer DSP8024 with mic goes for a bit over $225 on Ebay. Its the best investment that I ever made. Using the RTA function, you can see whats going on in your room. Locate the listening position that has the flattest responce. It will show you what that 1/4 turn of the tube trap did. It may take a while to learn how to use it, but it will be time well spent! There are the standard 1st reflection, flutter echo and bass traps in the corners treatments, but how much? You may not need as much treatment as you might expect. When you're done with it, you can sell it.

Try calling the folks at Echobusters. Very helpful and insightful. If you fax them a schematic of your audio room they will recommend the proper acoustic treatments.

I am in your same position. I have been researching acoustic treatments for almost 6 months now. My biggest problem is that most treatments are pretty unsightly. I am not lucky enought to have a dedicated listening room. Instead I converted my living room into a music parlor with our grand piano and various guitars. This means that appearances is a very important consideration. Only recently have I made up my mind about which treatments to use. I know the products I chose are probably not the best but i think they offer the best compromise between performance and looks. Anyway, here is what I am going to use:

Eighth Nerve tri-corner and corner treatments (these are VERY small and inobtrusive)
GIK corner bass trap (these fit very nicely into a corner and can be used as a platform for decorations)
Acoustics First Sonora panels in custom sizes for 1st reflection points and wall behind speakers (with custom sizes I can design something artsy on the walls).

I estimate I will spend < $1500 for all of this. I hope this helps.

Everyone else, please feel free to let me know if I am missing something or if I am smokin' crack!