68sting said:
Thanks for all the help. I have a new question. I'm doing a lot of reading on a HT construction forum about sound channel, double drywall, green glue, floating floors, ect.. How much time and money have you put into your room to improve sound? Just curious what the average ML owner does to improve there listening environment.
I doubt that European experiences are transferable to the US, because we here have homes built from stone walls, while you in the US have made them from wood structures, but 'll report anyway:
My 700 sq ft living room has a stone floor, stone walls, large windows, and scarce furniture. I used to have a ML 5.1 set (4 Clarity, Theater, Descent) and was happy with it, probably because I had no comparison. When a professional musician visited me and said that I had too much reverberation, I was frustrated, but couldn't forget it, and since then I found the sound no longer so nice. Because I planned anyway a revamp to a 7.1 system, I invited a supplier of damping materials. He spent a full day in my room, and when he left, I had teeth-grindingly purchased damping material worth 4,000 USD. It was not only expensive, but also extremely ugly, as you can see from the attached picture with prototyped fixations (you see only less than half of the room, so imagine even more on the invisible walls
.
Was it worth it? Yes, I think so, acoustically. From a room calculator I can assume that the reverberation time before was app. 1.2 seconds, and afterwards app. 0.3-0.4 seconds. The effect on the whole room was sort of an easing, soothing, leading to a significant relative relief and relaxation. Not only when listening to music, but also when just talking. The imaging of the sound has made a huge jump forward with regard to precision and localization.
Would I do it again? Yes, I would. But somebody who is less neglegent with regard to optics, or has a wife who is, might have reasons to hesitate.
