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View Full Version : treatments really do help!


cyberbri
August 4th, 2006, 2:50 PM
I have had my VTF-3 Mk2 for almost 2 months now, which I bought through Ascend along with 3x 340SE and 2x 170SE.

I did a lot of calibrating and tweaking of the position of the sub and the main speakers, and it sounded amazing. But I wanted more, so I ordered some treatment panels from GIK Acoustics (highly recommended!). I got 2 of the 4" thick 244 panels for each front corner, and have them stacked and straddling the corners (no need to "mount" them). I also got a box of 3 224 panels, which aren't as thick and absorb the same as the 244 panels except for below 250Hz or so. I have a panel on either side of the main speakers, and the third along the ground/fireplace in front of the glass. I have also put some fabric over the panels (shower curtains/tablecloth with designs, from Target) so they look like deocrations and not acoustic treatment panels.


With the bass traps up front, bass immediately improved. It was much tighter, with less ringing boom. Stereo imaging improved, and there's less reverb filtering in the sound. I'm very happy with the sound, and can't recommend room treatments (especially in the corners for bass) higher. GIK Acoustics also has some nice products at very affordable prices.

But despite tightening up the bass, and smoothing out some of the smaller bumps/dips, the response still has a few nasty bumps. So I ordered a BFD and hopefully it will arrive today. I can't wait to get it set up this weekend, hopefully, and experience flat, powerful bass.

That's all. I absolutely love my VTF-3, and the fact that I am able to get better and better performance out of it by treating the room, and eq'ing it this weekend. :D

kingtut
August 4th, 2006, 5:05 PM
Brian, can you post pictures?

cyberbri
August 4th, 2006, 11:21 PM
Yeah, I plan on it. :D

cyberbri
August 5th, 2006, 9:54 AM
Here's my gallery:
http://gallery.avsforum.com/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/7455862


And pictures of the new panels - 4 "244" panels, 2 stacked in each front corner, plus 3 "224" panels (comes in box of 3), with one each on left/right side, plus the third one 'floating', currently on left side in front of fireplace:

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/wideangle.jpg


http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/rightcorner.jpg

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/leftpanel.jpg

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/rightpanel.jpg


Note that I haven't attached the fabric permanently yet, so it's hanging off the sides a bit and not perfectly tight on the panels.

DNelms
August 5th, 2006, 1:52 PM
I agree that treatments can help. I have a fairly small listening room and the walls are entirely smooth. When I was first setting up my hometheater system I had my wife come in and listen to the room without any treatment. Then I had her listen when the room was treated. She was amazed at the improvement.

I have Echo Busters pannels on the front and side walls, corner busters in the our corners, and an ASC tube trap behind the listening chair. I followed Robert Hartley's recomendations in his book, "The Complete Guide to High-End Audio" in how to set up and tune the room.

In know ther are probably must better more advance ways/methods of tuning rooms, but what I read sure helped me. Also, if you look on the Stereophile web site and look at the old 'Fine Tunes' section there are some articles in how to make inexpensive bass traps using boxes filled with newspaper.

jmprader
August 10th, 2006, 3:11 PM
There's no question about it, treatments help. The wife and the kids can hear it, too. Mine are DIY's. Easy to build. Very effective. Measurable and clearly audible improvements.

I have 2x4 panels of 703 fiberglass in a small wood frame, covered with a fabric from Acoustone (a little different than Guilford of Maine cloth, or fabric store) for the side/ceiling panels.

For corner traps, I combined 2 vertical 703 panels in a triangular frame. In the frame behind the panels I placed "acoustical cotton". The front also uses an acoustone fabric that is sold as "replacement" for commercial amp/speaker combos. I got "Marshall" logos that I placed on the front for a retro look. They look like 8' tall speakers (as I said on another forum, now I just need a little red light and volume control that goes to 11).

These gave me something productive to do while waiting for the revised HO drivers...:D

cyberbri
August 10th, 2006, 3:23 PM
Wow, very cool!
Yeah, those Marshall logos make them look like big hurking speakers.

cyberbri
August 18th, 2006, 6:45 PM
The above pictures are missing because I deleted them from my gallery. Here are the pics of the current setup:

2 244 panels (GIK Acoustics) in the corner, 1 224 panel on the side (it gets moved when not using stereo)
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/rightcornerfar.jpg

Close-up of front right corner:
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/rightcornerclose.jpg

Left corner, with 2 244 panels in the corner and 1 224 panel on the side.
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/leftcorner.jpg