As you can see from the pic, the sitting room of the current chez gofasterstripes is very right-angled, bare and echo-y.

If one claps in the room the echo lasts about 1-2 seconds!

This is messing with my Hi-Fi!! So much so that the “real” system isn’t even set up – just the old amp and those acient Technics I have. The flared tweeter seems to fare a little better.

How can I significantly reduce the echo without breaching domestic the peace? My suggestion of lining one wall with carpet was vetoed in a flash.

I would imagine that I should cover as much of the walls as possible, but I think a few 60×60 pictures is about as much as we can agree on. I was thinking of hiding some deadening material behind the canvas.

Any better ideas anyone?

Thanks

Get your other half to invest in soft furnishings.

A big rug to cover the wood floor?

Bookshelves!

Good ideas there guys, thanks.

Any more ideas late-nighters?

deep wrapped canvas prints with acoustic foam or egg box behind would help.
I would imagine sealed box or front ported stand mounts as far into the room as possible would be better than big old resonant floor standers too.

Check out this acoustic treatment thread here on Gearslutz forum.

Without hearing your room i imagine you’d need corner bass traps (to be truly effective) and some form of Rockwool acoustic paneling built into a frame and hung on the wall, this can be covered with a suitable canvas material and painted to either match your interior or go totally abstract if you wish, or just pick a nice fabric that will satisfy your GF.

An ex moved into my house a few weeks before i went away on holiday, on my return she had removed my corner bass traps, acoustic wall panels, acoustic tiles on the ceiling, my studio desk along the back wall with my KRK speakers and sub/music equipment and she had the temerity to buy a 48″ tv and stick it in the corner of the room, the weekend after i returned home she was removed and my safe place was returned to me – yeah….I live alone and it will continue to be that way for my sanity 😀

Apologies but not wanting to sound like a know-all, egg boxes do absolutely nothing for room acoustics, ideally you would measure frequencies at various listening points and then isolate and treat the problem frequency.

Most smart phones these days can be used with quite effective sound measuring apps such as RoomScope but it is quite pricey, then again a single pre made acoustic panel will cost the same and quite often folk throw acoustic treatment into a room and then complain it sounds dead and lifeless. too much or too little is easier to achieve than getting it just right.

Soma: MissStripes says she’s too nice to do that to me 😉

MrSmith, there’s a set of these in my near future…..

Ta for the help guys!