Hi all

I'm about to finally start putting all my gear together in a home studio but not sure which way to go.

It's a "through room" basically 2 rooms knocked into 1 with an archway between the two.

The far end is where I was going to put my desk and speakers but the wall has a window full width unfortunately.

So which is the most important acoustic treatment wall?
Immediately behind the speakers or the first reflection points on the left and right?

At the end of the day it's always going to be a compromise but I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for your time

Cheers
N

I'd suggest giving these guys a call or send them an email. Just give them the actual room dimensions and where windows and doors are located. They gave me excellent advice.
 
http://www.gikacoustics.com/
 
Regards,
Dan
 

There is  really no way to be sure without actually checking in real time.  General guidelines say to put the speakers firing down the long wall.  As far as treatment, that is mostly room dependent, again.  I have a window to the side of my speaker wall (I sit perpendicular to my speakers but my chair can roll to the sweet spot 2 feet away) and it doesn't seem to have any ill effect, although it is heavily curtained.  But all things being equal, the rear wall is probably more important since reflections from it will probably cause more interference than the wall behind the speakers (if you have them set away from the wall, anyway).
 
To my mind, the most important treatment (once you've eliminated any long echoes [short slap-back echoes are a lot harder to get rid of) is some bass treatment.  I've had a bed in my bedroom studio that has always helped w/ absorption), but just standing some rockwool panels in the corners while I was working on them really brought down the room noise build up.  It is something you might not notice until it ain't there - kinda of low level harsh that the music or tracks would sink into.  It is gone and I can hear the bass much more cleanly now.
 
@

Congrats on setting up  a studio!
 
Be forewarned - the "two rooms with an arch/partial wall between them" can be tricky to do well.
 

Nifty9993So which is the most important acoustic treatment wall?
Immediately behind the speakers or the first reflection points on the left and right?

Yes! That is, both are important, unless you are doing some kind of "non-environment" design, in which case maybe neither??

Nifty9993At the end of the day it's always going to be a compromise but I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

 
It doesn't have to be! And it doesn't have to cost a fortune! You can build a room that works well in a lot of different spaces. An 8 foot on a side cube will present some real challenges - but so too will a 5000 sq ft space with 10 foot ceilings that just happens to be located 10 feet from a busy rail line. There are challenges everywhere<G>!
 
Do yourself a favor and buy an hour or two of time from a studio designer. You'll only have  to build/treat once,  and you'll save time and money. OR, if you are the curious type spend some time studying. This isn't rocket science, it is basic physics, and if you can play an instrument well you can learn what you need. The necessary test equipment has becomes  so inexpensive it is scary and depressing that I spent more on a measurement microphone than I did on almost all of my studio microphones.

Good luck...

Thanks for the replies guys, very much appreciated.

I think I'll do a little more research and look around my area for some professional services to come in and advise as per your advice.

Looking forward to it
So much to do and not enough time to do it .... Pesky job! :)

Thanks again

Cheers
N