Paul P


Bristol_Jonesey : "Hmm.. In a room 14 x 7? That's not a good starting point "

Mind elaborating ?

Try Googleing Room Modes.  It may assist you in understanding.

Your room shape means that it is going to resonate badly.

Are you monitors firing down the longest length?

Here's a reasonably good overview of the subject from SOS.

Also, the very interesting forum on studio acoustics at gearslutz.

One bible is a book by Floyd Toole.

Fantastic free room measurement software Room EQ Wizard.

Paul P


Bristol_Jonesey : "Hmm.. In a room 14 x 7? That's not a good starting point "

Mind eloborating ?

Quite simply: In a room of that size there's hardly any real options for monitor replacement.
If there's a table, a door, maybe a window..  Very likely, you can't place the table and monitors against the long wall, after that the door is a major factor.. Having the table in the middle of the room is a very unlikely option, right??
 
There's most likely no way you can, say, place the monitors 3 feet from the wall, because it might mean you must then place you keyoardor other rig behind the monitors :o/ :o)

+1 on the room eq wizard. Also on the advice to use monitors for mixing and listening to reference music. I check my mix on phones and ear buds but rarely make mixing decisions with them. Also taking the mix to a different room and system for reference can be helpful.

Kalle : "In a room of that size there's hardly any real options for monitor replacement. "

That's sort of giving up before starting. I agree the room is far from ideal.

The idea is to have the best setup in mind then adapt it with as little change as possible to the room at hand. Things have to be as symmetrical as possible left to right.

If you're after the best sound, then you might very well decide to have your desk in the middle of the room. Well, not the middle because that's a really bad place. A few feet forward of middle should be pretty good. I'd certainly have my monitors well off the back wall.

With only 7 feet across available, you definitely need absorption on the side walls to reduce the first reflections from the monitors. And you'll be sitting pretty close to the monitors and that is good in a bad room.

Having a floor plan of the room in question with openings like doors and windows would be a great help in looking at options.

Paul P


Kalle : "In a room of that size there's hardly any real options for monitor replacement. "

That's sort of giving up before starting. I agree the room is far from ideal.

f you're after the best sound, then you might very well decide to have your desk in the middle of the room. Well, not the middle because that's a really bad place. A few feet forward of middle should be pretty good. I'd certainly have my monitors well off the back wall. 

With only 7 feet across available, you definitely need absorption on the side walls to reduce the first reflections from the monitors. And you'll be sitting pretty close to the monitors and that is good in a bad room.

Having a floor plan of the room in question with openings like doors and windows would be a great help in looking at options.

No, it's not giving up, it's just living over 60 years in the real world :o) :o)
There simply is no real options, because you can not place instruments and gear behind the table, monitor speakers and PC-display, and the room is too narrow to place anything by the long wall.


What are you calling "side walls", the long or short walls? As you can't position your gear by the long wall: speakers 2-3 feet from the wall would mean they're facing the other wall from 3-4 feet distance, and there would be no room for the musician.

Paul P


Charlie : "the first thing I think of though when someone says what you are is speaker placement.
it starts there first."

I agree and I'd include listening position as well. You don't want to be sitting in a null.

Play a few constant sine waves on your monitors and move around the room.
Some places the sound will almost disappear.

Popular wisdom is to be seated facing the long way down a room, about a third of the distance from the end wall you're facing.

And speakers and listening positions forming an equilateral triangle.

great point man. that's a huge part of it as well.