[j0hn]

Im in the process of hanging stuff to gauge the acoustic effect and have just today put up a curtain on one wall (right wall) so now I have curtains on opposite walls (left side is window). Speakers are front and center so first reflection points are now covered...

... but I wonder if a nice big rug or 3 small ones would sound better/as good as etc, I think it would probably look better.
The right wall where I am hanging the curtain or rug will be covering a door ( there are 2 to the room). I could put up acoustic treatment but it would go on the door but making it look like a front room is better so a few rugs/curtain is preferable and maybe a decent rug could give my room some real character. I will need to get past the rug/curtain to get to the door but the edge of the rug will end where the door is so it should be ok or should I just stick with a curtain?

Im also thinking to chuck a rug on the back wall as I saw a picture just a while ago on the net and it looked really nice but if the acoustic properties are not worth the effort then I'll forget it.

Any suggestions or reconmendations would be really appreciated as im not very good at this
thanks!

[ARNOLD AKIEN]

Originally Posted by j0hn

Im in the process of hanging stuff to gauge the acoustic effect and have just today put up a curtain on one wall (right wall) so now I have curtains on opposite walls (left side is window). Speakers are front and center so first reflection points are now covered...

... but I wonder if a nice big rug or 3 small ones would sound better/as good as etc, I think it would probably look better.
The right wall where I am hanging the curtain or rug will be covering a door ( there are 2 to the room). I could put up acoustic treatment but it would go on the door but making it look like a front room is better so a few rugs/curtain is preferable and maybe a decent rug could give my room some real character. I will need to get past the rug/curtain to get to the door but the edge of the rug will end where the door is so it should be ok or should I just stick with a curtain?

Im also thinking to chuck a rug on the back wall as I saw a picture just a while ago on the net and it looked really nice but if the acoustic properties are not worth the effort then I'll forget it.

Any suggestions or reconmendations would be really appreciated as im not very good at this
thanks!

I'd say that you are on the right lines but that determining the acoustic properties of specific types of rugs in a particular room will be pretty much a question of trial and error. If you can borrow carpets rugs or better yet tapestries and try out their effect you could then buy something similar that would match your own tastes and the rooms decor. Don't forget that the rooms furnishings will also have a considerable effect on the overall sound balance ... and then there's the AV equipment itself.

I suggest that you have a look at Arazzo site ...


Arazzo Tapestry for life


One of their larger tapestries might work very well on that rear wall.


Don't forget about carpets on the floor and try to avoid large reflective surfaces like coffee tables placed in front of the viewing /listening position ... strange how women do love the vile shin attacking things.


Arnold.

[j0hn]

rear wall sofa is against so its only going to be something like a 5ft x 3ft approx rug on there. (if needed)

here on this site under - wall hangings/residential
the photo on the right shows what I like and mentioned above, although my rear wall is blue so not sure what colour rug yet but I really like the look A M A Z E D Rug and Wall hangings

AV gear is in another room so will no effect. Floor will receive a new carpet or laminate with a rug depending on how any other wall rugs effect the sound. Also may hang two smaller ones behind the speakers if it would help
or buy some not so good looking acoustic foam (not my first choice). Of course I dont want the place to look stupid with far too many rugs

Have just clapped and there is still a ringing echo.

Not sure any store is going to let me take things home to keep trying unless I hook up with the bosses daughter

No permanent GF or wife so I do what suits me but need a small table to put drinks etc on

Thanks for your help

[j0hn]

Have just clapped and there is still a ringing echo.

or as my son describes it and I tend to agree, a springy echoe. If that makes sense to someone?

[j0hn]

Luckly today I happened into a rug/carpet shop and they have loads! Some real expensive ones that just look amazing but not modern, you know middle east stuff.
They even make rugs, so anything I like they can make into a rug. They also lent me two small ones to try out for different sound properties... but I could still do with some 'expert' guidance on this if possible.
ie What thickness, what material, how thick should the one on the back wall be, should it have patterns on that stick out etc, should it be one big one or 4 small ones, should the one on the wall at 1st reflection point be thick or can it be thin, that sort of thing. Thanks.

There were some bobbly rugs that reminded me of diffusers but if theyre going to look like diffusers then I may as well go and by diffusers. So I think the pattern will be some thing more modern and I go back Thursday to work some stuff out with him.

[j0hn]

well there is a difference between wool and arcylic

[j0hn]

Looks like its just you and me in here Arnold

hanging a rug on the back wall has the effect of making the sound louder. That should also be read as better.

[ARNOLD AKIEN]

Originally Posted by j0hn

Looks like its just you and me in here Arnold

hanging a rug on the back wall has the effect of making the sound louder. That should also be read as better.

The problem that you have in the 'you and me' factor is that whilst there have been people with similar problems to yours who have started conversations on the subject ... which is why I had that link to the Tapestry snd similar Stuff site ready to hand .. those people cant be counted on to be following the subject after they have solved their own problems. Indeed this post wont contribute an awful lot to carrying the topic forward beyond my reiterating that you can't beat practical experimentation with this sort of problem ... for the Price that is.

You could certainly call in the services of a specialist who may well do better than you have already but that specialist is going to charge you a lot more than You charge Yourself.

Having gained a good Result from that rear wall Rug you could shop around for a similar Rear Wall Carpet that you can actually bear to live with and also try borrowing LOTS of cushions and placing Heaps of the same around the room in points that your personal judgment tell you may affect the Sound: even pillows off your bed would serve as experimental acoustic baffles ... or whatever it is that they are actually called in the technical parlance.

If you are in Luck then it may well be that just piling cushions on the existing seating will produce a desired effect and if so you have a happy result in as much as all you need to do then is buy cushions to serve your own tastes in decor.

If you haven't done so already then you do need to see what putting a rug or two on the floor in front of the speakers will do to the acoustic.

I think that if I were doing this I would STUFF the room with as much practical soft upholstery Stuff as I could contrive to Borrow and then gradually reposition and remove said Stuff until I had a result ... your family and friends will think that you've gone Mad and that you might at any time drop to your hands and knees and scuttle round on all fours bitting people on the legs!


Arnold.

[j0hn]

Well I did look at what other people had done using the search function but for the most part I felt they didnt really report back with much info on what they found in their experiments. More like they left it or just said thanks, both were like reading a book only to find someone ripped the last page

I have carpet down, I have a thin rug on top, I borrowed two rugs when I was guaging the sound qualites, I also put them in front of the speakers, yes it made a difference, and no it didnt look cool.

Calling in an "expert" is probably not worth their time as I'd no doubt turn round and say sorry I aint having all that stuff pasted to my walls and ceilings.

[ARNOLD AKIEN]

Originally Posted by j0hn

Well I did look at what other people had done using the search function but for the most part I felt they didnt really report back with much info on what they found in their experiments. More like they left it or just said thanks, both were like reading a book only to find someone ripped the last page

I have carpet down, I have a thin rug on top, I borrowed two rugs when I was guaging the sound qualities, I also put them in front of the speakers, yes it made a difference, and no it didnt look cool.


Calling in an "expert" is probably not worth their time as I'd no doubt turn round and say sorry I aint having all that stuff pasted to my walls and ceilings.

SO negative. Consider it a challenge to your creativity. The problem may well be that you want a minimalist kind of room and that this sort of space does have all sorts of hard and reflective surfaces to provide that ringing echo that you get when you smack your hands together in an empty room.

You need to find something that will look cool whilst sitting in the same places that the un-cool stuff did and thats as much a challenge to your creativity in interior decoration as it is to your burgeoning skills in acoustic conditioning.


Doesn't Ikea have Anything that would look good on the floor in front of those speakers? Something that would complement whatever you put on the rear wall? You could use a really large carpet that sits before the speakers and reflects the theme of the rear walls hanging /carpet/ tapestry or whatever.

Arnold.

[j0hn]

Originally Posted by ARNOLD AKIEN

SO negative. Consider it a challenge to your creativity. The problem may well be that you want a minimalist kind of room and that this sort of space does have all sorts of hard and reflective surfaces to provide that ringing echo that you get when you smack your hands together in an empty room.

nah not overly concerned with a minimalist look. Its just lying 2 rugs on the floor didn't look very cool because the room isnt huge and 2 rugs appear more of a tripping hazzard. Think of it like speed bumps for ya frontroom, a hazarded, debatable, pointless annoyance

You need to find something that will look cool whilst sitting in the same places that the un-cool stuff did and thats as much a challenge to your creativity in interior decoration as it is to your burgeoning skills in acoustic conditioning.

now we are stuck! haha, my creativity runs fine in a man sort of a way, put it this way I have no gay genes in me so what I put together just looks , well you get the picture besides couple that with my indecisiveness and inability to make a decision we have recipe for disaster. When it comes to decoration I require stabilizers

Doesn't Ikea have Anything that would look good on the floor in front of those speakers? Something that would complement whatever you put on the rear wall? You could use a really large carpet that sits before the speakers and reflects the theme of the rear walls hanging /carpet/ tapestry or whatever.

Arnold.

IKEA is far away. Thing is what I put on the rear wall will probably go behind the speakers too...maybe,... hmm see previous point

[ARNOLD AKIEN]

My favorite Female Friend once looked at my , then new, curtains in the front rooms bay window and said that " They're alright .. but they are Such Mens Curtains! " How can bloody Curtains have a Sex!

I suggest that ONE large heavy carpet rather than two might Look more 'cool'. I have a Persian carpet sitting on stained and vanished floor boards and it works pretty well with the acoustic of the room ... and I have glazed bookcases in front of my rooms rear wall. Mind you I do have lots of cushions on my leather upholstered seating and then theres those " Mens Curtains "

You don't have an Ikea nearby where you live?! I had thought that Ikea was planning the Rule The World from their Not So Secret H.Q/ fortresses of Doom.


Browse the Ikea Site and then shop locally for something similar to whatever strikes your Coolness Receptors. ....



IKEA | Textiles | Rugs | Anti-slip & underlays


I see that You could even have a cow hide ...


IKEA | Rugs | Large & medium size rugs | KOLDBY | Cow hide


Now whats not COOL about Cows?


Though my sitting room floors rug is more along these lines ...


IKEA | Rugs | Oriental rugs | PERSISK | Rug, low pile


Then there's the rear wall hanging/rug .. Persian carpets brought back from the Crusades, by Homicidal Maniacs with Big Swords and far too little to occupy their time, were hung on the walls of many a chilly castle. It was hundreds of years before the fashion grew for putting Persian Carpets on the floors of said castles instead of the rushes that used to be strewn on those floors.


Now theres a thought .. I wonder what effect strewing rushes on the floor would have on the acoustic of your room?

A Medieval Theme ! Just the Thing ...very Macho.

[j0hn]

IKEA Bristol is 2hr drive each way. Not my idea of fun. Cow is ok depending on the theme of room. Not sure mine is going that direction. Tomorrow, well today as its past 12, im taking my chief designer with me, namely my 9yr old son who I trust has a better eye than me!

Im pretty pleased with whats been achieved so far. Ive also deliberately not yet used Audysee. I want to get the sound as improved as I can then stick the cherry on. Whats funny is earlier I switched my system on and didnt shut the curtain half way on the window. Reading email I found my head moving and my eyes spinning and quickly realised what was causing it, yep the sound was reflecting around the left speaker and causing all sorts of confused imaging. Funny I used to live with it After I watched Aliens 2 and have to say the sound field is way, way better than before even if I do prefer Alien Resurection due to having a soft spot (hmm choice of words ) for Winona Rider.

Rear wall rug is looking nice (the one we borrrowed). Not sure on the right hand wall yet, I like the big Persian rugs but at that price like I said previous im finding I need a seat when I turn the price tag! haha

Front walls behind speakers I would like to hang a couple of nice rugs in the same way people hang pictures, its just getting the layout right so it all looks nice. Ive spent hours searching the net and although the acoustic boards look ok...ish in other peoples homes I dont want them in mine, ive decided after looking at them I really do just want a nice home and not a studio.

Has it all been worth doing? **** I wish I'd done it years ago!!!!!

[ARNOLD AKIEN]

One of the interesting things about Persian Rugs/Carpets is that you can actually get antique Persian Carpets that have been in warehouse storage since the reign of Queen Victoria. I've no idea where Ikea .. for it is they .. got the carpets that I bought at ridiculously low prices in a sale years ago but, well, genuine bargains do crop up from time to time. These things do happen ..though not to me just lately. Anyway if you had the time then auctions might be a good idea or warehouse sales of course. I agree with you on acoustic boards. If I were going to those lengths I'd think in terms of ' floating walls ' made of some sort of .... but this gets much too complicated. Hangings are best and simplest for your purpose and you can take them with you when you move just as you can your Persian carpets.

On side wall it depends on what will 'Go' with your decor but anything that is cloth related would work .. Flags, cloth drapes that are intended to be slung over the backs of sofas can also be hung on the wall behind the sofa. I've even known people to hang travel souvenirs on the wall ..ponchos and similar such stuff.You could even put the Cow Hide on the wall.

There's an Internet site that sells genuine Navajo rugs. You don't really need to go to Ikea - though its convenient if you can - lots of textiles based Stuff on the Internet. Just brainstorm with your son on every sort of thing that can be hung on the wall to condition the acoustic of the room and then go Internet shopping. Now lets see; I'm not even sure how its spelled .. ' Navajo ' perhaps ? Near enough it would seem ... hum, there was a guided missile called th ... enough of topic drift! Here a Link ...


Navajo Rug Auction Information


I'm not sure how you'd bid from over here but I am sure that they would tell you. Or there's this ....


Navajo Weaving Buying and Care Information


"This section could also be called "How to Avoid Being Ripped Off on eBay". Every morning at about 6 AM, I get some coffee, and wander out to eBay to do a simple search for the words "Navajo rug" and "Navajo weaving". On any given day, there are 250 to 400 hits from those words. The pieces offered range from out and out copies of Navajo woven pieces (directly copied from a book no less), to real treasures that have been rescued from an attic and placed up for auction with a description like "Navajo? weaved rug" (grammar isn't an eBay requirement). In between, the offerings range from great pieces from reputable dealers to out and out frauds. Yes, I do occasionally ask an eBay seller how they determined the authenticity of a textile. "

It just shows you what is possible.You don't actually Need a local Ikea though their web site is useful for generating ideas.


Hereafter a link to an Internet page that Mods may permit as an example: I'm not sure what the forum rules are on e bay links these days but this should be permissible given the context ...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Navajo...d=p3286.c0.m14

E bay can be useful for this sort of thing, but here is a page from that store that I mentioned that Navajo products store that I mentioned ...

American Indian Store: <b>Exclusive Dan Namingha Pendleton Blanket</b>

Did I mention Native Blankets as an Idea? Well I have now.

On Audessy: it is usually best to have your room arranged to your satisfaction before you do an Audessy scan, but this does pre-suppose a straightforward relationship between speakers and listening /viewing position ..I've suggested practical system lay outs only to be told that the viewer/listener intends to do his viewing whilst lying in an improbable position on the floor.

Anyway when you do the Audessy set up you'd do well to borrow a microphone floor stand that has an adjustable arm so that you can place the supplied mike in just the right position each time that you make a reading. You will find that the procedure is much easier to do if you use the correct equipment.. improvised microphone stands are seldom a good idea.


Happy Hunting,


Arnold.

[j0hn]

Thanks for the further info , appreciate your time

I have a microphone stand, well a camera stand. Works ok and im pretty impressed with what Audysee did with a bare room, great product

Persian rugs, well the store I goto for my rugs has Silk, Chinese silk etc, well over a grand! but the feel!!!! it'd be criminal to walk on!!!!! I just stood smoothing them

I totally forgot the name of the store but I asked Andy when we went in the back office to look on the web. Yep the help was that good!! he even helped me decide on colours (see above posts!) and damn did I need it

I hope I am allowed to link to their website. After all I received good old fashioned customer service and it would be a shame not to point others in their direction, especially if someone is going to actually go in and shop there. So if your in Plymouth just down by Chaplins across the road (talking of Chaplins, the cafe in the back there cooks amazing meals that hit the spot, food is always red hot and I'd say thats another place where good old fashioned customer service is rife)

Anyhoo back to Rugs.... If you live in Plymouth and fancy trying some rugs to guage the accoustic effects, go upstairs and ask for Andy as thats who helped me

Designer Rugs, Modern & Large Contemporary Rugs: Traditional & Round Wool Rugs