Did I create an acoustical nightmare?

[Pneumatic]

First of all... Greetings. I have been doing a TON of research on subwoofers over the last few weeks and now it's all ruined. I was finally reaching a decision but now it looks like I might have to wait.

On to my "room tweak" question....

My home theater is 18x26x11. It has a bar at the back, columns, a recessed area for the component rack (which goes to the ceiling even though it wasn't in the plans that way :-/), a closet, and a recessed oval in the ceiling. I brought my little Atlantic Tech speakers from my previous home theater which was quite a bit smaller. The primary place I need more 'oomph' is in the bass so I am starting with the sub and then I am going to work my way through the speakers, upgrading them to something more suitable for the space.

Here is the back of the room (during construction):



And here is the quintessential cheezy home theater pic with the THX logo on the screen (sorry, I don't know why but I just had to do it).



My question is... Is there any way to stop the bass from bypassing the main seating area and bouncing around in the back of the room? It sounds pretty good when I put the sub against the wall to the left of the screen facing the right side of the room but when I put it facing the seating I feel like it goes right past me and into the bar. I go behind the bar and it is MUCH louder back there. Putting the sub in the corner seems to make it louder but it's a boomy/mushy loud (not pretty).

I guess question 2a is... Would two subs help forgive some the stupidity I designed into the room when I drew up the plans?

Thanks :)

I can't wait to see the new bigger subs. I will definitely be a candidate for one (or two?). I just hope I can hold out long enough. I have the "man gene" where I want what I want when I want it, which is now. :)

[m-fine]

1) You did not do anything that sticks out as unusually stupid. Optimally you could build a room without any paralell walls etc etc. but that gets pretty extreme. The irregularities you have should actually help give you a little diffusion. If your seating is in the dead center of the room both front to back and left to right then you might want to try and adjust that, but it should not be a deal killer either.

2) You can play with sub and seating placement to help get the seats out of a null.

2a) Multiple subs will also help, especially if you have flexibility in placing them.

Once you get the sub or subs we can help you mearsure response to see what is happening and where is the best placement. EQ wont help with nulls but it will help with peaks and we can get you rolling down that path as well.

NICE looking room BTW!

[Pneumatic]

Thanks for the tips. I have some room to move the seating forward and back a little but to be honest I never even thought to try that. I am kicking myself for building that closet into the room and then putting the bar there. That pushes the seating closer to the screen and limits my options.

I see that TCA has the "Scamp" and the "Sasquatch" in the works. I would love to try out the Sasquatch and just tackle the problem with unyielding brute force. I might have to leave things as they are and see what kind of release date is announced. :)

Thanks again for the help. I love the vibe on these forums.

EDIT: I just noticed that I am member number 404 (as in "Server Not Found"). Not quite as cool as 1337 but..... Sigh... I just realized what a complete geek I am.

[klankymen]

another tip is to place the subwoofer (temporarily of course) right where the seating position would be, and then walk all around the room until you find the place where the bass sounds best. that's where you'll want to put the sub then (bad luck if this turns out to be on top of a bar stool or something like that :D )

[rumonkey2]

BTW - Very nice HT....:thumbsup:
Someday, someday....:scratchchin:

[Pneumatic]

another tip is to place the subwoofer (temporarily of course) right where the seating position would be, and then walk all around the room until you find the place where the bass sounds best. that's where you'll want to put the sub then (bad luck if this turns out to be on top of a bar stool or something like that :D )

I will try that. If it does happen that the optimal location is on a bar stool I will just have to learn to live with a sub on a stool. Sounding good beats looking good in most cases. :)

I am going to slow and practice a trait I generally don't have... Patience. I want to see what the Sasquatch has to offer so I will move my little underpowered sub around the room and just make it sound as good as I can for a while.

BTW - Very nice HT....:thumbsup:
Someday, someday....:scratchchin:

Thanks. :)

[sandworms]

nice room

hey, did you build that room yourself? I'm lucky if I can finish my daughters spongebob puzzle! amazing decor ya got there

[billnchristy]

Gorgeous room...looks like a showroom at an audio store that I can afford no components from. :thumbsup:

Here is what happened in my room:

Originally the room was panelled with a drop ceiling (hey, I didnt do it!) and I had my little Mitsubishi 10" in the front right corner, where it sounded great...seating position was forward of the door, say 9' from the front.

I built my room with drywall around and had to box the AC ducts so I have a 1' drop right at about that 9' point.

I built RCA jacks into the front L and R of the room figuring I would have it covered...boy was I wrong.

When I installed my system I had absolutely zippo bass at about 11-12' where my first seating position was...complete null...sucked!

I did the "crawling" for bass technique and found the best position was now in the BACK corner of the room (either side). Well, all my stuff is upfront so it was too late for that! I found a position that is odd, but worked substantially well...the sub is now right next to the door on the right side, at about that 9' position firing into the room. This eliminated the complete null, but bass is still heavier in the back of the room.

I then added bass traps (the foamy ones) to the front corners of the room...I got a good deal on them so I couldnt pass it up even if they arent ideal. Now everything is smoother but there are still a couple spots in the room where the bass builds up.

Soooo...my suggestion...try the middle of the room on one of the sides, or the back corners...but the best bet is to put the sub in your listening position and find the best spot by walking around the room...chances are it is in a completely unusable position. ;)

[Ray3]

That is a great looking man cave!!!

I have to also chime in about starting the journey for placement with the seating position. The really good news is that a couple of Scamps can probably provide some nice placement flexibility.

[m-fine]

I cant wait until you guys start telling people to put their Sasquatch on their favorite listening chair in order to find the best spot for it.

[hawkeyejw]

I cant wait until you guys start telling people to put their Sasquatch on their favorite listening chair in order to find the best spot for it.

More likely they will have to place their favorite listening chair on TOP of the Sasquatch! :p

[m-fine]

I was thinking more along the lines of needing a chiropractor and a new chair, but you are right, it would be easier to lift the chair :D