System edited: Added two DIY corner traps to help with some decay issues in the mid / upper bass regions as well as tame some of the brightness of the room. The traps are 7.5'x2'x6" rigid fiberglass in a wood frame covered in a black twin sized sheet. The brightness is getting better, and cellos are noticably more natural sounding in their lower registers. My fiancee plays the cello and thus I was extremely critical of this aspect of my system. I plan to add some more 2" thick panels at first reflection points. I'm just worried that I'll overdamp the room. But as it's all DIY and already purchased I don't see what a little experimentation can hurt.
My current room is 13x19 with a sloping ceiling (9ft at peak) that you typically see in a room over the garage. The sloped ceiling is something I've never had to deal with, acoustically, and this room has some serious bass issues.
Isolating from the floor helped dramatically, and I've also tried some cheap Auralex foam "traps". Unfortunately, for the bass region, the foam created a severe 125hz suckout without affecting any lower frequencies. Actually, I'm expecting delivery of a McIntosh C42 Pre that has the 8-band EQ, so I hope to tweak the room a bit more easily. I was real close to trying digital room correction, but I couldn't bear to digitize my vinyl.
Thanks for the suggestion. That's another thing to add to my list of things to try.
How small of a room did you tune your Goldi's to? I had been contemplating moving to smaller speakers but decided to treat the room first to see if I can live with big speakers in a smaller room.
I've enjoyed my Stratus Goldi's for many years now, but when I moved to a new house and much smaller listening room a few years ago, I had major bass issues to deal with. The most dramatic fix was to address a sympathetic room resonance caused by my second floor suspended floors and the major vibrations put out by these large speakers. I basically made two 1-1/2" thick oak platforms roughly the size of the footprint each speaker (plus 1" each side), and between these platforms and the speaker used Mapleshade Isoblocks. Decoupling the speakers from the floor made a huge difference (and it was inexpensive), and it solved a problem that I thought I needed bass traps to cure. I've also experimented with stuffing the ports, but that fix wasn't without some unwanted side effects. Good luck dialing-in your new room. Matt
System edited: Begining to work on some DIY fiberglass corner and first reflection treatments. The first set are 6 inch thick rigid fiberglass installed in 2 x 7.5 foot frames for the front corners. I'm planning on 2 x 4 foot 2" thick panels for first reflection points afterwards.
I've actually been reading up on DIY acoustical treatments and planning on some course of action. I just purchased the ETF software and a Behringer ECM8000 mic to do some measurements. It's truly enlightening to hear AND see the difference something like 6 inches makes on bass response. I just need to find time to whip up some Jon Risch DIY treatments and get around to measuring their effect on things.
As is, the system actually sounds pretty good at low levels. Medium to loud isn't so nice. I'm sure the system has a lot of potential but the room is really holding it back for the time being.
Glad to hear of another SFT-1 still hanging around. It's still a great piece.
You have a great setup--congrats! Had the incredible SF SFT-1 for many years, and although replaced by another unit, I cannot bring myself to sell it! Just would offer that some acoustical treatments can make a huge difference in the sonics of your system...regardless of your electronics (and better bang-for-your-buck). Made a huge difference for me--should tighten bass, improve imaging, and push back the soundstage behind your front wall. Just my humble opinion,
