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I have a doorway in my listening room that's pretty close to my left speaker. I am getting a pretty severe channel imbalance in favor of that speaker. I don't believe it is electronics as I have heard it with multiple amps. My uneducated guess is that the right speaker is not being reinforced as well because sound waves from that speaker going towards the doorway are not being reflected. If I put a curtain up there and directly opposite it, would that help? Any other ideas?
I notice it more with the Signet speakers I have playing now (reserve speakers) rather than with the Alon Model iv that are currently being repaired. I should have the Alons up and running within two weeks, so we'll see if I notice it or if I can correct it in the meantime.
Follow Ups:
I still say it's silly to try to analyze a person's room over the Internet. BUT, since I'm in a good mood, here is something for you to consider:
You have a case of "acoustically coupled spaces". This much is certain. I am going to guess that the space which is through the doorway is fairly live - more live than the listening room. Or, it may be acting as a resonator. In either of these situations, the second space is behaving as a secondary sound source which is audible.
It's easy to think of a doorway as a sound absorber, but that's not always the case. The second space may be storing energy (via reverberation/reflections) and then re-introducing it into your listening room. This will make the sound louder on that side of the room. This often happens when the second space is a typically live room such as a kitchen or hard-surfaced entry-way.
hth
:)
Definitely something to think about here. I guess slate is a pretty hard surface?! I haven't gotten around to trying any of the suggestions here, but will this week. The weekend was spent in the garden and with friends.
I should have mentioned, but in addition to trying multiple amps I have also tried swapping channels. I've also tried swapping speakers. Still have the apparent imbalance. I'm going to try curtains but I think I will look around for a decent looking and reasonably heavy room divider as was suggested.
It's silly to try to assess/analyze someone's home via the internet.
I agree with Genungo use a door and if its not an active doorway put diffusion or absorption your choice.. in front of in and on the opposite side wall...
I have a 4-1/2'-wide opening (no door) on the left side and a wall corner on the right. That creates a channel imbalance similar to what you're hearing--less apparent output (and markedly flatter soundstage) on the right. I placed acoustical panels on the wall behind each speaker and at wall center--which remediated some of the imbalance--but what ultimately equalized perceived output was a large bass trap in the right front corner, suppressing standing waves and reflections that were mucking up right-channel output.
Offered as a description, not a prescription, as I don't know what other factors you may be contending with behind or in the vicinity of your speakers.
Jim
http://jimtranr.com
Hey, that's almost identical to my situation (my opening was 4'), sonic observation, and solution. Must be right then! :)
I didn't get into the room treatment stuff since he didn't ask about that. I did put a sliding door in the doorway, it does make a noticeable diff in many ways, and I admit I did it because I had some time and it was kind of icing in that I could live without it. I just thought that since I had finally finished treating the room, that I should address the last problem that I actually knew what it was, and knew how to fix at reasonable cost. There's not a lot of those (for me) after a certain degree of room treatment...as usual the last 10% takes 90% of the work...
It doesn't make sense to me that the imbalance is toward the open side with theoretically a larger area if you will to fill. The right side should have higher sound pressure levels since the volume of the right area is smaller. I agree with TK that you should swap channels too and see if things change.
I have an asymmetric room and one side is larger. I hear no difference in SPL between L and R but the difference in sides is only say 10-15 percent.
Good luck!
ET
David should definitely swap channels and see what happens because it makes perfect sense to check everything that might possibly be wrong. That said, it is entirely possible that the side near the doorway might sound "louder" even if there is no channel imbalance.Because reflected sound can play a big role in the way sound is perceived, we have to pay attention to what is happening with it. As long as reflections are close to being spectrally correct, they can increase the sense of clarity and/or "loudness" rather than diminish it - in certain circumstances, at least. Some have suggested that this is true because as the brain gets multiple "looks" at the sound in rapid succession, it registers or perceives "clarity".
On the other hand, "spectrally incorrect" reflections can muddy the presentation and reduce the sensation of "clarity". I suspect that the loss of some reflected energy caused by the open doorway is contributing to the imbalance described by making the speaker on that side of the room sound clearer (the blend of direct and reflected sound being closer to optimal). But, we won't know for sure until David tries out a number of possible remedies.
Edits: 08/23/14 08/23/14 08/23/14
Can you confirm that it is the speaker opposite the open doorway that is louder?
It is the speaker right next to the open doorway (no door) that is louder.
Have you no balance control on your preamp or integrated?
I do, but I'd rather fix the problem acoustically, all else being equal.
I think this is problem is related to acoustics. Acoustic problems can induce tonal imbalances as well as volume imbalance. Basic tone controls or more elaborate equalization might help, but I'd be inclined to try something else as well. A solid, freestanding room divider that can be easily moved away from the doorway when not needed might help.
Edits: 08/23/14 08/23/14 08/23/14
I just built two panels to correct a similar situation (well actually not a door but the "L" part of the room) so your concerns are nothing new to me, but trying to use a simple solution such as tweaking the balance control is a simple first step that can be very useful and instructive, costs nothing and, oh wonders, is totally reversible.
At any rate,any panel will be a bit of a crapshoot insofar as what frequencies are attenuated more than others and will require at least some degree of experimentation until such time as the OP is satisfied with the results.
The panels turned out pretty nice, if I can say so myself. I was thinking of posting pictures on "Tweaks", but would have to figure out my new digital camera first!
A "multi-pronged attack" (no pun intended) might hold the most promise.
Edits: 08/24/14
"I am getting a pretty severe channel imbalance in favor of that speaker. I don't believe it is electronics as I have heard it with multiple amps. My uneducated guess is that the right speaker is not being reinforced as well because sound waves from that speaker going towards the doorway are not being reflected. If I put a curtain up there and directly opposite it, would that help? Any other ideas?"
You might want to swap the speakers physically (without touching the wiring), just to be 100 percent certain the imbalance isn't from the system itself.
I have an identical set up, that is the right speaker is adjacent to a 6x7' opening. I compensate for the difference in side wall reflections because of this by toeing in the speakers so that the speaker's axis crosses in front of the listening position. This minimizes the wall reflections from the left speaker. It also changes the ceiling reflections some what, something I see as a benefit. Give it a try, only takes a few minutes.
How big is the room , how close to the wall behind?
That the left speaker sounds louder is indicative of a good thing. Try breaking up the wall surfacd behind the right. Plants (silk) in the corner work well,and keeps SO happy. Do not ignore upper corner (think corner tunes but try placing a simple triangle8 inches on the sides in the corner for starters.
All this will work well w Alons as they are dipoles from midrange on up.
The room is around 15 x 24 x 7. Speakers are on short wall about 4 feet out to front. Alons will probably go back a little bit.
Try Chuck's advice above. In a similar sized room I actually prefered placement of speakers on the long wall so I could space the speakers further apart without corner interference.
Against the short wall you have plenty of depth so keep even the alons at 4 feet out. Being partial dipoles they benefit from space from the back wall. You'll get a better sense of depth. BTw. the Alons including the IV have their midrange inverted in polarity: being triwired it is easy to reverse the polarity for the mid drivers and you end up with a more cohesive system. Please try the damping in the corners though I believe it will help quite a bit. Just for experimentation you could stack some throw pillows in the corner to about speaker height.
If the doorway has a door, try closing the door. If the doorway is open style, a simple curtain may not solve your problem because bass frequencies will not be reflected and/or absorbed as much as the high frequencies will.Short of installing a heavy door, you'll need some kind of solid barrier to cover all or most of the doorway. I would suggest looking around for a freestanding room divider like the ones used in offices, conference rooms, etc...
Look around in the used furniture stores in your area. I found a large, curved pair of room dividers with solid oak trim for $50 once. These are the fabric covered, thick and heavy type. I stand them up in the corners of my listening room (convex side out), where they absorb and disperse reflections effectively.
You will have some bass leakage regardless of what you use to cover up the doorway. Installing a permanent, heavy door would be the closest thing to having a solid wall there but you may prefer something moveable, so a tall room divider might be your best solution.
Edits: 08/22/14 08/22/14 08/22/14 08/22/14
The presumably open doorway will definitely affect the output of the speaker nearest it. I have a doorway ~4' wide near my front left speaker.
I can easily measure the effect of this doorway, both as to frequency response and more significantly re room reflections and decay times. Before measuring, I could hear that speaker, for whatever reason, sounding the smallest bit louder in the high frequencies than my right speaker. Before using proper tools I tried the usual solutions that people who think their ears can't be fooled usually try.
Solution: put in something to cover the doorway. It doesn't even have to be particularly solid. Not something absorbent like curtains, but something just solid enough that it will act like what's on the right side in the similar position.
One caution: I was so involved in treating the sonic aspects of the room that I foolishly didn't consider the heat aspects. May not be relevant to you. But my room gets damn warm when that doorway is covered, nice in the winter, but not nice even in this cool summer here. So if this might affect you, choose something that either has venting (wood slats, perhaps rotatable?) or that can still be quite effective when open a bit (sliding door?).
You mean our ears can be fooled?
That's (heat) definitely a consideration. We have a small propane stove downstairs that does more than just augment the upstairs electric base ray, we try to use it as primary heat. Whatever solution I come up with will have to be moveable.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions.
Couple of questions come to mind -
1 is door open or closed?
2 solid core or hollow core door (tap on it - hollow sound - the latter
3 if you cover the door w/ a curtain - put an identical curtain in the corresponding position for the rt speaker?
Good luck - but the room is usually the last 'component' to be upgraded....
What's wrong with you ?
Everyone knows that entrances to listening room must be made from either
a firepole or an attic type drop down ladder. If you opt for the firepole you can then invite your buddies & a dancer from the go/go bar over so she
dance while you guys critique your speaker setup.
If the wife "nixes" the pole entrance you're stuck w/ the drop down ladder!
Seriously though,what the "sane" poster suggested w/ curtain idea seems like
a "feasable" solution (Though much less exciting;Home Depot or Lowes sell
poles right?)
Pole! My real audiophile buddies think I'm a pozer because I haven't sprung for a completely sealed room with teleportation device!
BTW, I obviously wasn't clear, this is an open doorway with no door. I already have some heavy curtains with curtains that can go over some storage shelves on the other side, I will start with that. A room divider sounds like the appropriate next step. If that doesn't work, brick over the door and install a hole and firepole!
I have a handful of my dancing girls stand in the open doorway during listening sessions.
The best ones are the real fat ones.
Hmmm... I think having the channel imbalance might be the preferable "compromise" to that
scenario.
I would'nt care to have an upset stomach instead of the imbalance !
Seriously though, back in the old days you could go to Radio Shack & pick up that "SPL
Meter" then go home & playing a mono signal try to measure the sound level for each speaker from your listening position. (Not as much fun as the other suggestions , but they
won't come to your front door & ask you to surrender your "Audiophile Certificate" for
a "Certifiable Certificate")
into the room -w- zero toe-in.
Then experiment with angling the other speaker (slight/gradual toe-in) until the bass and center image seem right.
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