willland Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) My 10.95 year old son's last day of school was Thursday and he was dismissed at noon so I took a half day at work to pick him up. We had lunch at Krystal(love those things) and went to a local At Home store just kill some time by browsing. Needless to say I found a great deal on some black "iron" drapery rods and some 96" grommet drapery panels. I have been wanting to add some color to the family room but just had not made it happen. Needless to say, 2.5 hours later all were installed and was just waiting for my wife to arrive home from work to get her reaction to my long overdue assertiveness. During that time of "waiting" I decided to listen to Pandora in stereo on my RF-63's and was taken back by the difference in sound quality. I usually put on Pandora for some ambient music listening but something in the sound drew me to my recliner to just sit and close my eyes and listen to the music. Some of the boomy "liveness" was gone and a crispness in the detail and holographic imaging and soundstage was revealed. Since the drapes were installed I have only listened to music from Pandora which as we all know is not the best source for critical listening. Later today I will pop in a quality recorded CD or SACD to see(hear) for even more improvement. Even TV watching last night seemed different. None of these "changes" were even anticipated before the install. What say you the acoustics "experts" on this forum? Bill Edited June 5, 2015 by willland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 See https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/127462-speaker-of-room-treatments/#entry1413375 Also see pg 194ff of this reference for data and plots on the absorption effectiveness of drapes. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveWJr Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) To answer your question, yes. Second only to carpet for non-purpose-built absorption. If you've got a bathroom with tile or linoleum flooring, just walk around talking or clapping with your towels hanging up and again with them removed. Seriously, just even 2 towels will make an audible difference in the bathroom. It sounds odd without them there. If you have bathmats and remove those too, the effect is stronger. Then imagine how large two drapes are in comparison. Edited June 5, 2015 by DaveWJr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) To answer your question, yes. Second only to carpet for non-purpose-built absorption. If you've got a bathroom with tile or linoleum flooring, just walk around talking or clapping with your towels hanging up and again with them removed. Seriously, just even 2 towels will make an audible difference in the room. It sounds odd without them there. If you have bathmats and remove those too, the effect is stronger. Then imagine how large two drapes are in comparison. My family room/kitchen/nook is large at close to 6000ft3 and 12ft ceilings, concrete block on 2 of 4 walls, with all tiled floors(over concrete) except for a couple of small area rugs. In other words, a very "live" room. I am sure this subtle change with the drapes would not have had such a dramatic effect on a less "live" room like my living room with all carpet flooring. Whatever the whys and reasons may be, I like the change. Bill Edited June 5, 2015 by willland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 If you click on the second link that I posted, above, you will see why draperies are effective. Effectiveness increases with increased folding of the curtains, and with increasing standoff of the curtains from the wall/windows/etc. up to one quarter of a wavelength of the frequency(ies) that you wish to absorb. The way that you calculate standoff distance (in inches) is to divide 3396 by the frequency you want to absorb...for instance: For 200 Hz, the 1/4 wavelength standoff distance should be 3396/200 = 17 inches, For 500 Hz, the quarter wavelength standoff distance should be 6.8 inches. etc. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) I have to agree 100%. I love Krystal's too. Edited June 5, 2015 by CECAA850 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) See https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/127462-speaker-of-room-treatments/#entry1413375 Also see pg 194ff of this reference for data and plots on the absorption effectiveness of drapes. Chris Thanks Chris, I read that section and fully understand. Behind the drapes are 2" wood blinds which I am sure helps also as opposed to just the glass windows. Though these drapes are not heavy velour thick, they are of the medium density variety and each of the four panels(two per rod) is 55" wide on 45" rods which results in a high degree of folding. Bill Edited June 5, 2015 by willland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 To answer your question, yes. Second only to carpet for non-purpose-built absorption. If you've got a bathroom with tile or linoleum flooring, just walk around talking or clapping with your towels hanging up and again with them removed. Seriously, just even 2 towels will make an audible difference in the bathroom. It sounds odd without them there. If you have bathmats and remove those too, the effect is stronger. Then imagine how large two drapes are in comparison. Also, make sure you take all your clothes off. They absorb sound too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Yes, I have wooden blinds too in my side window (to the left in my profile picture) that are about 21 inches from the drapes. That gives me an additional absorption in-room that is most effective at 160 Hz. You can see it in the REW RT60 plots at my listening positions when the curtains are drawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) I'm trying to find this out myself. Just put these guys up, crushed panne velvet from Rose Brand. 8' x 8' panel with about 2.5x fullness. Not really your normal Wal-Mart drapes, spent over $600 on just the fabric. Lots more to do though, this is only 12 out of 43 yards. Edited June 5, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 I'm trying to find this out myself. Just put these guys up, crushed panne velvet from Rose Brand. 8' x 8' panel with about 2.5x fullness. Not really your normal Wal-Mart drapes, spent over $600 on just the fabric. Lots more to do though, this is only 12 out of 43 yards. Wow. I tend to stick to things on the cheap, $120.00 total. Those drapes do look thick and I am sure will help some. I have read many times about over damping with too many too thick drapes in a room. http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr_srch.pl?&1&procsrch&3&4& Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) Those drapes do look thick and I am sure will help some. I have read many times about over damping with too many too thick drapes in a room. http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr_srch.pl?&1&procsrch&3&4& Bill In my room it's either that, or have a direct reflection off glass from the sides due to a massive double window, with it mismatching with drywall on the other side. I'm assuming the drapes will be better. I've seen guys literally wallpaper the room with drapes though, floor to ceiling, end to end, all the way around. Edited June 5, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 The drapes in your setup will definitely help control the reflections off the back wall from the rear of your speakers. I found the best way to get imaging is to put some kind of drapes or absorption material at the primary reflection points which makes a HUGE difference as you hear the sounds from the speakers and not the echo from the wall reflection. You may have already seen this but here is an excellent discussion that discusses this concept in depth: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) Where is Dragonfly? Anyone remember that guy? He would have loved this thread and wrote a page and a half response using 10 dollar words pontificating about some such stuff and then proceed to hijack the thread getting into nasty exchange with another forum member. Any way I digress, glad the curtains worked out, I can imagine they would make a difference, glad its for the better. Seems to follow the Dead End/ Live End theory of setting up a listening room. Edited June 5, 2015 by jacksonbart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I have about 10 Drapes in my HT room. For my purposes they serve a dual role.... both absorption & blackout liner feature. Certainly not full-blown acoustic, sound reduction panels, but they are an effective & cost effective approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Ambient room sound can have a great deal of outside and inside noise, from traffic, fridges in the next room, HVAC, etc., that can cloud up the overall listening experience. In contrast, the reduction or absence of ambient noise, which all of those things are IMO, can be a whole lot restful & relaxing, and make it much easier to concentrate on the music. Drapes and carpeting make things much more restful without interfering with, and in fact enhancing the music. I like a mix of carpeting, a modest number of drapery (I only have sheers, myself, since it's a shaded exposure, and WTW carpeting. I also have a roomfull of furniture, since diffusion is also an acoustic improvement IMO. Note that my drapery is along the near side walls and one side of the backs of my K's. I'm not sure what the effect of drapery hanging only behind the speakers. Good topic. There certainly can be too much damping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 drapes is what I use... whether or not it is working is probably not measurable. all I know is at night, with all the drapes closed, the system sounds MUCH BETTER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 none of it matters at < 7' from the speaker face. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I couldn't help but notice that the carpet doesn't match the drapes. I will also second the fact that absorption panels at the first reflection point really make a difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 none of it matters at < 7' from the speaker face. :D Actually it still does. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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