Why I hate L shaped rooms /(gobo on wheels)

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:50 pm

I have the dreaded "L-shape room"...in my little guest house that I'm living in.
I have a HiFi system, outside of the DAW studio.
I am thinking of building a Gobo/wall on wheels or mar-proof feet to help define a more balanced space.
There are two options in the drawing, A & B.

I can see benifits and drawbacks to both:
A:
BENIFIT: leaves room for a kitchen table, is away from the AC etc, it's next to the studio for running any cabling between, adds a bit of privacy from the whole space if I have any "unexpected guests" (some people don't need to see my $12k sound system, you know what I mean?).

B:
BENIFIT: higher ceiling, some "space" behind speakers, leaves a large wall space for the art studio.

I am welcome to any thoughts you might have aesthetic, practicle or otherwise...Thanks.

=RR=

better image:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y177/Midiot/room_web.jpg

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:36 pm

I almost forgot about the Gobo Q I had...

I've seen drawings where there is plywood on one side only, fiberglass or rockwool in the center, and fabric only, on the other side....

Would option A or B change the way this might be built? (ply on both sides, or no ply at all?)
---------------
Added room info:
= walls are plaster and lath (interior walls are hollow)...
9 x 12 persian rug on top of linoleum, on top of concrete slab.

=FB=

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 10:13 pm

slow night.
So, if it's plan A, my guess would be that I'd want to get close to the same treatment on both sides of the room. But I'ld have to build a plaster wall for that and add a second bed...and get kicked out by the owner.
maybe the bottom half of the "gobo partition" would not have plywood (to sorta mirror the bed) and the top half should mirror whatever I do to the wall above the bed....whatever that is...undecided, but I don't look foreward to sleeping under fiberglass.
If it's plan B, I don't know what treatment to use "behind" the speakers.
On the left are windows, double layer curtains maybe...but on the right are flat cabinets, so...I don't know what to do there.

I do know, that there will be a giant egg sitting in the chair...
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20031115/fob3.asp

=RR=

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 7:04 pm

I finished building the 6' x 6' (x 4'' deep) wooden frame on leveling feet (sliders), and I need to take it to my house tonite (Sunday). I used the weekend downtime here (where I work) as the shop was empty, just me and a whole lot of tropical heat!!
I am willing to experiment with different materials, and I like to know what can I put in the frame now, temporarily, to test at home?? Because now it is easy to cut something and tack it in.

...here are the materials I have available:

1/2" 48"x96" Insul FB Shtg Reg Sound Bd Plain
pegboard
plywood all types/sizes
large sheets of balsa wood 1/2 and 3/4" thick
polyfill batting (huge rolls of it)
rolls of recycled foam carpet padding
r30, 9 1/2" thick fiberglass insul kraft paper one side
r11, FSK faced fiberglass
plastic encapsulated fiberglass..(3" thick?)
sheets of white beadfoam 2,3,4,5,6" thick
styrofoam peanuts- regular, and a weird 1/4" round type
many,many rolls of different fabric
packing blankets
"fingered" grey auralux type foam sheets

I know, there are some useless stuff there, but it's all staring at me, waiting for me to make a bad choice. That's why I'm asking you guys first.

=FB=

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 8:09 pm

FB,

a gobo won't help you to acoustically balance the space.

Part of the definition of a space is the construction itself - thus the framing - the attachment to the ceiling and floor - the stiffness of the assembly - the drywall, etc.

Even if you were to build a duplicate of the existing wall opposite the gobo - because it won't be a fixed assembly - and thus rigid and sealed top bottom and side - it won't help define the space.

What it will do is to take some of the ringiness out of the space - that's about the best you can hope for.

Rod

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:38 pm

Here are two things I found on the web:

Most of the links I found are regarding surround home theatre. Suprisingly, there were few references to 2 channel setups, but those seemed to be found in "subscribable" magazines...by the author....reviewing some gear....and describing his own room.. Confused

hmmmmm....

I am beginning to realize that the search for the perfect room can quickly become a psychological quagmire, sucking the art of the music, and a distancing from the original intention of "enjoyment". I make music as well, and am constantly 'analyzing' it in that setting.
It's not only the acoustics of a room that can do this...as you may guess a sentance like "I can't be satisfied until I get those exotic Russian preamp tubes."
I went through this (and sometimes still do) regarding equiptment, but finally realized the law of dimminishing returns was also dimminishing my bank account, and would often concider....'let's see, I could get that newest da converter....or I could get $700 of new music..' Now there was a time I'd get that converter in a heartbeat without a second thought....but never once did I drop $700 at the record store. Silly me.

The gobo.
I'll make one side hard, the other diffusive/absorbsive, and I'll move stuff around, and listen with the lights turned low.
And when I have the time, energy, and money, I'll do some testing and tweaking. Right now, I going to put on some Miles.

=RR=
(absorbsive?? what's absorbsive? Very Happy

)

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