What's so challenging about the double doors? Acoustically they're just another wall for sound to bounce off of. I assume these are wooden doors like you'd find in most homes. If they're a real problem put a thin panel absorber on each with an adhesive product capable of holding the weight, such as 3M's Command Tabs. Get some bass trapping in the adjacent corners and you''ll probably be fine without even touching the door.
The doors are full length glass french doors. Solid wood and glass.
The other challenge is my wife doesn't want anything done with them! LOL!
She was willing to accept curtains to be drawn across them, but there could be a way to have some temporary panels placed on the doors while I'm recording or mixing that I'd remove when done.
The obvious answer is always "get the best speakers you can afford," but to me the better answer is "get some reasonable speakers for your budget that leave room for room treatments after the fact." This will allow you to get some speakers in the room and setup properly (correct height, correct angle, correct placement relative to the front wall, ideally not on the mix desk, etc.), listen to the room with the monitors working, make some judgements, take some measurements and then make an informed decision about acoustic treatments. You'll almost certainly benefit from some treatments, especially bass trapping, but until the system is in-place you would just be blindly purchasing treatments and hoping they'll work out. With a listening test and room measurements you'll know exactly what you need, what you don't, will come in closer to your budget and will end up with a better result.
Yeah, I'm looking at a bunch of monitors right now....hovering around the $1000CAD mark each, which is around $750USD. Something like a Neumann KH120A or maybe a splurge for a Dynaudio LYD 48!
The issue with the LYD 48's is they're likely to produce much more bass compared to the Neumans.
I'm generally one to leap frog over the beginner stuff because I do value good sound.
That's bad advice. The ideal position for your mix desk is centered on the short wall in a rectangular room. Your monitors should be symmetrical to the desk, except for a subwoofer if one is to be used. If a single sub is used then it is ideally placed asymmetrically and as close to one of the monitor speakers as possible. Most people stick the sub in the center but that creates frequency cancellations from the side walls that can be problematic. There are plenty of calculators online that will demonstrate this and allow you to make an informed decision, but suffice it to say; "as close to either one of the stereo monitors speakers as possible" is a very good starting point for sub placement. Make everything else centered and symmetrical if possible.
I appreciate the clarification on the desk position. Man is the internet ever loaded with stuff to spin people around. I realize that this site is wide open to all kinds of individuals who definitely have the passion and training, there can definitely be varying opinions, which is great, we're humans! But man this can be seriously frustrating.
It sounds like it's a non-critical space. In other words, you're likely using this space recreationally as opposed to professionally the majority of the time. If that's the case then keep that context in mind when spending money and purchasing treatments. All of this stuff is great fun, but if it's stressing your budget then don't let it be a source of anguish. Get it functioning first and then fine tune it over time as budget, time, energy, etc. allow.
Yeah, critical listening "on a budget" so to speak. Not exactly going to the point that I have to do it all myself, even though I may choose to, but you're right. I'm not building "Roy Thompson Hall" in my home. And I'm also not trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill either. I like Neumann's point about sound treatment's on their website.....for the most part, have fun with it!
This goes back to my earlier point about getting monitors first. Setup the room and see how it works first. After that the treatments will likely only make it better acoustically, but will perhaps make things more challenging in terms of space usage. For instance, if you need to put a wall hanger up for a guitar in a spot that would be ideal for an absorption panel you have to decide which to prioritize, function or acoustics.
Awesome advice. I really appreciate it!
