I have a nearfield setup that I’d like to possibly improve. Here are some pictures of my current setup. It’s in the corner of a 15x15’ room with a tall ceiling. I can’t really move my desk anywhere else currently but I can possibly put up some treatment with 3M command strips. I have my speakers on some isoacoustic stands. I’m guessing first reflection point is roughly where the mic is but I’m not 100% sure. I added some spare panels I had behind the speaker and in front to see if it made any difference. Any suggestions and links to products would be helpful. Thanks!
One of the very best thing about near field setups is the speakers typically have a short direct path to your ears. That solves so many acoustic issues on its own. You might be just fine the way you are.
Treatments need to be some order of magnitude in relation to the total room size to make much of a difference. Tiny treatments make tiny differences in my experience. 15’ x 15’ with tall ceilings is not tiny. Intuitively, a bass trap where your two longest walls intersect is a great place to start, but you can usually get a complete eval of frequencies for $50+ or DIY.
Use the “mirror trick” from your listening position.
Are you noticing sound characteristics you don’t like?
Not really…which is why initially I was just thinking of upgrading my speakers but most people believe room treatment for near field will help a ton so I was just looking for ideas.
If I were just starting, and just wanted to buy somebody’s good thinking, I’d stack these as high as possible in my biggest corner (where longest walls meet).
You probably need at least a foot or more behind them. Perhaps a good place for absorption of some sort. If you are open to new speakers I would consider looking for a true bookshelf that’s not rear ported. Harbeth and ProAc have a few models. I know there are others. I use ProAc Tablette 10 Signatures.
Yeah I’ve definitely considered something sealed or front ported. I’ve tried pulling them further away from the wall with my current desk and I actually like them a little closer. I’m thinking of adding some bass panels behind to maybe tighten up the bass a bit. I do like the current bass output though and It doesn’t seem overbearing.
Interestingly enough, I think bass is cleaner and doesn’t muddle up the mids as much as something like the Proac D2Rs that I heard at an audio store with a treated room.
I know sealed is the general recommendation for desks though, just afraid it won’t go as low as I would want them to go. Do you ever wish you had more bass with your tablettes? Another option I’ve considered is ATC SCM19’s.
I’m also afraid of all of these just being side grades rather than upgrades. I’ve tried Buchardt A500s and BMR Philharmonitors in my setup and they were downgrades/sidegrades at best. The Proac D2R’s would be a downgrade as well. So in terms of speakers, I’ve been looking at speakers like Dyn Confidence 20s or Focal Utopias but I can realistically only afford used ones.
Let me try hitting on this.
What’s the rest of the room look like?
Are you able to rearrange the desk so your desk is into the room 1/3 space? Even if it was facing a window. Getting the desk out of the corner may help without any purchases. Kind of like a studio layout.
Just a thought
The room is a game room that’s 15’ x 15’. One corner is where there is the double doors so it’s not a perfect square. In my picture, I’m in a corner with my back to the door. To the left of me is another desk that’s 98" long. The wall to my right has a toy shelf currently. The wall to my left has three big windows. The wall behind me has a sofa. Since it’s a shared space, there’s not a ton of options. Once the kids are bigger, I could possibly move the toy shelf away but I definitely cannot move the desk into the room.
Just my simple thought: are you able to move (change) your desk in order to position it at 45 degrees in the same corner? Like a triangular desk. You loose a bit of room but it would sound better having a sort of symmetry around your speakers.
I swapped out my 30 year old B&W N805 speakers for this brand new pair of Vivid Kaya S12s in my nearfield computer desk system. Breaking them in now. Vivid sound in two rooms now. Fun!
I may put googly eyes and wax lips on them.
(Acoustic treatments)
