Sound reflecting

Yes it does, and yes it does.

a little side reflection is not a problem, listening to your hifi in a field or anechoic chamber would not be a very interesting experience, most sounds 'happen' in enclosed spaces, rooms, churches, caves etc. so reproducing sound in a home environment should include the room, most domestic speakers by reputable manufacturers are designed to take account of being listened to in rooms (check the videos for Wilson Audio Sophia design for instance) Too much reflected energy is not wanted, some energy should be absorbed naturally and some diffused naturally. If this is not so acoustic treatments will be required.

For starters get a duvet against your side walls at 1st reflection point and listen. Hear any difference to what it is like without? Pick the sound you like best out of the two and work towards it. We can talk about that once you have decided which sound is best.

Everything is reflected. You do not so much listen to the speakers as to how they interact with the room. Lots of ramifications at all frequencies and some good advice above for starters.

This blog post talks extensively about room dynamics. It's one of the best descriptions of the challenges when producing sound from the perspective of a room I've read.

http://www.tonmeister.ca/wordp...oom-is-scandinavian/

I found it particularly interesting and helpful as it describes my listening environment 100%

The author Geoff Martin works for B&O as a sound designer.

http://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/about/

Sound absolutely does reflect. It is the wall behind and infront of the speakers that I find can affect the sound the most. I use acoustic panels behind my speakers and it really enhances the details and subtle dynamics that would otherwise be smeared out.

When I start to get a headphone type experience with speakers I feel I have controlled reflections enough.

In an average domestic environment carpets and soft furnishings, like curtains and cushions, along with other furniture will have a big impact on the SQ. An empty room with hard floors is the worst scenario. When you walk into one have you noticed there is a mild echo of your footsteps and voice? The furnishings will dampen this effect. Even so there can be 'live' areas in a room, such as alcoves. You can test for this by clapping your hands in the area and listening for the echo. I gained a significant improvement by fully carpeting my listening room and using Expedit storage for my records in the alcoves. In a previous room I hung a kelim rug on the wall behind my listening position that also helped. As Simon said, there are also room treatment panels commercially available for this purpose as well.

Hi there,

I have four cushions propped up on the back of my sofa to prevent reflections.

I think that they help sound quality.

regards,

Schizo

You use this...

//www.roomeqwizard.com/

and an instrumentation mike such as the Behringer ECM8000 (and a phantom power supply / pre-amp).

Or you could get the professional versions that are

basically fairly similar

quite a bit more precise

MUCH more expensive