Thoughts on acoustically treating descending eaves

[spiritofmusic]

I'm pretty much at the point where I'm very happy w the raw sound from my room, much improved over the harsh, strident, bass thin sound from my old apartment.

I've made some big strides on maxxing subs performance from my Zus, and for the first time Im just taking in my music, and not picking apart my system/presentation.

However I've been assured (by someone who hasn't been within 150 miles of my space) that one unusual aspect of my room must be compromising things, and must be addressed (no hard sell, then LOL).

And that is my ceiling.

So I get the idea of corner bass traps, diffusion on the front wall and at reflection points on side walls.

But the subject of this thread is addressing ceilings.

And especially the phenomenon of sloping eaves, as in my case.

So, my room is a dedicated one in my roof loft space. My room extends to 18' wide, central midline maximum apex height is 9', eaves then sweep down R and L to side walls 4' high.

With the way the structural steels subdivide the eaves, if we take the eaves purely from above my listening chair to above my spkrs, in effect I have two zones of 8'x6', and one of 8'x2', of course doubled up for R & L.

So, choices could be:

Leave well alone, maybe angled eaves are a boon despite advice to the contrary.

Fill as much of exposed eaves as possible w diffusers.
That would mean 56 diffusers if sized 2' square.

Maybe half this number leaving 8'x2' strips of eaves untreated.

Maybe just diffusers above my listening position.

I'm genuinely unsure where to go here, I can find copious info online on bass traps, reflection points, but not much on ceilings, and even less on descending eaves scenarios.

 

[audioguy]

I would either go with "leave well enough alone" OR add absorption (NOT diffusion) at the ceiling first reflection points. If your speakers have controlled vertical dispersion, then ceiling treatment would be a waste of time, energy and money.

That said, I am of the belief of "When in doubt, don't"

 

[spiritofmusic]

Hi Audioguy.

If you were to ask me do I feel I need any treatments, I'd really say no.

The room untreated seems to have a naturally warm acoustic, slap echo seems nicely controlled, speech is v intelligible.

Indeed, additional absorption at side walls reflection points has proved to be deleterious, so it's gone (corner bass traps remain).

It's just that more than one person has commented on descending eaves by definition being a negative.

Re my spkrs, my Zus are dynamic coned spkrs, not dipole panels or horns, so I'm assuming there is greater interaction w side walls and eaves than MLs or AGs.

Esp since at their closest point, my Zus approximate 24" from the descending eaves.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Audioguy, can you elaborate on why you feel my eaves must be treated w absorption, and not diffusion?

I ask because absorption at my side walls reflection points were in balance a negative, and have gone.

Why would I want absorption on my eaves?