Your ROOM is messing up your SOUND!

👉🏻 This episode is brought to you by Bluesound:
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🎥 Camera: Olaf von Voss
🎬 Editor: John Darko
🕺🏻 Motion GFX: John Darko
💰 Sponsor segment: Jana Dagdagan
🛋 My listening room in 2022:
darko.audio/darkos-listening-...
🎵 Song IDs? Playlists of all music heard in this video - and other videos - can be found on PATREON: / johndarko
This is Part 2 of 2. Part 1 is here: • Watch THIS *before* yo...
Further thoughts:
darko.audio/2021/11/vicoustic...
0:00 What's the story?
4:22 Can't this be sorted in DSP?
8:25 Wait - did you hear that?
11:37 Please, Sir, may I have some more?
12:01 How full is the glass?
Vicoustic:
vicoustic.com/
How Vicoustic determines panel type and placement (white papers):
vicoustic.com/acoustic-princi...
With thanks to Max Schlundt Kultur Technik:
maxschlundt.de/
Further watching...
Jesco Lohan (Acoustics Insider) explains WHY the room is critical to good sound:
• Jesco Lohan (Acoustics...
#room #vicoustic #makeover
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[@DarkoAudio]

**PLEASE READ CAREFULLY** 1) Got a question? Please ask it of the Darko.Audio KZbin community (and not me) as I'm now busy making the NEXT video 2) All comments here are moderated by a third party: instagram.com/p/CTWcokaszpW/ 3) Polite comments that advance the conversation are most welcome (but no URLs, please)

[@nazaholicable]

As an experiment I listened to my hi-fi system at 2 am and at 2pm. The difference was night and day.

[@Davide_LP]

was it better at 2am due to electrical line stability? Do you live in an apartment? When was it built?

[@mrmick12321]

@@Davide_LP i think it was a joke

[@andrewlim7751]

@@mrmick12321 That's what most audiophiles did. 😁😁

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Wow!!

[@lindsaywebb1904]

One of the acousticians I worked with had the opinion that a room full of books is the best way to treat a room. Maybe a ceiling cloud to deal with first reflections and maybe a diffuser somewhere to fill a hole but that's pretty much it

[@juanmillaruelo7647]

Books are both absorbers and diffusers. My experience entirely.

[@brochg]

A room full of vinyl is pretty good as well.

[@benjaminqilafku5714]

My humble view of the importance of elements in the digital hi fi chain starting from the most important. 1 The room. 2 Speaker placement. 3 Speakers. 4 Amplifier. 5 Dac. 6 Cables. 7 Main.

[@evansstudios]

Agree, but I’d leave 6 and 7 out.

[@NameAndAnyNumber]

Thank you for that video👍🏼 A lot of people don't understand yet that room and its treatment is a huge part of listening experience. Upgrading speakers and amps and DACs is the battle for inches whereas adding treatment in an untreated room is a leap in miles.

[@christiansoldier1118]

I hear that Trampolines are a great audio accessory - you get to listen to different sound reflections whilst bouncing 🙂- also lets you listen as a small person then a tall person then a small person etc etc - depending on your Trampolining ability you can also listen up side down 🙂

[@harryatkinson9757]

I’d like to have some room correction capability for screaming kids and wives!

[@onzinlife]

Noice canceling headphones

[@sebastiaanhoenderdos7458]

Check your local locksmith, he might have the solution to correct your. Either that or some noice cancelling ducttape

[@LOUDERthanU]

Check your system for a round dial. Turning it clockwise tends to work for me….

[@thespotlightkid1011]

Sell them to slave traders & bob's yer uncle

[@7137271]

"The speakers play the room." -- Steve Guttenberg

[@kubjohal]

I wonder how effective John's sheep wool collars would be at dampening unwanted peaks ....🤔

[@joenogueira2801]

Room treatment returns THE most bang for the buck, but it has to be done right. I've treated my dedicated listening room and there's no going back!

[@DANBOOO]

Could you go in detail a bit? Maybe 5-10 sentences, or even more if you like to? I'm interested :)

[@joenogueira2801]

@@DANBOOO DIY - wood 1X6X48 - each with 2 rock wool panels. Cover with material of your choice. Made 24 of them to take care of reflection points including 4 on ceiling. Thick wood carpet on wood floor. My dedicated room is 11X17X8.

[@themoistgreenorganic]

Love this topic so much. Currently, I have 2 panels on my side walls, 4 hexagon panels on my ceiling and 2 floor to ceiling bass traps. I’m lucky since it is a basement room, but the results are stunning so far. I had no lasers or precise placements other than where they looked right but love the effect on music and dialogue. I have 2 more wall panels on the way and 2 more ceiling hexagons.

[@gsherlock]

5-6 years ago I bought some GIK panels for first reflections, the cost vs the level of improvement was way more than most of my equipment upgrades.

[@bhupendraparekh6225]

A rug really ties the room together, perfect for listening to bowling tapes on the nakamichi.

[@erics.4113]

That rug really does tie the room together dude. The dude abides

[@jwbrook]

Thank you thank you thank you. We spend so much time thinking about what kind of cabinets and baffles and wave guides our drivers are operating in. But, the room is the real cabinet. Think of the entire loudspeaker as the driver, and the room is the cabinet and waveguide. I think the thing about audiophiles is that there are no bragging rights or ego boosts to room treatment the way there are with name dropping or bragging rights about different brands, or how much money was spent on a specific component. But, the room is where the sound happens. Thank you for taking this on and taking this seriously. Hoping your efforts help shift the conversation. Much appreciated!

[@hrvojekant9415]

My rank of infuence on sound is as this: Master recording.. room.. speakers pleacement... speakers ... amp...DAC .. signal cables..mains cables and the electical instalation from the main switch board to the outlet... and finaly speakers cables. P.S. BSc electrical engineer and audiophil for some 40 Years Best regards ... and kudos to John Darco... Great job has been already done!

[@starbase218]

Since I invested in GIK bass traps and mid-high absorbers I have come to realize that your speakers talk to your room, and your room in turn talks to you. Acoustic treatment can make a massive difference.

[@noakwesterberg]

In response to John's previous comment regarding this treatment of the room potentially bringing his experience when reviewing products further from the ordinary consumer... I believe that having a treated room better allows the listener to better judge the difference between different pieces of gear. It takes the room (at least to some extent) out of the equation, thus yielding a better informed review. Although products will sound different in different rooms, this allows the reviewer to give an honest opinion on how products sound in relation to one another. I for one applaud this effort.

[@dudemastermaster8944]

Then again a consumer might have a totally different experience then he has while reviewing the gear. There are two sides of the coin.

[@jimomertz]

Room treatment definitely helps. My room used to be quite reflective, and playing music that had a lot of reverb in it was beyond irritating. It was unlistenable. Absorbers took care of that and now it’s just a recording with reverb in it. I would say the soundstage is more focused now, with better localization of the players in the recording, although narrowed. I can play music for longer periods of time and not get fatiguing. I’m happy I did it. I didn’t have to use ceiling treatment, which I consider going too far.

[@ibassnote]

I also despise clutter and I feel like the balance and flow of a room is paramount to me being productive and clear-headed. That said, room treatment passes the test because I look at it and the appeal of its function can over-ride much of my design squabbling. So it’s not just design, it’s also function that brings me calm and clarity. I don’t feel at all like a control-freak but more a lover of taming chaos. Great videos. Much to think about.

[@oevereng]

Thank you so much. Always checking for your videos.

[@Harry-Giles]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey. Thanks Darko!

[@russellparker4568]

I have a very modest hifi, quad s2s, m2si, ifi dac, good chord cables. Prob no more than 2.5k. What I do have is home made bass traps/diffuser behind speakers, no first reflection points, large rug on the foot under speakers and a giant rug on the front wall. It sounds 10x better with those few bits than nothing at all. Room treatment is a very powerful tool, not to mention proper speaker placement.

[@martyjewell5683]

Yup, no two rooms "sound" alike. Room size, shape, furnishings, speaker placement, standing waves and room nodes all effect what we hear. Inexpensive fixes can really help. Just don't be afraid to experiment. Glad you've found nirvana.

[@thobekanikhoza4038]

congratulations and well done! looks stunning this set up

[@tigertiger1699]

Cheers John!! A real advantage & privilege having you as a guide.

[@9duckman9]

I love your analogies. Like you, I’m often trying to explain concepts with “non-standard” analogies. Most people seem to think wtf but they’re really good for visualization and communication.

[@rothgartheviking858]

This is some of your best work. Great Advice!

[@vladimirdorta6692]

Great video. You help people understand the very complex interactions of sound in rooms so it seems very simple. Thanks.

[@jeffreythurston1822]

The room looks amazing and purposeful.

[@adamyelle4901]

Love what you've done with the room! Very professional. I can hear the difference in your voice. Enjoy!

[@geertvanbergen3905]

Wow John, I'm jealous! Also of the separate listening room, and fully treated. I must say that I've had/heard great improvements over the last months by using your previous tips into on acoustic treatments in a room (rugs, plants, soft furniture, corners, speaker placement etc.). Keep up the good work.

[@edwardferry8247]

I think they look very nice. Lovely design and a sense of calm. Congratulations 🎉

[@1999zrx1100]

The fact you say the room is calmer makes sense. I can’t wait to start doing my room. The echo sure doesn’t make me calm. Great stuff as usual. 👍

[@samsstuff1482]

Love your style and approach. After listening (almost fully) your podcast episode about the amount of work you do for each video… Well I appreciate these even more. 👍 This room treatment series has been extremely informative and helpful and I suppose the additional information will keep on coming in as you get more acquainted with your new room. So. Good job and keep it rolling. 👍

[@bennjaminscott4374]

Just started dipping my toe into treating my room, so thank you for these latest videos, very interesting and relevant.

[@JohnVander70]

Awesome, thanks for digging deeper.

[@evilmonstertruck]

Excellent video. Working on my room now bits and pieces at a time. It make such a big difference with every new thing I buy. I can't wait until I'm done. I really love this channel. It's very informative but also weirdly calming... May be the accent. Ha. Keep up the great work

[@5angels332]

I really enjoyed these two reviews. Everything you say makes perfect sense. Our ears are the most important component of any system and we can tweak things to make the system sound better through speaker positioning, better cabling etc etc. I can still remember the first time I found the sweet spot for my speakers, it was as if I had upgraded my whole system. Thanks for sharing John, keep them coming.

[@bitterandjaded_]

Glad to see you kept the acoustically treated houseplants as well. I need some of those.

[@johnpeschke7723]

Mr. Darko, I love your videos. you look for a perfect listening experience knowing that it isn't possible...but you try and i have found some low cost tweaks to bring out more clarity and precision from my humble little system. Thanks.

[@chawonytube]

I appreciate the practical approach.

[@michaelmartin3026]

Great as always!

[@aussierob7177]

I have curtains of different materials installed on all 4 walls of the room. They can open and close to expose part of the walls. Behind the curtains there are sections of the walls with other material attached flat against the wall. The floor is covered in thick carpet. The only true reflecting surface is the ceiling The room is also a home cinema with 120 inch motorised screen. Heavy motorised velvet curtains open and close in front of the screen. With the speakers placed about 3 feet in from the side walls and about 4 feet from the front wall I get a very non-fatiguing sound image where i can definitely hear the natural reverberation of the instruments in the recording giving an almost 3 dimensional soundstage

[@tedjensen8841]

Great project. Well done and appreciate your perspective.

[@buffal0bilious]

The new panels look great! Also, I see you've got the Meze Audio Liric there. Can't wait to (hopefully) hear your thoughts on it. Because I'm a renter that moves regularly and often live in spaces that are acoustic nightmares, I have a small collection of panels that do help, but there's only so much you can do when your space is changing every couple years. Owning a room that I can treat to the nines and turn into an ideal listening space is at the top of my audio bucket list.

[@davidcox3833]

I love your videos and I'm chuffed that you like the results of the treatment. I personally love near-field listening. I find it more immersive and engaging. I love my very "entry-level" system. Music is The Best. And thankyou for introducing me to some great new-to-me music.

[@tristanyseult]

Having been to a good few concerts, Wembley , Albert hall etc I was allways impressed how good the ceiling curtaining was. So I tried tapestries, ceiling skirts and the like and was very very surprised how easily dampening could work. Callways

[@aaronfriedman8201]

Great Video. I also ordered 8 6" deep GIK panals for my room. Since mine is a Living/home theatre/ stereo room all in one I had to really think it out so it would look less like panals and more like modern art works.

[@joshmcgowan4]

Great info as always!

[@frankcastora8348]

Brilliant approach!

[@Dutchamp]

Hi Darko audio, I didn't realise how much room treatment can do. I live in a quare boxed living room. Little small house. Lucky I have got neighbours and they are quite deaf. But the sound quality isn't for them 😊 so I did cheap soundproof foam, course mainly I got it for free. Placed a 2x2 meter thin wood and glued the foam on to it. Placed that panel behind my listning position. Did the same on the ceiling but only a view tiles with open concrete spaces. A big floor carpet on the floor between speakers and listning position. Unbelievable that so little do so much. My stereo is much more focused and a detailed soundstage. Little sounds from far behind the speakers. I keep this for what it is. Next house will be getting a better angled room and full acoustic treatment. I bet this treatment is far more valueble the all my cable upgrades and sourses upgrades combined. Thank you for the great video. Cheers

[@Hush99]

Green seems like a bold choice. Looking forward to seeing it.

[@josexavierjr.5633]

Once again, very nice John. Your place looks like the interior of a lively recording studio............hope it meets your expectations.

[@timvanrooyen]

looks amazing

[@juanmillaruelo7647]

Kudos to you, it is a mightily ambitious voyage. Congratulations!

[@georgeswanson9483]

Another factor is certain speakers exacerbate room problems more than others. Dipole or open baffle speakers seem to excite room modes less but paradoxically are more visually intrusive. Pick your poison, visually intrusive loudspeakers or visually intrusive room treatments.

[@doifeellucky]

Looks great. Big chunks of fudge. I think it works well with the room size. Unfortunately I think it would be too dominant in our much smaller room. Look forward to hearing more about it.

[@Underview]

A true audiophile, bravo.

[@danielferreira8456]

Great video. Saludos from Spain!!

[@fernandozegarraaudio8144]

John, I can only congratulate you on the decision you have made, for a few years now I also mentioned it in one of your videos, each time you improve more, since you removed the central rack and left it free, then you put bass traps in the corners and obasorption on the front wall, as you have already realized, this makes a BIG difference to listen to equipment, everything is cleaned, there is less stress, the brain does not get tired trying to discover what is in music, it is like when You are at the bar and try to listen to the person who is speaking to you, that is a mere example of what is achieved by helping the brain to work less and enjoy more. And when you get used to that sound and remove it, you will no longer be able to live without it and it is now that you know that the most important thing in the audio chain is the room and the speakers, as well as their correct position with respect to the listener. Congratulations

[@warrenec]

Great video that gave me a lot of ideas.

[@cm96yyc]

You can put canvas or burlap over the foam to change the color if you like since those are fairly acoustically transparent.

[@adotopp1865]

Hey John. Good Vid. Interesting great room, thanks.

[@aceofspades6667]

the room is looking great btw!

[@GrahamAtDesk]

I totally agree with you about the room - I think it's the best bang for buck upgrade there is. And environmentally, I bet it's far more responsible than just buying more electronics. 👏👏👏

[@moulesanctuary]

As a record producer and mix engineer working through 80s working In the best studios in the world seeing the demise of tape to digital I can say you speak so much sense it’s really refreshing. Your room is everything, I can destroy a great mix and wreck the sound of potentially great gear ... nice work .. I now follow you ... ps I am in the market for a streamer with a dac

[@supabayes3284]

Agree that the room messes up our music when we have large speakers and play loud enough. Suggest you also try PSI Audio AVAA C20 bass traps and also Trinnov Amethyst for room optimisation.

[@realcrypt1206]

Awesome and looks great, as I was watching the last video my first thought was that double sided tape was an ambitious piece of the ceiling installation puzzle, but otherwise looks awesome and gives me one more thing to add to my dream list, fantastic mate !

[@shanestephenson8423]

Need to do a fair bit of this myself. But unfortunately living in Australia is difficult to find a accompany to do a holistic approach treatment set up. Love your room it looks fantastic.😁🎧👍

[@garypick007]

For most partnered up men … dream on the female in your life will 99% say no.. While single, I’ll look at doing a scaled down version when I move into my new place. Currently my daughters ask me why I have so many sets of speakers!! Can’t wait to see their reaction when I do something similar to this 😂 Another great video and continues to educate and give ideas..

[@leepuddefoot-attackanglego7734]

Great video and rooms are tough to treat.

[@AlonAbraham1]

Beautiful room, wish you to have much joy from them:)

[@ericpernin7614]

Once again a very useful and clever vidéo. It gives me some ideas and willingness to dig into this topic. I'm a little bit afraid of the investment, but it is something I will care about now (like loundspeaker placement on which I took sometimes to understand how key it is). Thanks again. Eric

[@elcasho]

So true, acoustic treatments makes the difference!

[@jorgerodriguez6042]

hello Darko sorry if you know this but when you get rug make sure is made of pure wool one is more healthy and is good to stop reflection from the floor and one more time hello o hola from MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA but i am originally from URUGUAY

[@billd4328]

Interesting use of acoustic wadding on the shirt...

[@charlesdavis5542]

@@bobb.9917 You realize, of course, you can expect to pay much more for those "limited-edition,pre-worn tees in their unwashed,sweaty natural state-perfect when listening to your Blue Note original pressings(mono only)." John,I think I've just stumbled over a way for you to really maximize your sites profitability... 🤔

[@ShaneTregurtha]

I feel ya man. Audiophillia vs Minimalist Zen....The struggle is real!

[@erics.4113]

Us minimalists suffer the most in this domain. If you're a hoarder that packs stuff floor to ceiling you'll probably have a decent sounding room. At least reflections will be handled. But the desire for a room free of clutter and lots of bulky furniture and cabinets is such an echo chamber that will destroy your hifi system.

[@davidcox3833]

@@erics.4113 I think it looks more clinical than minimal. But he's happy, which is all that matters really. Music is The Best.

[@joet6434]

I imagine the room treatment cost a pretty penny, but as you mentioned, you only live once. If music, the sound it produces in your home to your ears enhances your experience and enjoyment in your life; it is worth it. For your average consumer who loves music like myself, we too strive for that elusive sound quality we have in our mind with the caviat being best bang for our buck. Your channel is always very informative; even if many items mentioned aren't readily available or within my price range, it is still always nice to hear what can be done with certain item variations or placemens or materials. A most entertaining and informative video and channel, I hope you are happy with the sound you are currently getting and success with future endeavours to improve it as it always ongoing the struggle for excellence.

[@eyelovelil]

I would like to say You Make Me Sick in the most positive way ever. You are as happy as a cat or dog being adopted from a shelter. The joy on your face, in your voice & expression say it all. I want what you have pure joy of a complete system i.e. room included. Love the video & update, the information is priceless. Keep it coming but tone down your happiness your making us jealous.

[@mikeables]

I like the white color of the ceiling mounted one. The wood jobs with the black slots would look better if they were all white. I always see those in the wood with speaker cloth looking slots and think they look ugly. White cabinet with white grill cloth would look better and provide a better backdrop for any art on the wall.

[@justlookingaround9834]

I’d have nowhere to hang my pictures! Looks very good as well.

[@StuartMcFarlane]

I had Vicoustics do the modelling for my living room too. While I've not purchased any of the products yet I was happy with the proposal they produced.

[@peterkeller-larsen6786]

what did they charge for the proposal?

[@htautomat]

Such a real guy…I loved the presentation and your obvious enthusiasm. I’m new to the idea of acoustical treatment of my own listening space, I have always just managed to stick my head in the sand and try to deny any flaws existed because this was MY wonderful hi-fi gear in MY comfortable home! So just now watching this video caused a spark of comprehension: practical and strategically placed acoustical solutions really do appear to provide a remarkable improvement of sound quality in the listening space, considering the amount of effort involved. And there’s the rub: the kind of treatment shown in your video uses some very expensive acoustic panels. Beautiful to be sure, but rather costly. I’m going to have to do my room treatment more in a DIY manner (sure would be nice to have some of those DC2/DC3 diffusers) and my main question is how do I determine placement of panels, diffusers and traps? Is there some rule of thumb on this, or do I need to have some electronic measurement taken? I think I have the right ideas concerning construction of the panels etc, and since I would be building them myself the subject of “how many” and “where” comes into play. Any and all recommendations on this topic are welcome, it will be knowledge that I don’t currently have. -Thank you -

[@nicholaslim7259]

Best HiFi channel, you can learn so much without having to deal with bullcrap

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

🤗THANKS JOHN …FOR DOING THIS FOR ALL THE REASONS YOU MENTIONED 😎 AND I AM SURE YOU WILL ENJOY IT EVERY TIME YOU USE IT 🤗 AND THIS WILL HELP YOU IN YOUR “ WORK “ AND ALL OF US WILL BENEFIT 🤗🤗🤗😍😍😍

[@ecyfoto]

I’m curious if you’ve now begun to second guess previous speaker reviews? I’m envious of your room treatments. Nice couple of vids, John.

[@martyjewell5683]

Swell lookin' lava lamp. I've learned some interesting stuff in this video. Got my first "component" hifi system in 1975 after military service and broke. Yup, it was budget all the way. Plopped down the receiver, put the turntable on a solid surface not too close to the amp and speakers went on shelves in the room corners. Man, it was boss. No idea of the Physics involved in room acoustics.

[@johnpischedda6951]

I reckon the aesthetics look good no different to art work on the walls . Nice job !

[@markwilson0077]

I've invested almost an equal portion of funding into Audio Video equipment and room treatment. Absolutely no regrets!

[@martinjordan9122]

Hi John, your voice is softer and clearer now in the "new" room. Actually, I had to turn the volume up a little, but that is not a bad comment, it just compensated for your softer voice. BTW Apparently books (on bookshelves) have great reverb-damping properties.

[@thesmithselvis]

Life is short, and that room treatment is living the dream.

[@Nick-sk1qp]

Your room looks fantastic, I’m sure it will give you better information to evaluate stereo equipment. Cheers.

[@markhouseholder]

Love to see the before and after reverb , rt30 or some measurements? Great idea and video…thanks

[@carlitomelon4610]

I spent the first video thinking that my REL subs would suck those panels off the velcro! 🎶🤫🎶

[@marcmoehlig7655]

"Icing a burnt cake" 🤣 John, it must be said you are unique...

[@rickgerritsen8972]

Roomtreatment is surely one of my dreams and possibly my next step in the "upgrade virus". Yours looks really neat and the materials used are very nice. I unfortunately noticed that some panels were not placed strait next to each other. With this kind of minimalistic looking treatment this will stand out. This should have been done properly; especially for the money and done by specialists. I definately don't want to spoil anything or mean be blunt, but they should correct it. (it's my opinion; compare it with hanging a painting a bit off axis).

[@1959ludo]

I have for me good sounding equipment but my living room isn’t ok but I can live with it. The last few years I was streaming Spotify in premium quality with my IPad using a dragonfly cobalt dac with a Hifiman Sundara headphone and I stream with Apple Airplay 2 to my stereo streaming receiver but I wanted more. I have seen your videos about Apple lossless music and I was inspired. But for the settings of the music I couldn’t follow so I contacted Apple Help and they helped me fantastic, so now I’m listening to Apple Music in lossless to Jethro Tull the album Songs from the wood and I can hear the difference. Thank you so much for your fine videos and be assured that I keep following you. Kind regards, Ludo Belgium

[@paulsebring6930]

I think this video is brilliant. The only thing I would do differently is to reorient the speakers to toe them in toward the listener.

[@robertjones8856]

Great video and channel. The point made regarding if new equipment delivered performance upgrade, like room treatment delivered was excellently made. I may have to tell the wife the wood blocks are modern art 🤭..think il have to settle for a small improvement. Best wishes all. (Rob)

[@matthewhilty4209]

I really like that phrase "icing a burnt cake" its much more eloquent than the term "rolling a turd in sugar". Added to vocabulary inventory.