The Syren

LOL!

I had to wiki that! Nice find.

The speakers go for 1800USD but I got a special price from Sridhar. Also, these are an upgraded model which is no longer available.
 
Capt sir, apologies. My friends know that I have the memory of a goldfish. You are definitely the OP when it comes to the Filipino Syrens and I've now wiki'd it twice without managing to remember! :)
 
Thanks Arun!

It is pretty heavy considering it's size :)

Thanks also for the recommendations. I've never heard A Perfect Circle so will definitely try it out.

Cheers!

I have a feeling you will like APC. If you have heard Tool and if you like Porcupine Tree and Opeth, you will probably like APC. APC was formed by Tool's lead singer, Maynard James Keenan. I consider him (one of) the best vocalist around today. I cannot recommend it highly enough, especially because it plays superbly on a good audio system. I struggle for words here, but the music is much more "immersive" and multi-layered and nuanced than most other rock bands.

Try Thirteenth Step first.

Something else that will play well on your system is post-rock - Godspeed You Black Emperor and Explosions In The Sky come to mind. Again, very multi-layered, although instrumental this time.

I hope to catch APC in Lollapalooza this August.
 
the filipino syren is all yours for starters. But do remember-
Thoda khao
Thoda fenko
(Eat a bit
Throw a bit), LOL.

LOL, time for a joint operation code named 'Op Syren' at Philippines. Wot say Tritya?:D

P.S. Hope I'm not testing OP's nerves.
 
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New Listening Room

Starting this thread to discuss some issues I want to address when setting up my new listening room/man den.

I am soon to take possession of my new apartment and I have a room dedicated to my stereo setup. The room is pretty small - 12x12ft. I had to come to a compromise with my wife about putting in wardrobes in order to have storage so the room will effectively become 11.??x12ft. I've been told that a perfectly square room is hell from an acoustics point of view so the wardrobes actually help.

Now, on to the issues I foresee:

Fan noise

My stereo rig currently is in a room very similar to the one I have described above. Even in the cramped space, the Syrens sound pretty good. However, a distinct problem is the noise from the ceiling fan. It was so intrusive that I have resorted to using a standmount fan at lowest speed setting (thanks to Bangalore's salubrious weather). However, I'm pretty certain that during peak summer, I will need some sort of cooling. What is the best option? Will an AC be any better? Will the external fan and compressor noise be intrusive? If I stick to using a fan, is there any treatment I can do to reduce the hum of both the fan's motor and the wind?

Proximity of speaker to wardrobe

This is also something I am facing currently. One of the speakers will invariably be next to a wardrobe door. How can I defeat reflections/bounce? I can put stuff in that particular wardrobe that is sparingly used so that it's not opened too often. Currently, the door next to the speaker is where I store my "beverages" so it is accessed very often and it's always scary to have to lean over the speaker to retrieve/replace a bottle. Even if I counter this problem like stated above, can I mount an acoustic panel on a wardrobe door? Any other suggestions?

I plan to use carpets, rugs, curtains etc as a base layer of deadening. Also make the room look nice. For the rest, I may save up for the GIK panels which sound good and look even better! Are there any other options which are more economical?

Overall, any other suggestions are most welcome. The room will be completely bare to begin with so if anyone has suggestions I can think of implementing them right from the get-go. My only request is to keep a reasonable budget in mind when recommending :)

Cheers!
 
Re: New Listening Room

Bluu... not sure about your room, but I am certain you need more than one foot of depth for a wardrobe, or any kind of storage other than a bookshelf!

Fans... A nasty, draughty, noisy nuisance. AC is better. Possible?

An unbridgeable cultural divide between my wife and I is that I was brought up never to sit in a draft, as, in the climate of the UK, it would lead to stiff neck and, according to my parents in the 1950s, even worse health risks! My Chennai wife, however, is uncomfortable sitting out of a draught. I turn off fans; she turns them on; I turn them off. A possible compromise here (and hey, I haven't comletely abandoned the topic of Bluu's room ;)) is a fan with large blades that rotates slowly. Unfortunatley, the fan shops and manufacturer's think that speed is the major selling point. Can we put extra resistance in the circuitry if "1" is still too fast?
 
Re: New Listening Room

I plan to use carpets, rugs, curtains etc as a base layer of deadening. Also make the room look nice. For the rest, I may save up for the GIK panels which sound good and look even better! Are there any other options which are more economical?
Bluu - from what little I know about acoustics, the goal will be to manage the RT60 (time for the direct reveberation time to decay by 60db). The goal should be, IMO, to try and get this under 0.5sec for all frequency ranges. Usually with carpets and rugs and curtains the higher frequency RT can be somewhat controlled. The trick is to get the low frequency say 200 hz and below to the RT goal, which will also be the toughest especially in the size of your room.
Overall, any other suggestions are most welcome. The room will be completely bare to begin with so if anyone has suggestions I can think of implementing them right from the get-go. My only request is to keep a reasonable budget in mind when recommending :)
Cheers!
GIK panels are an excellent method. Only consider the 244 panel which are 5" thick and can absorb upto approx 80 hz. other option is DIY with rockwool or mineral wool and IMO effective and inexpensive acoustic panels can be built using this method as well - a lot of sites show step by step building methods and I believe a few forum members also have done this. You will need minimum 6 panels, say 2'x4'. 4 in the corners and 2 at first reflection points. Additionally you can put 2 more in the ctr. of the wall behind the speakers. Just my layman's suggestions BTW, I am sure there are people with significantly more knowledge in the forum. Hope they chime in.
Cheers,
Sid
 
Re: New Listening Room

Thanks Sid and Thad!

Thad - You're right. I should have written 9.??x12 instead. The long and slow blades idea helps. Will look around.

Sid - I will start Googling for DIY panels. The GIKs, while great, are pretty expensive.
 
Re: New Listening Room

The long and slow blades idea helps. Will look around.

Bluu,
These long and slow blades are gone forever, I think. I grew up in my paternal home with high ceilings with these Osler (I hope I am spelling it correctly) fans with long and heavy blades and very heavy armature. I simply hate the modern noisy fans with short and speedy blades. They are certainly not good for any music, and my perception is that they are bad for health too. If you find something similar with long blades, please let me know, because in a matter of months, I have to buy 5 ceiling fans for our new apartment.

Saikat from Bangalore (now living in the US I think) once told me that arj from this forum has a pedestal fan (that he uses when listening to music) that makes very low noise. May be, arj can enlighten us all on this fan. However, direct air blast on your face which I dislike will still remain, I suppose.

Thad,
I am in the same predicament as you. In our household, the cycle is as follows: high speed setting (by my wife and our son) - low speed setting (by me) - ... - high speed setting. I always lose this battle.

Regards.
 
Re: New Listening Room

I think you've got the basics covered. That wardrobe thing is really a win-win situation: Much better than having to deal with a square room and a wife who was refused a wardrobe. :D

One idea to cut reflections off the wardrobe door near the speaker, could be to just hang a very small version of those decorative wall-rugs (not sure what they are really called) on it. Maybe even a small version of a bamboo-blind like thing might help.

A bigger hassle could be the wardrobe doors rattling with bass notes. But then that can be fixed with some paper wedges/blu-tack.

I have the same problem with the fan. Mine actually makes more noise when it is set to slow speeds using an electronic regulator. (Not to mention the electronic regulator going bust ever so often.) Before, when the fan used to make a real racket, I got my electrician to check it out. He said "changing the bearing" will make it more silent, and it did. For a while.

I do have an split A/C in the room but it is a bit old and it makes a slightly low humming sound (that does not bother me while listening to music at higher than medium volume). I think the newer ones are quite silent, esp. with the fan set to low.
 
Re: New Listening Room

Thanks Asit sir, will definitely look around and keep you (and this thread) posted. You are absolutely right about the direct air blast as well. In my current room, I have the pedestal fan pointed in my general direction just to keep the air moving rather than at my face which gets annoying after a while.

The fan itself hardly makes any noise but the wind veils sound.

Hydra - I also agree that an AC will probably be better. Need to figure out finances for it :)
 
Re: New Listening Room

When the enemy is strong and cannot be stopped, you can adopt a tactic of divide and conquer.

In acoustics, when you don't have enough space for absorption, then diffusion is the way. Try putting some diffusers at first and second point reflections. Those don't need to be as thick as absorbers. You can put the absorbers for low frequency in corners as corner traps. A combo of these should be able to get you by.

Good luck.
 
Re: New Listening Room

Hi Bluu
You have already got some fantastic advice. I would just like to add two suggestions

1) Don't start off room treatment yet. Wait for your room to be 90% complete (construction-wise). Listen to how your system sounds, experiment with placements etc and then only decide the treatment plan (that too minimalistic - just enough to tackle specific problems you may face).

2) Visit someone who has a treated dedicated listening room and discuss your options with them. Since you are in Bangalore, why don't you drop by sometime? I would gladly, show you my treated room and share some tips with you.
 
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