Ah, here is something nice 
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Finally ready to show my system. Vivaldi, Boulder 2160 amp, Rockport Cygnus speakers, Iconoclast cables. I had the room built when we built the house so I was able to optimize (or attempt to) for audio. I used an online calculator to tune the dimensions (27 x 16 x 11 feet). Walls are angled in 6 inches back to front, ceiling is angled down 6 inches back to front. Corners are all 45 degrees. Standing waves are non-existent and bass is very smooth. But I had a ton of echo, well over 1/2 second. Adding bass traps in all 4 corners and absorbers on the wall, and crown molding removed the echo. Room now sounds very nice. If you look close you see fabric in the wood panels, behind the fabric is 4 inches of rock wool. Separate dedicated AC lines for DAC and TV. Boulder amp is powered via 240 volt line. I have an Intel NUC running Roon ROCK in the Harry Potter room located down the hall. The Boulder is sitting on a granite slab, the DCS components are on some relatively low cost stands (wood with spikes). My theory is by isolating each device to its own stand and having minimal material to vibrate that stands/racks are less likely to vibrate, plus I seldom listen above 75 dB. For those who don’t know, the Boulder is rated for 600 watts at 8 ohms and 2400 watts at 2 ohms and class A to full power, it never goes to class AB. Clarity of this amp is astounding and I feel it’s an excellent match to the Vivaldi. So why so much power for 75 dB? Because it sounds so much better then the Boulder 1160 which is a class AB amplifier.
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Now we’re talking! Jealous of the system, but even more of the room. Have you measured it in REW? If so I would love to see the curves just to see how far one can get with an approach like yours. You seem to have done all the things that I would love to be able to do in my own room but am unable to for domestic reasons, and have had to try to “simulate” with DRC. You didn’t mention the carpet, the absence of which was the first thing that struck me in your first picture from years ago. Kudos (drool)!
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I l don’t really like the look of carpet, but it seems necessary to control reverb. Our family room is wood and it is loud. I didn’t do REW yet but I have the program on my laptop and purchased a mic, I just need to do it. I did play some tones and pink noise and used the Sound Tools app to measure Hz response. I have a bump in the upper bass, I don’t recall the exact Hz. At some time I need to run the tests and move the speakers to try to lessen the bump, but I really don’t notice it when listening to music. Playing tones was an eye opener and I recommend everyone do it. Sound Tools app is free and I used Vandersteen tones which I found online. The speakers are good to 20 KHz as confirmed by the app. I was rather surprised the iPhone mic could pic up 20 KHz. These tests showed me that I can hear to 14 KHz. My 9 year old twins can hear to 16 KHz. So this 20 to 20K hearing we all know about is likely wishful thinking for most people, even young ones.
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Absolutely georgeous Mark. I’m so glad you shared these!
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Fitted carpets are a complete aesthetic no-no in Sweden so we have a big rug. Don’t like the look of that either - but I love what it does to the sound!
I am now so audioscarred that when I look at a stylish minimally furnished room with a beautiful hardwood floor I just thing “Jeez, imagine the RT60 on that!
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Just reminded me of one of the annual Penta h-ifi shows at Heathrow in the '80s or '90s. Yes an exhibitor was demonstrating a special Italian Hi Fi rug! No doubt that’s what you have .
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Say what? Please can you post a link!! 
No link I’m afraid. I was standing next to the well known reviewer Ken Kessler who was just moving off saying that he had to go and review a *&!!ing rug.
I remember it had a well known Italian fashion brand label which I think was Missoni. BTW, they were not the guilty party but someone else who was retailing the rug. Yet another example of these things that come along from time to time where the seller thinks by adding “audio” or “hi-fi” to an otherwise commonplace item he can attach a premium price to it. Chairs come to mind as well.
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I wouldn’t be so quick as to say that a chair (or a rug…mebbe) can’t improve how live music and our stereos sound.
That spike I sat on for the three-hour Ween concert in London really affected my enjoyment of “Mutilated lips”. And the 5º-out-of-whack rug underneath our sofa at home really messed with the soundstaging until I realised that it was either a crooked rug/sofa or my head not being on straight. (I’ve had a head realignment since, and am so glad that I didn’t need to move the rug.)
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Mix of carpeting and wooden floors here, plus lots and lots of wallspace covered in art. What we call art, anyway…
I’m so, so glad that our RT60 is ok here. (I’d encourage people to measure with a cheap mic and Room EQ Wizard — so interesting, and helps identify problems you may not know you have.)
Gorgeous setup @Mark1961!
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And I’m not. However I am saying that normal objects are sold with an inflated price just by prefacing them with the magic words “hi-fi”, That chair I post is an example. It isn’t actually made by Gamut and is easily obtainable from normal furniture stores for considerably less.
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I am fortunate to have my own room, so kids and wife don’t have a say in it. And for me its function over style. In USA we have gypsum board walls (drywall) covered in plaster which are not good for sound. So I have a lot of acoustic panels on the walls. Its a work in progress, but when the equipment buying is done the next step is acoustics. Buts its not as fun as buying new stuff.
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Word. Should be the other way round really. Room first. But it never is. I suspect there are three main reasons:
- ignorance (10%)
- WAF (20%)
- You called it. It’s not nearly as much fun! (70%)
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Funnily enough, my impression has been (what we call) plasterboard, framed on to brick walls works ok - except for reflection points. I’m guessing, if you don’t have the gap and a brick wall behind it, it may sound very different.
Glass, brick walls (without the plasterboard) and concrete I found sounded horrible.
Sruts - I think this may be the reason behind so many people on this forum using headphones a sit elements the acoustic problem. I have never listened to high end headphones so I may have to add that experience to my bucket list.
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Our plasterboard is attached to wood studs with insulation between the studs. The plaster is very hard so there is a lot of reflections. Some people claim the plasterboard vibrates which mucks up the sound but I have not noticed that.
Then I’m with you completely, Pete 
I have no idea if this is the case, but I wonder if the board is softer in the UK - it certainly sags when it’s not supported.
The room I have here did echo with nothing else in it, but with sound absorption at the reflection points, there was nothing significant showing on the impulse graph (except for the windows, which was fixed with acoustic curtains).
Or, maybe you just have better ears? 
PS An alternative possibility is that two plasterboad walls back-to-back are resonating in a way plasterboard + a brick wall doesn’t allow, but that seems unlikely with insulation in the cavity.
My room is pretty big, 27 x 17 x 11 high (feet). And not a lot of furniture, so I am sure that contributed to the echo. But once I added bass traps in each corner and and about 60 square feet of acoustic panels the echo went away. I also added crown molding on the advice of Paul at PS Audio. Paul demonstrated how a hand clap echo is reduced by crown molding. I don’t know if the crown helped as a lot of this stuff was done at the same time.
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