Setting up studio in an apt room (advice plz)

KieranAce

New member
Afternoon guys, I'm moving next week into a smaller bedroom apt and need some advice on how to properly set up the best home studio I can. Obviously I can't build walls and stuff, but I can properly set up the room, hang acoustic filters, properly place speakers etc. So I need some advice on what the best way to do all of these things is. Like where would be the proper placement for acoustic filters vs speakers etc. Any advice is well appreciated.
Here's a photo of the room:
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You want the speakers in an equilateral triangle with your head. This is mandatory to get decent stereo imaging and any hope of a phantom center. It also sounds the best regarding frequency response.

The further the speakers are from you, the more of the room you'll hear relative to the original sound. This is fine in well-treated rooms, but problematic in poorly treated rooms. I recommend listening near-field. If your speakers are 3-4 feet from each other and each is 3-4 feet from your head, that's good. Try not to have your computer monitor in front of your speakers: keep it even in a line to your speakers. Having the monitor further back is better, if possible.

If the speakers can be symmetrically placed in the room, even better. Partly so you have much better panning and imaging, and partly because it makes placing acoustic treatment much easier. It's tricky in a room that small considering you have the bed and the closet, but it would sound better if you're able to work facing a short wall, centered according to that short wall. Second-best might be setting up in a corner.

Speakers generally sound much better several feet away from the wall, doubly so if they have rear-facing ports. Definitely move the speakers away from the wall if you can. Placing them on stands helps them sound their best, but putting foam between them and your desk is better than nothing.

By acoustic filters, do you mean acoustic panels? You'll only want to use absorption in a room this size, not diffusion. Fiberglass is a better absorber than foam, and thick is so much better than thin. 4-6" of fiberglass absorbs a lot. But the people that hang little wedges of foam ranging from .5-1.5" in thickness? Definitely try to avoid that.

If you can absorb the first reflection points, your sound will improve dramatically. That will probably be 2 panels, or 3 if you include the ceiling. Broader absorption, diffusion, and bass trapping are all wonderful things, but not possible in a room as tight as yours since it's also your bedroom. Just focus on treating the first reflection points. Google that if you're not sure what it means. The mirror trick will be your best friend if you're able to set up your speakers symmetrically in the room. But if you aim for a corner setup, you may be able to make something work without the mirror trick.
 
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