Acoustics VS Windows

Olijanovi

New member
I've got a side of my room that has huge window. How does that affect the acoustics of my room? Should I simply lay a curtain in front of it? Any better options?
 
Olijanovi,

A window will always affect the acoustics in a room. I do not have enough information to properly address your question. Please post a sketch or drawing of your room with dimensions, window & door placement and your proposed listening position/placement.

cheers,
John
 
I don't know how to post a sketch or a drawing. My room is a big rectangle. Looking at it vertically, I have a big window at the bottom right corner. The window doesn't do the whole side, it takes about 1/3 of the wall.
 
John will be able to give you the professional view of the black art (okay, a science that I only have the basics of) of your acoustics, but...

...one of my most successful rooms for home studio recording was a previous house where a full 2/3 of one wall was a patio door/window. I hung heavy curtains on a rod that protruded five or six inches out from the wall so the total gap back to the windows was almost a foot behind the curtains. When recording, I tended to place people in front of the windows (so the mic(s) faced the curtains, sometimes straight on or slightly angled with more formal acoustic treatment on the opposite walls.

It worked well for me.
 
I've got a side of my room that has huge window. How does that affect the acoustics of my room? Should I simply lay a curtain in front of it? Any better options?

If the window is on a portion of the wall between your head and the loudspeaker, you need absorption. In fact, you need absorption there (on both sides) even if the wall is plain sheet rock. Otherwise windows are not as bad as people think. They reflect the highest frequencies a tiny bit more than wood or drywall. No big deal. More info:

How to set up a room
Early Reflections
Surface Reflectivity

--Ethan
 
My solution is to build a large bass trap on wheels that allows you to completely remove the window from your studio area. Wheels will allow you to utilize the window if and when you want to.
 
There are other parts of a room that are more important than blocking a window. Worry about the corners first.
 
Back
Top