While driving to work this morning while enjoying some really nice music in my car (pretty basic setup, but with better speakers - door midbass and dash tweeters, and some other speakers in the backdoor), I realized I actually really like what I hear. The relatively small speakers provide enough bass and loudness. On the other hand, I cannot really listen much at this level at home when other family members are at home. That lead me to an idea to build up a car sized listening booth in my cellar, sound isolated to enjoy music any time of the day. I imagine loudspeakers built into the front wall and the chamber shape/corners could be used to some advantage. Subwoofer could be placed under the seat. Construction would be wood with fiberglass insulation - like the room-in-room isolation booths some drummers use in their homes. It would be bringing the room and the speakers into a single system - but it would not sacrifice a whole room of the house, but just a part of one room. I just wonder if this is really worth the effort to build up the cabin/booth or if it is a complete nonsense🙂 I am pretty sure someone has had this idea before and something like this has been built already...
I wonder if you could make it a triangle ( imagine the wall you look at whilst seated is at 45 deg, a bit like a windscreen ), if it would be better for bass.
There is something to be gained just by sitting close to a speaker. But since your goal is bass.
I was reminded of the "cone of silence" from an old tv show.
I imagine it more like the little saunas that you can buy. I am pretty sure there would have to be ventilation and windows.
@cracked case It would definitely not be a fully rectangular box. I actually imagined the back part to be like a pyramid with absorbent material.
@billshurv Yes. A HiFi chair based on this design http://www.hm-moreart.de/14.htm was one of the other ideas I had🙂
@HeadShake Actually, not only bass, but also SPL inside that would not be annoying outside on another floor - now when I listen in my cellar room, it can get annoying in the elevated ground floor at times.
@cracked case It would definitely not be a fully rectangular box. I actually imagined the back part to be like a pyramid with absorbent material.
@billshurv Yes. A HiFi chair based on this design http://www.hm-moreart.de/14.htm was one of the other ideas I had🙂
@HeadShake Actually, not only bass, but also SPL inside that would not be annoying outside on another floor - now when I listen in my cellar room, it can get annoying in the elevated ground floor at times.
Ok, I imagined another egg. This actually created another idea that might work with what I have already tried - build a listening corner around the chair with SLOB nearfield subwoofer - or even normal OB subwoofer. I would not get much SPL suppression, but the absolute SPL at the speakers would be lower. And maybe then, the booth thing is not really necessary.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/unrolling-tigerfox-immerse-360
"New Patented Product Replaces Stereo Systems, Headphones and $100,000 Listening Rooms"
USD479 each, intrguing....
"New Patented Product Replaces Stereo Systems, Headphones and $100,000 Listening Rooms"
USD479 each, intrguing....
I think its more cost effective to use a higher end pair of open back headphones and augment the LF with a subwoofer, so you get the tactile listening experience. The first time I've tried this sort of setup, I was amazed at how realistic this can sound, and you wouldn't feel claustrophobic sitting inside some overpriced plastic contraption. My next best preference would be some higher efficiency open baffle speakers setup nearfield with single ended amplification.
Subpac do a wearable/seatback sub for the tactile part. No idea if the buttkicker works as well under the seat...
Had that by accident when I was listening to Sennheiser HD650s at the stereo listening position and forgot to turn off the speakers! Heh... i'd say open back headphones with woofer modules that does punchy midbass as well to complete the visceral impact of bass...
Yes, headphones and nearfield subwoofer/woofer system is something I want to try as well. I have Stax Lambda for that. They are great on their own. But in the end, headphones are not as comfortable as speakers.
it would be interesting to investigate why we (you) like listening in a car so much:
- is it being uninterrupted for a certain defined period of time and having some privacy to enjoy music?
- is it the increased bass response due to small and airtight room pressurization?
- is it the increased bass and lower midrange due to additional back door speakers (their high frequencies are mostly absorbed by seats)?
- is it the several absorptive (seats) and curved surfaces leading to pleasant acoustics?
I would say it is mostly point 2 - I see the back mirror (slightly) shake with drum or bass. And for some reason (maybe the tweeters reflected and spread via the wind shield) the sound is both punchy and clear in the heights.
The last point is also probable - and the car is IMHO a live end (wind shield) dead end (the back window reflects into the seats, so the reflection is damped and maybe a bit diffused?
The last point is also probable - and the car is IMHO a live end (wind shield) dead end (the back window reflects into the seats, so the reflection is damped and maybe a bit diffused?
One consideration is that nearfield listening has the advantage of reducing the proportion of reflected sound, so I wonder how much of this is sacrificed in a booth-type listening room. Maybe car audio people have already got this figured out? Anyway it sounds like an interesting, and family-practical idea.
Wow the TigerFox website is something else! Sooooo many words for one product. Looks like fun, I'd love to hear it. It doesn't solve Pelanj's isolation wish, but it's a start. Maybe the isolation pod should incorporate the TigerFox curve. 🙂
I remember a number of years ago, 40 years maybe, they had a hanging wicker chair that kind of cocooned the person, open in the front.
Someone added open, full range, speakers to the sides so it looked like a giant headphone. It was purported to sound pretty good and was comfy. 🙂
Someone added open, full range, speakers to the sides so it looked like a giant headphone. It was purported to sound pretty good and was comfy. 🙂