Optimal room shape / New wall angles?

Hello! I'm redoing my basement studio to create a better recording environment and am wondering if changing the shape of the room as I design the inner leaf walls would be smart. The room dimensions are 21L x 14W x 7.5H. I'd like to retain as much 'room sound' as possible (all acoustic instruments in use) and I need to keeps the room as large as possible as it's also my teaching and rehearsal space. I'm planning to build an inner room but wonder if I should angle one or more of the walls to minimize parallel reflections. If I do create some walls that don't meet at 90 degrees, should I redesign the bass traps as built into the walls rather than the freestanding units that I now have? I also plan to make a pair of doors for the open doorway. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the shape of the room as well as how to handle the two small windows and fireplace that are in the room. Simply cover them with the new walls? I also have a breaker box to consider in the top right corner... The room also has HVAC duct work that runs the length of the room on both sides and drops down from the ceiling 8". :( Thanks for any feedback! Best, Derek

Hi Snyderman! I am not a moderator here but I'm going to try my best to give some advice based on the advice I have been given by other more experienced members here. One thing that definitely needs some clarification is your isolation needs. Are you building the inner leaf walls because you need more isolation from some other space (the rest of the house I'm assuming)? What are the current walls made of? I'm assuming concrete since you said it's in a basement. Just want to be sure. I can tell you for sure that you need to buy a SPL meter and do some tests so you know and we know how much isolation you actually need (in terms of decibels). Post those numbers ASAP! Honestly, until you know how much isolation you need, it will be hard to give much more advise. If you need a lot of isolation, the inner leaf will eat up more space and a decent room ratio will have to be determined based on those parameters. If all you need is a little bit of isolation, the inner leaf can be less substantial (maybe even just 2x4s with a single layer drywall...though that's not going to do much for low frequencies) and a decent room ratio will have to be determined based on those parameters. And by decent room ratios, I'm referring to tested ratios that provide a more even modal response in comparison to say a cube (which is the worst possible ratio). You might play around with this calculator a bit to decide where you're at (>>>>>>the ratio of your current room without an inner leaf is actually pretty decent as far as I can tell...definitely would need some input/confirmation on this from more experienced members though<<<<<<). Also, what is your budget??? This is very important information for the forum members here to be able to help you out. Without it, it's kind of impossible to know what is possible ( :lol: ) in terms of your build. Hope this helps some... cheers Trevor