Home Studio: Soffit Angles Question

Hey guys. So, my Studio (read: small extention on house!) is actually under construction right now after 2 years of waiting! Just for the record, I'm a 19 year old student, and the studio is being built onto my parents home. The purpose of the studio is mainly going to be a "mix room", though an adjoining room (main purpose will actually be a gym) will be used to record instruments. In terms of the construction of the room itself, it will be built from breeze blocks, and will be cavity walled. My dad is handelling the construction of this, but we dont have nearby neighbours so isolation isnt too much of a problem. Now, the room is very close to a cube shape, which i know is bad bad bad, but it was either that or no room, so i chose to have a room :P The actual internal dimensions are: 3160mm x 3075mm x 2500mm (I need to double check the height, but its around 2.5 meters) As shown by the following sketchups, there is a window (size tbc) on one wall (3075mm wall), and a door on one corner of the opposite wall. The plan is to have the speakers either side of the window, as this will be the most symetrical arrangement. I also want to soffit mount the speakers if possible. The speakers I plan to buy are Event 20/20's. However, as the diagrams show, the angles from the listening position to the speakers works out at 94.8 degrees (would make this 95 in actual construction). Would this be okay? I would like to keep the edge of the soffit wall 20cm, as this would allow the acoustic treatment to fit flush with the wall (see images). The two later drawings (with colour) are earlier drawings but the room dimensions are slightly out, but they show where i plan to place acoustic treatment. So, on that note, after reading Kendales diary I thought a combination of slat absorbers and plain rockwool absorbers would be adequate? The slat absorbers are 120cm x 100cm x 20cm. The opposite wall would have a mirrored setup, though only down to the level of the rack cabinets. The rear wall will feature a large limp mass style absorber, and the absorber underneath will be a gobo on castors to use in the "gym" when I need to record instruments, but will also double up as absorbsion in the "studio" for mixing. I also plan to include a cloud above the mix position, and possible a second cloud further back into the room. Also, there will be a corner bass trap in the available corner. The console will be an Allen & Heath Saber, which measures 150cm x 80cm x 100cm. I have read the "forum rules" post, however, I don't actually have an exact budget. However, as it is a home studio I would imagine keeping the cost under £1000 ($2000) will be appropriate, but improvements can be made over time. How much would this sort of soffit constrction cost? In Summary: If I build the soffit wall as shown in the sketchup picture, would the 38% mix position be calculated from the original wall, or the front of the soffit wall? Is it okay to build the soffit wall "around" the window? Is an angle of 95 degrees acceptable from mix position to speakers? > If not, how do you suggest modifying my construction plans to reach a 90% angle? Is the acoustic treatment suitable for the size of the room? Would you recomend plain rockwool absorbers instead of the slat absorbers? Would you recomend switching the slat absorbers with the rockwool absorbers? (so the slats are "on" the soffit wall rather than the rockwool) Okay, I think thats it for now. If you need any more details (room height will be updated asap), let me know! Thanks for your time and help, Gareth

gareth - could you please post the .skp file. If it's too big try Window/Model info/statistics/purge unused. cheers john

Sure thing, here you go:)

i'd treat it like this Gareth cheers john

Hey John, thanks for that!! For some reason I didnt think of extending the corner trap :roll: Just a few questions for clarification (not that I don't trust your judgement :D) Im guessing that as the slat absorbers are "absorbers", rather than diffusors, they will perform similarly to just plain rockwool, but without deadening the room too much? I've read about people not liking diffusion in small rooms, but because these are a bit of both, the effect is better? The monitors seem to converge around a foot behind the listening position. Is this an acceptable compromise between the angles of the speakers and the distance from the listener etc? Again, im assuming it is, because quite clearly, you are a genius :D :D Again, because you havn't mentioned it, I guess its fine to build the soffits around the window? Thanks again John! Over the comming months I'll be adding to the studio-build diaries and hopefully learning a lot in the process to help others with small pokey rooms :P Gareth p.s, You may have just solved my colour scheme problems :wink: :roll: