Asymmetric rooms can be difficult treat as reflections off the side walls bounce back to the listening position out of sync and distort the stereo image. In this video we outline some of the methods you can use to reestablish acoustic symmetry in an odd shaped room.
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"We get asked alot about how to treat asymmetric rooms. Most guides for setting up a space acoustically cover a rectangular room as that’s the ideal starting point for any kind of listening space or mixing and mastering studio.
The reason why it’s always better to start with a rectangular room is that acoustic symmetry is necessary for accurate stereo imagining. The sound reflecting off your sidewalls is going to combine with the original sound, so if one set of reflections is closer than the other then that reflected sound will arrive at the listening position out of sync creating all kinds of distortion.
Sometimes a symmetrical room isn’t an option and we’re forced to work with rooms that have outcrops or angled or even curved walls. Oftentimes people want to treat their living room but the floor plan is asymmetrical or the room extends in other parts of the house.
While all these scenarios can be challenging they aren’t without solutions. The key to treating an asymmetric room is to create acoustic symmetry through thoughtful placement of the listening position and treatments. Arriving at an optimal treatment might require you to test and experiment with different listening positions and treatments.
One method is to try to find a section of the room where you can place the listening position and have the first reflections be symmetrical. This is easy to do in “L” shaped rooms as each line of the “L” offers a potential listening position. Knowing which position is best is just a matter of experimenting and testing.
First reflections aren’t the only elements of your room that will be affected by a non symmetrical layout. It’s possible to end up with bass resonances that only occur on one half of the room.For instance, let’s say you have a 55Hz resonance, that corresponds to the low A on a piano. If that resonance is localized to the left side of the room then that low A note will be left of center at the listening position.
In rooms with large open areas that extend into the building, you can re-introduce acoustic symmetry by adding Gobo’s or free standing panels that mirror the opposite wall.
Sometimes these large openings can act as broadband traps as sound travels into them but doesn’t have enough energy to reflect back to the listening position. In these instances a sound well can actually be used to our advantage as it effectively absorbs low frequencies. Placing large bass traps opposite the opening can help mimic the opening and create acoustic symmetry.
The more comprehensive the treatment the less the room will contribute to the perceived sound, so one way to compensate for an asymmetric room is to make sure you have as much acoustic coverage as possible.
With any oddly shaped room, experimentation is going to be key. You’ll want to test a variety of listening positions by listening and with tools like REW. "
