Walls vs. ceilings

The four walls of our rooms are both friend and enemy. They contain and support the generated sound field while at the same time distorting music's reproduction. We cannot live without our walls yet it's a struggle to listen within them. I can mitigate problems to my room's walls through acoustic treatments such as bookshelves and furniture as well as pictures and diffusers. And then there are the other two often ignored walls: floor and ceiling. Floors covered in carpet are partially better but only for higher frequencies. Ceilings are even more of a problem: hard to reach; carpet looks goofy; extremists can add diffusers and absorbers. It's relatively easy to partially address the room's problems through wall treatment, but incredibly difficult to apply the same to our fifth and sixth walls—floor and ceiling. I don't have a magic cure, though the best course of action involves seating position setup—something covered in the Audiophile's Guide. The book itself is currently available on both Kindle and paperback on Amazon (where it is a national bestseller), and later this month, the entire package of the book and its companion Reference Music will be available on PS Audio's website. My son Scott will reach out to you with full details when the reference SACD and complete package are available on our website. Stay tuned for details.