Tile Floors?

[Tuddy]

Will Paradigms (Sig 6 or Studio 100) sound bright in a room with tile floors?

Should I go with a warmer, neutral sounding speaker like B&W 804s? (I think
these and most B&W's are overpriced, have read many posts @ various forums
they are difficult to drive, are finicky with room placement, and take 6 months to break in!)

I had decided on the Pdigms Sig 6 v2, but started researching room acoustics and
I have heard, even from another member here that just bought the studio 100 v4,
that some material can sound bright, but he tempers this w/ the EQ in his receiver.
He has hardwood floors with similiar furniture and area rugs.

I have a 25x15 tile floor family room, I do have about 60% of it covered with a large, thick
area rug with a pad underneath it, and a large wrap around leather sectional that can sit
10 people easily.

Main listening postion is 14 feet from my plasma- rug, leather sectional start about 3-4 feet
from current polk R50 entry level speakers, center and sub. 1/2 the ceiling is 10 feet high but
then the other half to 25 feet with 2 skylights in a cathederal setting.

Also, 8 feet to the right of my set up is a large paladium window, to the left open
to a harwood floor living room, directly back of the sectional is a 4 foot wall that separates
the family room where the HT is, to an open kitchen with more tile floors

In essense I have 2300 sq feet downstairs, open floor plan that is 60 % tile and 40 hardwood
floors, I do have lots of wall hangings, the speakers are no where near any side walls and I
have soft treatments spread throughout. The living room has french doors but we keep them
open, and the wife will demand they stay open!

My 7 yr old entry level polks sound good, really good @ times, and they are no where
near the caliber of the speakers and $ I plan to spend, and I do have room treatments, but
this is an expensive investment and there is no harm in expressing my concerns and getting
some feedback.

After deciding on the Pdigms, I am now back to the B&W's as they are neutral and warm,
but I prefer more dynamic speakers (don't pounce B&W owners, yes, B&W speakers can be
dynamic and detailed), but the 804s might be perfect for my, I guess, "bright" room?

Appreciate any feedback fellow audiophiles.

[Ethan Winer]

Tuddy wrote:

Will Paradigms (Sig 6 or Studio 100) sound bright in a room with tile floors?

All loudspeakers will sound bright in a room with a bare tile floor.

Should I go with a warmer, neutral sounding speaker like B&W 804s?

I think it's a mistake to buy speakers having a skewed response to solve a problem that is clearly acoustic in nature. Since you're posting in the Acoustics section, I bet you already knew that!

I have a 25x15 tile floor family room, I do have about 60% of it covered with a large, thick area rug with a pad underneath it, and a large wrap around leather sectional that can sit 10 people easily.

Well, the rug helps, but it's not the same as real acoustic treatment. And that helps the floor only, but does nothing for reflections off the walls and ceiling which should also be addressed.

I have soft treatments spread throughout ... I do have room treatments

What exactly do you have now?

--Ethan

[bpape]

I couldn't agree more with everything Ethan just said. Buy something accurate and fix the room. Don't try to buy something 'soft' because you have large windows and tile floors. If you ever go anywhere else, you'll be buying again.

Also, buying 'soft' rolled off speakers isn't going to do anything to deal with the bass decay time in the room which is one of the biggest problems in untreated spaces.

Bryan

[Tuddy]

Ethan,

Thanks for the reply.

I have various pictures, art, basically there is no wall
that is bare. Area rugs, big one's in every room as well as leather
furniture in the living room.

I am running a basic entry level system, yammie RXV1400, Polk R50,
Polk Center and sub, all appx 7 years old, sounds great, rarely bright
so I do not think I will have an issue, but you never know, and I plan
to purchase a multi channel power amp, willing to spend $1k-$1500
when I decide on the speaks.

I do not think I am interested in doing any "real acoustical" treatment
I can tell you my wife is not either.

We love the way the house is decorated and I am not gonna by some cloth
or other soft material to cover the exposed paladium window, defeats the
purpose, the skylight are 25 feet away, up in the air

The closest side wall to my system is about 14 feet away and I have pictures
on it as well

Flanking my system to the left speaker is a large, stone/masonry fireplace
and the stone goes up to the ceiling

Perhaps it will help if I post some picks of my room when I get home in a few hours

Anyway, how much difficulty can I really anticipate if my Polks sound good?

Thx again.