( At home · 7 min read )
The room that listens
Speakers, chairs, a rug, a lamp. How to set up a corner of a flat so that a record sounds like the band is in it.
You don’t need an expensive system. You need a corner that is quiet, a chair that faces the speakers, and a lamp that is not a ceiling light.
Speakers
Put them at ear height, as far apart as you sit from them, toed in a little so they point just behind your head. Keep them off the floor and a hand’s width from the wall.
Soft things
A rug, curtains, a sofa, a shelf of records: all of it soaks up the echo that makes a room sound like a bathroom. A full record shelf is the best acoustic panel ever made.
Light
One warm lamp. We are biased, but a red bulb has never made a record sound worse.
— the Velvet team, Lisbon
