There has a lot of discussion on stereo quality in relation to the different aspects of your equipment. Starting out with a good quality stereo sound is the first element in the quest for the best listening result. But the listening environment is the next issue to consider and can defeat even the best equipment.
Most experts agree on three distinct factors on the impact of the achieving high quality stereo results. The size of the room, type of materials in the room, and the placement of the speakers have the greatest impact. Hard surfaces with mass will bounce the sound waves, soft irregular materials like curtains and carpeting absorb the sound and stop it from bouncing. The trick is matching or at least finding that magical mix that allows the best reproduction of the sound or music.
So many people describe these two factors as dead and live, dead being when the sound doesn't bounce and live being when the sound bounces all around. Some different types of music or sound work better with live or dead listening environments. Rock and roll, Hip Hop, Country Western reproduce will in live room due to the nature of the music and instruments. Jazz, Classical, and Blues seem to sound a little better in dead rooms. Of course this is very general and any individual music can be an exception.
Unless you have an unlimited budget and lots of time to experiment, the ideal situation would be to find the best midpoint that allows a good blend of both factors. The average living room or recreational room where many people listen to music is around 10 ft by 15 ft. As long as you get good separation on your stereo speakers (placing them at least 5-6 ft apart) and with in 10 feet of the listener, you have a good starting point for your room. Your sub woofer will work best in a corner, believe it or not. But you can experiment with the location of your speakers in relation to the position you will be listening from to get the best result.
The next two things to look at are the floor and wall coverings (including drapes and windows). If the room is carpeted and you have large windows with floor to ceiling drapes of some kind, this by itself will create a non bouncing or dead scenario. If you have a drop ceiling with typical ceiling material it will dampen the sounds further. Add in a sofa and easy chair, a few pillows strewn about and you will stop the sound dead.
If your room has a hard surface flooring like wood or tile, no windows with drapes, and few wall coverings the room will bounce that sound everywhere (if you here any echo is a good example of live). The sounds will bounce multiple times creating quite a mix and echo. This is most likely too much of a bounce environment even for appropriate music.
There are easy ways to change up each type of room that leans too far to one extreme or the other. In the first example you can open the drapes, add some mirrors or hard surface wall hangings, or add furniture or decorative items with hard surfaces. In the second example you could add a room carpet, put up some softer wall coverings, and add some furniture to absorb some of the sound.
How far you go is up to you but small changes can have a measurable impact. You can experiment with different items and arrangements. Even changing the position you listen from and the location of your speakers. If you listen to very specific music, you can almost tune in your room to match the sound you like with a little effort.
