Greetings all. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Apologies beforehand for the long-winded post, as I feel I need to put every detail I can into this to get the most accurate advice.
I am turning the second bedroom in my apartment into a small all-in-one room for my podcast/voice over recording and some music mixing as well. My landlord forbids me to nail anything to the walls and my fiance agreed to let me do this so long as we can move the couches and fit an air mattress in there and still use it as a guest bedroom for when her brothers visit, which is every other month or so. My room measurements are 10 feet by 11 feet and the ceiling is about 9 1/2 feet high. The walls are sheetrock and I have natural hardwood floors.
I'm on a next to nothing budget, so even the lightest purchases come rarely. Money is pretty tight. The first thing I did after repainting walls was consult with people from various stores and home theater treatment stores, explained my situation and budget and they recommended Auralex 1X1 pads, spaced by 6 inches. The glue won't ruin the walls, making my landlord not angry with me, and it will reduce the horrendous echo issue I had in the room. Before I had echo with any voice recording I did, now the room is a much quieter 20-25 DB. I have to be right next to my window to have any hint of echo. Here are some photos of my progress so far.
Painting
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...49448797_n.jpg
Layout after desk and furniture
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...53498388_o.jpg
After putting up Auralex pads to treat unwanted reverb
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...57119991_n.jpg
With Christmas money I bought a pair of Yamaha HS80ms. I loved hearing them in the store and they sound great already in my room. I'm aware that having my back in a corner and the monitors facing a corner is a big no-no, but I wouldn't be able to move it in a way it would let an air mattress fit in there and still fit 2 other bodies for my podcast. I can hear the highs, mids and lows pretty well and commercial masters and even some of my old sessions sound great on these speakers. Even corrected some mistakes on my old work when I was just using computer speakers and headphones. The monitors are each 4 feet from the wall, 4 feet apart and 4 feet away from me, with my ears at center level of the speakers.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A_GOBokCIAAWRWi.jpg:large
To sum this long-winded post up into questions: I know my room needs work in order to mix music in properly. What can I do with what I already have to make my situation better? What would I need to purchase to improve my room? If I have to re-arrange anything, what would you do? Any software I can use to test the acoustics that work on Mac with Snow Leopard? REW V5 won't read my interface for some reason. Anything else you'd recommend?
Thanks so much guys.
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