By the time we had finished the house tour and admired the quiet beauty of the fir-canopied neighborhood, we sensed that we would follow our hearts from unsafe and increasingly unaffordable East Oakland, CA to the serene hamlet of Port Townsend, WA. We also knew, given the house's layout, that the only suitable place for my reference/review system and my husband David's vocal practice would be in the 22' x 22' detached garage (below).

In consultation with, first, Acoustic Analyst Bob Hodas, and then retailer Brian Berdan of Pasadena-based Audio Element and John Quick of dCS (whose company has consulted with Berdan on its own listening room), we began to design the room. First up was addressing the garage's square dimensions, which were anathema to good sound. Brian suggested that we build an entry hallway/storage area that would alter the room's geometry. It wouldn't achieve the highly touted Golden Ratio, but it was certainly a step in the right direction.

While Golden-Ratio proportions indicated that lowering the ceiling would further improve sonics, I felt doing so would leave me feeling sealed in, and large full-range speakers begging for space. Hence, we compromised with a 16' x 20' listening room with symmetrically insulated walls, a ceiling that begins a diagonal rise on both sides before flattening out at around 9', and anticipated application of acoustic treatment.

Soundproofing was essential. After spending a decade living right next to music-blasting drug dealers, we did not wish to become known as the dreaded Oakland émigrés whose three noisy terriers terrorized their neighbors while Mahler blasted through their walls. Despite a few recommendations for Quiet Rock, we found its price too high. Besides, Brian had tried it, and frowned upon its sound.

Eventually, we settled upon a multi-decker sandwich of insulation, resilient channel, air, what seems to have been SoundStop, and gypsum wallboard.Special care was taken to ensure that walls and ceiling, save the floor and sliding door to the entrance hallway, contained the same materials. That door came about after Brian observed that the sliding door between Audio Element's sound room and adjacent hallway enabled him to adjust pressure in the room and fine tune bass extension and response.

At Brian's suggestion, we chose to lay extra high-density, ecologically sound Cali bamboo over the concrete slab floor. Only later did we discover that the flooring's finish can scratch at the least provocation. Thank God for rugs.

Money does not grow on trees. Enter God's gift to humankind, the noble and wondrous George Eckley (above right, with David). Purportedly "retired," the former high-school math teacher/Home Depot supervisor turned handyman said he could build the room for a most reasonable fee.

Once plans were drawn up by Teri Mielke of Matrix Drafting and Design, and modified more times than I wish to recall, George went to work. To lower costs, the husband devoted his days off to working alongside George. Given that my carpentry skills are as pathetic as my ball throwingthe only way I know to hit a nail straight on the head is through wordsI stuck to conducting research and making multiple trips to the hardware store. Offers to buy the boys healthy food for lunch went nowhere.

Electrical wiring was a major concern. With a dedicated line strategy created by Vince Galbo of MSB guiding our efforts, ultra-sympathetic electricians from Frederickson Electric installed super-grip AudioQuest NRG Edison outlets and 8-gauge wiring, and ensured as much noise isolation as our legally mandated, multi-breaker box set-up would allow.

Just as we were about to order a slew of environmentally friendly LEDs, Vince warned that they dump huge amounts of noise on the line. Instead, we installed moderately economical halogen incandescents. Multiple switches to regulate four rows of lights were chosen over noisy dimmers.

Jump ahead many, many, many months. My reference system Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeakers: dCS Rossini DAC, Paganini transport, Scarlatti Clock; Oppo BDP-93 Nuforce Edition; Pass Labs XA200.8 monoblocks; MacBook Pro with SS drive and external HD; Nordost Odin 2/1 digital and analog cabling plus Valhalla 2 USB cable; AudioQuest Diamond Ethernet and FireWire cables; Grand Prix Audio Monaco equipment racks/amp stands, Apex feet, 1.5" Formula platform; Nordost QB8, QX4, QK1 and QV2 power accessories; Stein Music Signature Harmonizers, Blue Suns/Diamonds, Speaker Matches, Super Naturals, and crystal Quantum Organizer; Synergistic Research Tranquility Base UEFs and Basik, Transporter, PowerCell, and cabling; Bybee Neutralizers; Absolare Stabilians; Stillpoints Aperture panelswas almost ready to go.

After carefully positioning the Alexias, we took a listen. As remarkably transparent, colorful, three-dimensional, liquid, and detailed as the sound was, the room's reflective surfaces rendered it far too bright. In addition, some of the bass was out of control.

Enter Bart Andeer of Resolution Acoustics, whose room treatment performed wonders when I first encountered it at a before/after audio show demo. Bart had just designed far less costly wall treatment than what Art Dudley and I had covered at shows, and was looking for a place to try it out. Without hesitation, I offered to be his guinea pig.

In taking measurements for Bart, I discovered that the room was not exactly symmetrical. ("Oh yeah, said George, I neglected to tell you . . .") That is but one of many construction dramas that I've omitted out of compassion for readers with delicate constitutions.

With acoustic treatment in place, including panels on the sidewalls to control first- and second-order reflections, the highs came into line, and bass response was much improved. Due to all the changes, Craig Abplanalp and Gary Bruestle of Seattle-based Definitive Audio visited for an amazing afternoon/eve of final speaker positioning and fine tuning.

Even though I do not have room for the bass traps Bart had hoped to place in the room's rear corners, recent measurements are immensely gratifying. The bass control issues are minor enough to allow me to review without compromise. Highs are tamed, and detail and color are superb. After analyzing my room's measurements using equipment Bart loaned for the occasionsee accompanying graphs, snapped by my iPhonehe sent the following assessment:

"The XTZ room analyzer program shows that the maximum peak (65) to trough (53) is a difference of 12dB, well within the 20dB target considered acceptable in the lower frequencies. The 'Real Time Analysis' [above] and 'Full Range' [below] measurements show a general slight boost in the bass, gently tapering off as frequency rises. This is what many audiophiles prefer. Finally, there is a roll-off below 25Hz that minimizes rumble.

"This is, all and all, a very nice response attained without the use of DSP. The addition of stereo subwoofers with good DSP would flatten the bass. More absorption would even out the mid and high frequencies, but at the cost of some liveliness."

Given that I love rooms that are not overly damped, I'm sticking with what I've got. (Famous last words of an audiophile.)

Shortly after room treatment was installed, David and I listened to Jacob Cooper's pounding Cast and Ted Hearne's brutal "By-By Huey" from Eighth Blackbird's Michael Bishop-engineered Hand Eye. David didn't go bananas for the music, but he did volunteer that it was great for showing off a system, and that the presentation sounded astoundingly three-dimensional for a two-channel set-up. Switching to voice, we both agreed that our favorite tracks by soprano Beverly Sills sounded superb. By audition's end, I knew that my recording and equipment reviews would benefit from the sheer amount of musical information clearly audible in the room.

Even after we had measured the room, there was one final step. Thanks to feedback from Garth Powell and Kevin Wolff of AudioQuest, two major changes were made to the electrical system. First, we moved the electrical breaker that fed the music room to the top of the panel to reduce noise. Even more significant, after we detected excessive noise on the line, I called our local power company. When the Jefferson County PUD. workmen arrived, they discovered that the 25 year-old electrical transformer serving our little corner of the hood was a rusted-out mess. Not only did they replace it with a new transformer, but they also upgraded its output by 18.5%.

The change to the system's tonal balance and resolution was marked. I wish I still had the measuring equipment, because I suspect that the graphs would look even better.

Recent confirmation that the attention we put into the room had paid off came when 20 members of the Pacific Northwest Audiophile Society visited on April Fool's Day for a system listen/amp comparison. How I managed to switch between files, CD, and SACD, as well as between my Pass amps and the Audionet Max monoblocks here for review, without making a fool of myself or blowing up something, I do not know. But when PNWAS members broke into applause at the conclusion of the very first track I played, Carolyn Sampson's perfect rendition of Mozart's "Et incarnatus est," I knew that we had done something very right.

Now that friends and local audiophiles can join us for musical and video adventures, and David can practice voice in the room, we are two happy campers. The only gripes come from canines Daisy Mae Doven, Leo Gleesun, and Guy Luvberg, who have been ordered to confine their shedding to the main house. The three perpetually tanked fish are also demanding larger quarters, and insist that I position their tank on the Grand Prix rack's top shelf. Excuses that the glass would be reflective fall on deaf ears. The saga continues . . .