Questions relative to fabrics found in movie theaters

[TLS Guy]

Why does the first graph show a decibel level near 95 dB? This is concert-like volume; no one can listen at this level for a prolonged period of time. It is deafening. The baseline should be around 70 dB, speech level and recommended for everyday listening.

I don't see anything dramatic in the frequency response when looking at the Newell/Holland paper compared to 35 nearfield monitors: https://dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/assetlibrary/n/ns10m.pdf

There is no perceivable distortion 1. and 2. it is acknowledged that this is not a bass-heavy speaker. To me, it sounds neutral/flat. This is far from ideal for most rooms, indeed. In my current room, these are not midrangy, can-sounding speaker that kills my ears with distorted sound. You seem to take measurements way too seriously.

The db level is because the testing mic will have been 1 meter from the tweeter. I did not mention distortion, but you can bet that cone breakup will be associated with distortion.

Measurements do matter. A speaker that measures poorly will not sound good. However you can have a speaker that measures fairly well that does not sound good. That is because the measurements tell you little about the power band response. You can keep an amplifier at full power, but you can't do that with a speaker or you will burn it out.

In speaker design measurements are essential, otherwise you are bumbling around in the dark. After first hearing that speaker I could have drawn the FR curve pretty accurately. I would have been very unhappy with the FR plot of it was one of my designs and would not have put it into service.

Lastly you are wasting your time trying to improve a speaker like that with room treatments. If that were one of my designs, it would more then likely ended up a bin job. However that would have not got to the build stage, as I would have never have crossed it over above the cone break up point. That is a crass error.

Unfortunately there are far too many designers in the commercial world out there who don't know what the H they are doing. However I do believe the proportion of those is declining over time.

 

[ScareDe2]

No, no, my computer room where the NS10s are is completely treated. My living room, where I installed the wool rug, is just TV speakers on concrete in the basement. I spend far more time in the computer room, though.

I will conclude this is a huge misunderstanding. Your first graph tightly matches the one provided by the anechoic chamber measurement, suggesting it was measured in a similar environment. Another thing is that the NS10s are room-sensitive speakers, as was suggested in the study itself, meaning the surrounding environment can impact the sound and help the speakers lean toward neutrality. Also, the thin bass can be improved immediately by positioning the speakers near a wall. Improving the bass, enhancing the neutrality, worsening its sound, or anything in between, can be achieved with room acoustics. Mine sounds completely flat.