Sound absorbers for me - need YOUR advice...

[WmAx]

Some people LIKE the nearfield type of sound.

I'm sure that some people do prefer the nearfeild(similar to anechoic) type of sound. But I suspect that they are in the minority since this type of listening removes much of the realistic ambience possible on standard stereo recordings in a proper room.

Also, when you have a room that is 'volumetrically challenged' you have little choice. I'll guarantee you that whether you personally prefer the nearfield sound or not, that the room with no or fewer threatments would be a LOT more 'yuck' than it is with them.

I acknowledged this is my first post concerning the room in question. There is not doubt by me, that because of the room dimensions apparent in the photograph, that the sound was only improved by essentially removing almost all ambient sound.

-Chris

 

[Tritonman]

IMO..before you go buying or doing any room treatments there are a couple things you need to do first.

1: Measure your rooms frequency response. Find out where the problem is before trying to correct a problem you may or may not have. There are some free room measurement applications out there. If you have a Radio Shack SPL meter then you are all set. The link below is a nice free app.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.mulcahy/roomeq/

2: Educate yourself. If you dont know what each treatment is doing then you are defeating the purpose. All bass traps are not created equal and the materials used will affect which frequencies you are trying to correct. corner bass traps do not fix everything sub 80hz. So you need to find out where in your curve you are lacking and need the help. You may actually boost where you meant to diminish. The link below is a good wicked long educational read on room acoustics.

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

3: Try using existing furniture before buying/making room treatments..this helps in cost as well as the ole waf thing.

4: make small changes..go back to 1..rinse repeat.

5: if you are having difficulty with where to place room treatments due to waf or whatever reason..you may consider purchasing the DSP 1124p Feedback Destroyer. It is a very popular bass eq for $99. This will help dramatically cure peaks in your system and tame bass response. This will not enhance dips but mostly cure peaks to acheive a better flatline.

As im sure you know, treating a room is the best thing you can possibly do to your sound quality..but you have to do it carefully and make sure what you are doing will actually help with your problem. Can treating a room incorrectly actually decrease your sound quality? It sure can.