But it is clear that in your context, there would be little to do.
Having ceilings of 3.30 metres is a real acoustic luxury! Enjoy it.
Just a correction, if I may.
It’s in the listening or mastering context that we treat a room.
As for recording, we like to record in a room with good acoustics, rather reflective and as natural as possible. The room is part of the recording. (except for pop music, which is recorded in “chunks”).
When playing a track, we want to hear the recording venue, not the reflections in the listening room.
Well I think I may, finally be done. My room is 4mx4.5m I now have 4 monster bass traps 5 tri corner traps and 3 245? Panels for first and second reflections all from GIK. Most recent addition of 2 monster bass traps had a dramatic effect. The ATC 40 passives I have on loan suddenly blossomed in the mid range (they were bass heavy before) and everything just clicked into place.
The 40 actives arrive tomorrow though but if any more treatment is needed I may go active bass traps.
When you’ve solved the problem of overwhelming bass, that is what you hear.
And now you have it all: bass, mid-range and treble, all balanced.
A concept that is often misunderstood is decay-time.
This is a key concept for room acoustics.
All rooms have room modes. These room modes are resonances. The room resonates like a bottle being blown into.
The smaller the room, the more it resonates higher in frequency. Just like a bottle or guitar string, the smaller the string the higher the pitch.
These resonances can also be understood as a sound that lasts longer than it should, which then covers everything else: the mid-range and the treble.
Treating the room for the lower end of the spectrum is like removing a noise that would cover the rest of the spectrum. And suddenly, everything becomes clear , crisp and intelligible.
Until one tries it, one doesn’t know what it is.
And it’s not 2-3 panels that will make a difference. You really have to hit it hard to absorb that lower end of the spectrum.
One more step in the building of the listening room.
I finished the electrical part.
All circuit breakers are wired.
Each device, the Taiko Server, the Soulution 760 and the Soulution 711 has its own dedicated line, its own circuit breaker and even its own phase (I have three phases at the input, 3 x 230 Volts).
The in-wall cables, the circuit breakers and the earth leakage circuit breakers are all designed for audio.
In terms of power hygiene, I believe the maximum has been done. We can’ t do more or better (apart from placing the system on batteries).
(don’t do this by yourself unless you really know what you’re doing, and always have it checked by a professional)
But it’s not an easy task to identify the “cleanest” phase.
After having thought about it several times, I have concluded that there really is no “cleanest” phase. It depends on the time of day and the equipment used.
In the evening (or when no one’s home!), all phases should be more or less “clean”. But the only way to check this would be with a device such as the Fluke 1773.
But I don’t have one, don’t know where to rent it, and above all, I don’t have the time to dig into the documentation (days only have 24hours… ). This type of device is not used by “standard” electricians, so hiring someone wouldn’t be easy.
Beyond the “cleanliness” of the phases, there is a parameter that is ultimately much more important: the impedance.
The main purpose of “audio” circuit breakers and “audio” cables is to lower the impedance as much as possible.
In addition to audio circuit breakers and cables, having one phase per device allows each device to have power with the lowest possible impedance.
Compared to a lower impedance, I would say that the rest is secondary, if not negligible.
EDIT : This is why most power conditioners have a characteristic negative effect. They clean the power but increase impedance. This makes the music clean but sluggish, if I may say so. By isolating the audio as I did I believe we get the best of both worlds.
I installed a single spur but had to decide which phase to use. Not particularly scientific, I simply eliminated the phase with the kitchen sockets as there are two fridges running. I then estimated which of the other two would have the least demand in the evening, when I do most of my listening.
I’m located in Switzerland, so not exactly in Europe.
The standards are presumably a bit different.
For houses and flats, we have 20A to 25A in input, spread over 3 phases at 230V/50Hz.
For those living in Switzerland, between Geneva and Lausanne, I know a very capable electrician. He may either check/validate your installation or make it for you.
He knows the needs of an audio setup, as well as the equipment like the one I used for my own installation (cables, circuit breakers, etc.).
He’s really a nice guy; his company is Co’Réal Electricité Sàrl.
. Any idea when the project will be completed?
). This type of device is not used by “standard” electricians, so hiring someone wouldn’t be easy.
Best Peter
