This is a great tread with a lot of very useful information. If a hifi system is set in a bedroom, about 4.5m by 4m, with a double bed fitted with a Tempur memory foam mattress, what is the likely effect that if will have on the sound?
Acoustic Fields is indeed a good information source.
I watched almost all their videos.
I mentioned Acoustics Fields on one of my early posts:
–> Don’t buy new speakers – The listening room reality
The guy provides very useful info, but doesn’t dig as deep as some Jessco’s videos, especially regarding the difference between all available “Bass Traping” possibilities, and how difficult it might be to apply them in a real context.
I’d say Acoustic Fields is slightly business oriented, just like GIK’s videos, which is fine.
But don’t get me wrong, Acoustic Fields provide useful info.
FR, some of its videos go on your direction: bass drivers should fit room volume (which is obvious, by the way).
You’ll like it 
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Thomas, result of Friday’s play… 
ATB Peter
PS. Me thinks different sources of info is good for the soul 
Do I have to buy a microphone 
to record results and send them to Acoustic fields free analysis ? Or pictures are enough ?
Hi Bigboy.
I would like to thank you for liking this thread, as a few on other threads are actually beginning to take the Mickey out of this one- funny to watch how people respond by somehow ‘ feeling threatened’.
As to your current problem and on the available info you have given, I don’t think anyone are able to help you remotely. However you will find it liberating to learn about this and lots of good references above as sources. If you have got the time and want to learn, from a personal point I have found the whole process liberating and hugely rewarding. Just my 2 pence… ATB Peter
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What do you think of these frequency analysis APP on apple store. Can I use it to measure audio frequencies in my room ? With an IPad Air 2.
@Thomas, @PeterR, @Xanthe ?
Surely it will give you an idea FR, as to your room response- it doesn’t have to be rocket science. You can train your ears to hear a lot of this, but the starting point is still understanding ATB Peter
You could also try Dirac live. They have released an iPad version of their software system.
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This is a timely thread and quite a fascinating subject. More and more suppliers are providing products that help to deal with the room either via electronics or physical equipment. Hopefully Naim will join the party and offer options like Dirac live or Space Optimisation.
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The problem is the iPhone/iPad microphone, these use very small microphone capsules which are not designed to have a linear frequency response down to low frequencies.
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Not quite what I said! This isn’t trying to get into a ping-pong argument with you, but simply for clarification: I want full depth uncurtailed in the bass- I would not be content to chop off the lower frequencies to prevent room issues, so I would look to treatmentto cure problems caused by the room (and of course that is not just at the bass end). Xanthe’s solution regarding bass is one I would consider, however finding speakers with the character I like is very difficult because their character is so dominant, and I’d prefer not to have to start down that path if I can avoid it because unlike some people I hate the hassle of searching and auditioning. I’d prefer not to have a small room if I can avoid it, but even large rooms can benefit significantly from treatment. I agree that it is likely to be a balancing act trying to get the degree of treatment right, but as I said in a very early post in this thread, the best sound I’ve ever heard from any hifi system was where the room was effectively all but removed.
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Not if you want to see properly what is going on. A measuring microphone need not be expensive - under £100 which is trivial compared to the amounts some people try on tweaks then throw away - and REW software to do the analysis and show the data is first class - and free!
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Hi Peter,
It would have been nice to live nearby.
But not sure I would enjoy living in the UK. Far too flat. That said I’d love to spend a winter in Fort William.
The Ben Nevis offers a lot of mix climbing. Short routes, but some of them are pretty technical. Love that!
As for the experiment, lying down the “Monsters” made a difference. It cuts off less reflexion for the front wall. Which means more “bass”, but slightly more blurry.
I didn’t measure the difference, I wasn’t in the mood of pluging my laptop to the preamp.
Your feeling regarding the fact bigger traps behind the speakers “killed the sound” is interesting. In one of its videos Jessco explains that feeling (yes, that’s just a feeling).
In fact, most of us are used to exaggerated and blurry low end, mostly due to wall reflexions. Cutting off those reflexions give you the feeling you’re missing something.
The reality is that when cutting off those bad reflexions you get closer to what’s on your CD, Vinyl, FLAC.
Try listening to a track through a pair of headphones with a close to flat frequency responds then again through your system.
That said, choosing whether or not we should treat those “bad” reflections comes down to taste in how we like music to be reproduced.
I’m used to headphones, and enjoy when music is as near as possible to what’s on the record.
Others may prefer those reflexions which add distortion, etc. Some even appreciate noise.
But if your thing is getting close to what’s on the record, then you simply can’t avoid room treatment (or/and electronic room correction)
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Not sure where the real sound is: in a room with no reflexions, no bad reflexions, not too many bad reflexions… but certainly a sound that is the closest possible of a live concert in a closed space. A real sound, with extensions of the notes, some echo, air, real microdynamics …textures, colors…
Perhaps we all don’t evaluate the same this Graal.
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Beg to differ there.
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It would shock me if anyone were able to effectively damp the specific narrow bandwidth room modes by using more general bass damping.
Off topic…French rooster…no no no gloating about the rugby!
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This is a strong statement. If your objective is to hear what is on the recording you are obviously correct. In my opinion this is great for live recordings where the room acoustics of the concert hall is captured in the recording and any addition of your own rooms acoustics is a distraction (distortion). It is also great if you, like a recording engineer, want to hear exactly what is on the recording.
If the objective is to create an illusion of the performance taking place in your living room, which it can also be, I want the room acoustics to have the same (or in practice similar) influence on the sound as if the singer and musicians where actually in my room. I still want the room to have good acoustic characteristics and in practice of course my room could never cope with a symphony orchestra or geared up rock band.
Personally, I do not like listening through headphones as I find them sterile and lacking in providing a physical experience.
Best regards
Hans
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I can add an example. One of my sons used to play the cello which has an omnidirectional distribution pattern. When he played for us in our living room, we would hear the direct sound but also a lot of sound from floor, wall and ceiling reflections. If he had been recorded in a studio (probably in a sound proof booth to avoid studio acoustics being captured in the recording) and the recording replayed through my (directional) speakers, the sound would be much thinner and therefore not really realistic.
Hans
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The sound in a small room is quite unlike that in any real venue - unless equally small. If you want it really to sound like a live venue, you need a good quality live recording in said venue - and play back with minimal room effects at home…
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It’s all the goal of audio : be the closest possible of a live recording. It’s a fact also.