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The Room

Most often we hear folks saying the treble's too etched or sharp, sound is too bright and forward and piercing the ears, sound is 2-dimensional and flat, soundstage is lacking, not enough dynamics, bass is too loose or boomy etc. and often pass down comments of the equipment based on their listening experience. I wonder how many folks have a proper listening environment to pass down their judgements on the sound signature of the gears that are being reviewed or listened to. I am still in the learning process and have found that room treatments can have a huge impact on the sound, although in most cases results will vary with different rooms and environments.

I believe that any hard or bright-sounding components(perennial favourites are B&W speakers or Krell amps) when put together in an overdamped room will produce a sound that's dull to the point of being dead. Whenever I read comments on B&W's being harsh-sounding speakers, I don't know if they are being listened in a crappy room with bad acoustics or it's just the haters. Even with very minimal absorption on the sides and diffusion on the back, there is no issue with brightness at all. More absorption would kill off the high frequencies and make it too dull.

Just wanted to share my observations and experience. In my opinion, any particular description of any component's sound, taking individual listening tastes and preferences out of the context may not be too accurate based on the room layout and acoustics itself.

And just to point out, I am in no way associated with any room treatment manufacturers. Just a curious learner and currently still trying out different treatments to improve the acoustics in my small room. Have just got rid of the pyramid foams on my side walls as I figured out I can't live with the looks of it.
ryder
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
IMO, dsp is fine for HT although room treatments will still improve things.

Dsp? Never in my 2 channel room!
Post removed 
fishboat
245 posts
 
Another vote for room treatments. My room (balcony) was harsh with respect to the high end & slap echo. Some optimization of the speaker setup along with five 2x4 foot panels from ATS Acoustics (two for 1st reflections & 3 for wall behind speakers) and two homemade bass traps (search A'gon for "superchunks") and things are MUCH, MUCH better. The room & treating the room does make a world of difference.
dbld
297 posts
 
Amen to the room!

Rives is a proven name in this end of the business with a good track record. Additionally, a regular valuable voice here in the forum and a contributor to AudiogoN.

Another very good resource is Terry Montlick [www.softwaredesign.com] who also contributes in several audio and HT forums.

I hired Terry a while back because he is so darned affordable and he would work with me and my DIY approach [he doesn’t sell any hard acoustic products, just his consulting services]. He had me do my own impulse recordings and submit them to him via email as well as other important room information. I got back a six page detailed report as well as several long and very informative telephone calls and emails that outlined and prioritized my issues, and most importantly, how to effectively and affordably resolve them. It turns out my room isn't half bad [thank goodness!]. I simply need to remove some treatments and add some diffusion to the wall behind my seat.

Up to this point I had spent a huge amount of time [in years] researching acoustics and making my own treatments. I was planning on a pretty extensive effort to take my room to the next level...so I thought. What Rives and Montlick bring to the table is a more quantitative approach that makes all of this less of a black-art and more of a science.

I strongly suggest that anyone who wants to make sure their room is sorted out that they hire a true expert in the field with proven track records such as Rives or Montlick. In the end, Terry saved me a lot of money and contributed much to my understanding of acoustics. But most importantly, he saved me an untold amount of valuable time and effort. Now, if I can just get off my duff and finish the few simple things he told me to do.

A note on the room’s contribution to sound. One way to easily test this is to take a radio and play it at a nice volume in any room of your home. Now, without adjusting the volume, take it outside, far from any building and play it at the very same volume setting. It is amazing how quiet it is when it's outside.
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