Room Treatment

Hevac1,

No,I didn't rotate them. Based on the dimensions of my room I was told to place them with the seem facing the corner. My room is L-shaped and I'm trying to figure out if I will benefit from bass traps. What are bass traps designed to accomplish?

As with most people who go down the room treatment road, they neglect the ceiling. Often because there may be lighting that cannot be blocked. However if that is not the case, some treatment can be very effective and not very expensive. I have seen simple 'wave' canopies used to great effect. For some ideas, check out the Armstrong acoustical product site, they give a view of what might be possible. Another treatment approach is the use of grid ceilings with drop in panels of all kinds, wood scatter and slot patterns working the best. Some of the companies that market these are still in business. Last thought, in most new concert halls they have adopted a deflector ceiling approach which really improves the overall acoustics of the hall. So, take a clue from that. 'Tuning' the room will provide endless rewards, more so then changing equipment.

Rives Parc. They work much better than any room treatment I've tried. No more room boom.

My room is L-shaped and I'm trying to figure out if I will benefit from bass traps. What are bass traps designed to accomplish?

Simply put, bass traps absorb low frequency sound waves in order to achieve a flat frequency response so the music sounds balanced when it arrives at your listening area (most often using an SPL meter).
That's why I said to listen for a booming bass sound or if the bass in your room sounds tight, (tight is good). A bass trap can absorb these frequencies if too much bass, or bass does not sound well defined.

The sound panels on the walls as suggested will absorb or diffuse standing waves that bounce around the room. Think in terms of a concert hall that has been treated to have an even, well distributed sound.

The simple hand clap test will let you hear if there is any echo in the room. If so, add panels to the walls and many times the ceiling.

Let me echo Polk432. My room is extensively treated with ASC bass traps and diffusion devices. However, after all that there were still two bass modes that the traps couldn't ameliorate. The PARC worked wonders. Not cheap, approx. $3500, but worth it.