2. tech-talk
  3. 1385476088

How does relative humidity affect our music?


Winter is here in the Northern Hemisphere, so things are changing both outside and in.

Last week I posted a thread because I cleaned my current CD player for the first time using an old Milty CD Lens Cleaner that I found when I rearranged my CD rack. I thought, and still think, that perhaps one or more pieces of the brushes broke off and were still on the lens. The music wasn't a precise as it was before, and I was fearful that I'd damaged the laser with the cleaning.

Another thing that was noticeable was a very significant amount of excess bass. That didn't make any sense to me because I couldn't see how anything like a laser misreading would increase the bass like that.

Now I'm wondering if the excess bass might be a result of low relative humidity in my room. I checked it and it was 30%. I pulled the humidifier off of the shelf in the garage and set it up between the living room and dining room but couldn't even get the humidity up to 40%, so I went and bought a second one for the back part of the house. Now I have the relative humidity up between 40%-50% and the bass sounds fine.

My question is: was it the lack of humidity that caused this problem and if so, why? Did it affect the sound waves traveling through the air? Did it in someway dry out the absorption panels, making them more reflective instead of absorbing as they normally do? I also noticed that my sinuses were congested due to the change in the weather, so was it just my hearing?

Has anyone else noticed this, or have any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Chuck
krell_man
bjesien
1,310 posts
 
To back up slightly I agree with Zenblaster that moisture without ventilation can cause mold. My point was that air leaks where condensation occurs is a major cause of mold. Also improper insulation so the dew point occurs in the building is a major cause.

Be well, and mold free.
nick_sr
263 posts
 
What type of heating do you have? Is your furnace electric? If so then maybe the current draw of the furnace is the culprit?

Mind you, I hear the difference in humidity in the air, generally in spring when you get the first hot humid days and there is rapid change in humidity from one day to next. I find that the change from summer to fall to be more gradual and thus less noticeable.
krell_man OP
827 posts
 

Nick,

I have a natural gas furnace.

I'm experimenting with the speaker position right now, as Mapman suggested.

Chuck
bjesien
1,310 posts
 
How is the furnace vented? In other words intake and outtake, or is there just outtake? I find this subject interesting because sound passes through air and air changes, or the room changes with humidity in it. Humidity even changes structures, like that door that doesn't close as well in the summer but is perfect in the other seasons.
More to discover