room setup

hey ...guess who

I did a field trip once....using a percussion instrument,a small wood block ,the ones they use for latin music etc...You could use a triangle or any inexpensive bongo.

Go outdoors and strike it several times.Get used to the sound "au naturel".Make sure there are no walls or your not in between houses because you will get the awful cement bounce.So drive out far from walls.What you are hearing is the full harmonics and full dynamics.

Now take that same instrument,go to your bedroom and try it a foot away from your bed....oh where are those harmonics and dynamics...all sucked up.=absorption

Now go and strike it a few inches from your RPTV,mine was a pioneer elite,piano black etc...What do you think happened????

I'll leave you hanging and see if anybody wants to take a guess?I'll post again tomorrow....

Robm, I didn't see anything suggesting that low frequencies are a problem. Nsgarch calculated that only higher frequencies than about 200 Hz would be affected. The issue, I believe, is potentially one of soundstage and a bit of higher end distortion if the same music is hitting your ears at different times. Of course, that always happens but it's best when controlled through good room design and speaker placement. It's one of the reasons first reflection points are often damped or diffused.

It is not an issue of low frequencies. It is only an issue of high mid and high frequencies. They have shorter wavelengths and bounce around, affecting the sound image that reaches our brains. Absorption of high frequency reflections is a good thing, to a point. Nobody likes an anechoic room, but too much reflection is a bad thing.

part 2

Ok ....everybody including me thought it would be reflective.After hitting my instrument ,it turned out to be ...absorbing the sound ,just lke a matress or bed would.It is therefore a huge issue with low frequencies ,because it acts like a bass trap + overall absorber...hope it helps....It is after all a big hollow box!!

Sorry, I did read the post backwards. It makes sense now. I'm with everyone else. A blanket works good (thick) for listening sessions. Although, I tend to accept the lack of soundstage in order to watch tv while listening sometimes.