Artto, I need an inforamtion

[Painful Reality]

Seems you are the guy to ask this question.

I'm looking for good reading references on room accoustic. Do you have any book titles, web sites, etc. to suggest me.

[greg928gts]

Artto, please write a book.

Greg

[J M O N]

I'm not Artto, but here's a place you can get started on until Artto responds:

http://www.acoustics101.com/

[radiob]

www.audioXpress.com Check "books from the acoustical society of america" They have 7 good ones. Good luck, Im going through this now myself.

[greg928gts]

I'm sure all these sources and books are great. But just imagine someone who has specific information on room acoustics AND Khorns writing a book on the subject!

Greg

[coda]

Robert Harley makes a good attempt in Chapter 4, pages 73-129 How To Get The Best Sound From Your Room in his book Complete Guide to High-End Audio (Third Edition)

Summary:

Good loudspeaker placement

Start with good ratios between the room's length, width, and height

Avoid untreated parallel surfaces

Absorb or diffuse side-wall and floor reflections

Keep reflective objects away from loudspeakers

Choose a room with a high, sloped ceiling

Balance high-frequency absorbing materials with low-frequency absorbing materials

Move the listening seat for best low-frequency balance

Break up standing-wave patterns with irregular surfaces or objects

click image for Amazon link..

[fini]

----------------

On 9/19/2004 8:31:36 AM coda wrote:

Break up standing-wave patterns with irregular surfaces or objects

----------------

This must be why my speakers sound better to me when I am in the room.

Also, wearing a hat seems to help with the "reflective surface" bit.

[artto]

The website JMON mentioned above gives some insightful basics of how a music studio should be constructed and treated.

Greg wrote I'm sure all these sources and books are great. But just imagine someone who has specific information on room acoustics AND Khorns writing a book on the subject! . Now theres an idea. Probably a very limited market for it though.

Probably the most thorough and widely acknowledged book on the subject, written for non-professionals, is Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest. Several of the Klipsch Dope From Hope Newsletters cover a few things and so do the Klipsch Audio Papers (both downloadable from soundwise.org as The Paper). Im an architect. Some of my professional building construction texts cover acoustics and sound transmission/isolation. You might want to check a college bookstore for similar text books.

[coda]

further reading..

Small Room Acoustics De-Mythologized

Setting Up Speakers In A Rectangular Room

[artto]

Coda, were talking specifically about Klipschorns here. There is only one proper location for this speaker, a corner. So the second article Setting Up Speakers In A Rectangular Room doesnt apply. This article is also published by George Cardas of Cardas Audio who doesnt know his *** from a hole in the ground when it comes to acoustics. His website is littered with inappropriate information. He inappropriately applies a mathematical concept known as the Fibonacci Sequence or Golden Mean/Section to speaker placement. It has absolutely no validity regarding speaker placement. The man obviously has no idea what hes talking about and doesnt understand the difference between a node and a mode in acoustics. This technique has nothing to do with getting speakers setup properly, in any room, as he puts it. In fact, many people will find that they really cant get the speakers set up this way in their room.

The first article I dont have too much gripe with after briefly glancing through it other than the guy doesnt understand the radiation properties of various kinds of speakers, specifically horn-loaded types. And IMO, electronic equalization should be used only as a last result. Anything you improve at one specific location will be detrimental at other locations.

[coda]

Edster's set up

Note corner placement..

[artto]

Yes, and IMO not the best way to enjoy or get the most out of Klipschorns. But this is:

http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=28220&sessionID={253419F0-636B-41D0-9BC8-AEFD275C68BF}

And the Cardas method is still bogus and certainly does not apply.

[Deang]

"...not the best way to enjoy or get the most out of Klipschorns..."

Maybe not, but 90% of a Klipschorn is still 200% better than anything else.

[artto]

----------------

On 9/19/2004 4:04:21 PM DeanG wrote:

"...not the best way to enjoy or get the most out of Klipschorns..."

Maybe not, but 90% of a Klipschorn is still 200% better than anything else.

----------------

Thats not the point. It still needs a corner even if its a false one. And the Cardas "theory" is still way off base and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the speaker's relationship to the room's acoustics and listening position, and acoustics in general, and of what the Golden Mean/Fibonacci is, and what its useful for.

[WMcD]

I like the first article. It covers some of the subjects we've discussed. We've discussed theoretical fall off with distance in free space and also, that our rooms are not free space.

I will not speak to the merits of the second, where it might apply.

Overall, I have problems with many opus (opera's) discussing room acoustics. It is not that they're incorrect, just that they don't help. This is because we don't have the options which the works exploit to optimize a situation.

In all but new construction, we are darn well stuck with the rooms we have. So non-parallel walls and ceilings are not an option.

Also, in most situations, we don't have many options for placement even with non-corner horns. In any given room there is a limited number of arrangements of speakers, chairs, TV screens, etc., particularly in view of windows and doors.

Of course with corner horns, we're lucky to have two good corners in any room. I've never lived in a place where there is even a short-wall / long wall option.

So we're stuck with acoustic treatment. That is not easy either; particularly if it is to be pretty. I've long planned to set up a bunch of polycyliners. My employment always gets in the way, but maybe in the next year I can get something cooking. Then again, I'll have to set up some sort of testing to validate it.

When I do so, I'll let you know.

Best,

Gil