In room response

[InFlux]

Out of curiousity, did this bass become more localized with the sub in the new location? Is this what is driving your decision for an additional sub?

[PrestonTom]

I wanted to echo what Dr Who said regarding room treatments "... the results will be far more drastic than say the difference between a $50 cd player and a $1000 one. I really am surprised that more people don't go about treating their rooms."

With all the energy and money spent on cables and exotic tweaks, a much bigger bang will be provided by even some farily simple things.

1) spend an afternoon moving the speakers around and finding the right spot

2) pull the chair out/away from the rear wall

3) try listneing with a couple of pices of furniture moved in or out of the room

4) open or close a door opening into the adjacent room

5) try opening or closing the drapes

6) try removing or adding an area rug (or extra padding underneath).

7) there are others

I expect you will hear noticeable changes (perhaps clearly better ones). If this experiment works (and it is without cost). Then go the next step and spend some time with a review article and learn a bit about "room acoustics 101"

The strategy is not very sexy (not like getting some exotc capacitors or speaker cable that is outrageously over priced and dubious in its possible effects), however adding drapes, carpets, carpet pads moving furniture or putting art up on the walls will have a big impact. The next step would then be the kinds of acoustic treatments discussed (bass traps, foam products, etc).

The reason I suggest the baby steps first, is that room acoustics is a bit tricky. My suggestions are no cost (and critically listening to music is fun also). Most of us do not have perfectly rectangular rooms without windows and doors and covered with the materials that we know the sound absorption coefficients for. Consequently, modelling and predicting is tricky business.

I will stop preaching now. It just that I get bothered when various folks spend and inordinate amount of time and money on low impact (in some cases no impact) choices for improving the sound. Speakers are part of a system. The other major peice of the system is the room.

I guess I just get grumpy as I get older,

-Tom

[Drew in the desert]

InFlux,

No, the bass did not become more localized in the new position. I would eventually like to get another sub, if and when the funds become available. Compared to the original location of my sub (front left corner), the new location (back wall behind the listening position) produces a more even response (but still not great).

Since the new location created a peak where the null originally was, I am guessing that a second sub in the original location will counter this peak.

Tom,

I agree with you in that acoustics should be more of a priority in our systems. I spend a couple of hours last night moving my sub into about six different locations and charting each response. I definately saw dramatic results between different locations (some good, some bad). Since we just moved into our house a few months ago, we are still in the process of decorating the walls and adding furniture. The room is really bare right now and this is probably adding to my problem. I do plan on acoustically treating the room in some way in the future. But until the room is furnished, I might as well wait.