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Why Kill Valuable Musical Information/ Dynamics of Sound-Waves at the First-Reflection Point?

Posted by Dryginger2 (A) on June 21, 2015 at 17:14:56

Robert Harley (starting at 6 min 56 secs) on this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFLD-lmrep4 analyses why untreated first-reflection-points diminish sound quality. He explains how off-axis sound-waves reflected off side-walls are colored relative to direct sound-waves when reaching the listener's ears. Not just colored but also sufficiently delayed in arriving after direct sound-waves that they create a 'phase-shift' canceling certain frequencies through an effect known as 'comb-filtering' that degrades the tonal purity. Consequently he recommends placing absorbent material at the first reflection point to stop them.

Watching Robert also emphasize how much he values room-dynamics, his recommended sacrifice of these 'outer' lateral off-axis sound-waves seemed unnecessary when we had already been successful reflecting back the 'inner' lateral off-axis sound waves between the speakers to the listening position without time-delay degradation (using Uncle Stu's 'Pool Table Tweak'). So I made another pair of reflective panels and was rewarded by further improvements in image separation/ detail/density, purity of sound, degree of three dimensional sound-stage and level of bass depth. In fact using of a pair of reflecting panels on each speaker to harness all the inner and outer off-axis musical information and dynamic energy does have a downside. The sound improvement is such with good recordings that the ears completely reset their expectations and I find the monotony of flat dynamics and deficit of information in poor recordings/ most TV programs now so pronounced as to no longer be tolerable and have cancelled Comcast's TV service.

(The attached image was created using two pictures as the subject-width exceeded the wide-angle capacity of a point-and-shoot. It's linearly inconsistent but conveys the concept.)

Dry Ginger

• Rocky Mountain 2013 Panel Discussion on Room Acoustics   (Open in New Window)

Edits: 06/21/15 06/21/15

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