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RE: First reflection points on the floor

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David Aiken

In Reply to: RE: First reflection points on the floor posted by Hifisound on January 02, 2011 at 23:03:17

Any sound absorbing object will work.

How well the ottomans will work will depend on what is under the fabric�you'll get better results with something like foam rather than something hard, and thickness helps.

The other issue is one of surface area of the uncovered floor and what the floor is made of. If you've got a large uncovered floor surface area and the surface is something like tiles, concrete, or even hardboard, it will be more reflective at mid to high frequencies than a floor that is carpeted or largely covered with a rug. Some later reflections contribute to tonal character as well as first reflections so even though you're dealing with the first reflection points, that large uncovered area may still make the room a little on the hard, bright sounding side. That can be compensated for with other absorptive areas in the room such as curtains/drapes and even other absorptive furniture.

David Aiken

Follow Ups:

RE: First reflection points on the floor - Hifisound 00:45:24 01/03/11 (1)
Hi David,

My flooring is vitrified tiles and the living room area is 26' x 14'
Even if were to put a rug it would either 6' x 4' or 8' x 6' around the first reflection points ( Other area has sofa etc).
So I was wondering if blocking just the first reflections is optimal. Though more the cover in the room the better it will be.

I was also thinking that more furniture pieces like ottomans,etc will help overall absorption in the room.

As recommended by you I have bought the "Master Handbook of Acoustics" and I am going through it... :)

Thanks,
Hifisound
- RE: First reflection points on the floor - David Aiken 11:46:46 01/03/11 (0)
  With a large vitrified tile area, covering more than just the first reflection points would probably help but I have to admit that I live with probably a similar sized room with ceramic tiles for my open plan living/dining/kitchen area which is where I have my TV and the floor has no coverings anywhere. The sound can get a bit on the bright and hard side of things at some times. My stereo listening room is carpeted and treated with RealTraps products and sounds quite different.
  
  Evidence suggests that we tolerate the floor first reflection reasonably well, after all we always have a surface under our feet so we're adapted to hearing a reflection from that source, but there is a difference between hearing a reflection and hearing a bright reflection.
  
  More furniture may help. A lot depends on how absorptive the furniture is but at the very least it will help break up reflection patterns which is usually beneficial. Of course there's a point where you can add too much furniture and I'm not talking acoustically here. You've got to live in and with the room and at some point adding things ends up in either too much clutter or getting in the way of movement and causing problems other than acoustical. I'd just set the room up the way I liked it, try and consider the acoustical impact of the things I was adding and go for absorptive choices when I could, and then work out how I felt about the sound when that was done. You can then decide whether you want/need to do anything more and consider your options in relation to more standard acoustic treatment of the room.
  
  The book should help you a lot in terms of understanding. You'll probably have to reread some parts several times but it will be worth it.
  
  David Aiken

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