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'suck it and see'

Posted by David Aiken (A) on February 14, 2011 at 13:09:49

In Reply to: RE: "… 4 ft wide absorption immediately behind the listening position which opens out into a biggish room behind…" posted by Mark UK on February 14, 2011 at 01:16:10:

Unfortunately, yes.

I think that's definitely the case with odd rooms—non-rectangular shapes, left/right wall assymmetries, openings, etc—and also with asymmetrical system placements when those are required for various reasons. There may be software somewhere which can help predict what will happen in some cases but even then, knowing how the sound will behave doesn't exactly correlate with how we perceive the sound and whether or not we will like the result.

There are guidelines from many sources on how to treat a room but in my view they should all be treated as starting points rather than absolute recipes. Even if you follow one of those sets of guidelines you may well find that you prefer a bit more or a bit less absorption in some areas, or more or less of the wall exposed, or absorption instead of diffusion or vice versa at some point. Part of that occurs because not every room is the same, there are large differences in rooms, but part of it is simply a matter of taste.

We don't all agree about what is the best concert hall sound. Different people prefer different halls and even different seats in the same hall. If we can't agree about what acoustic delivers the best result for live music, what are the chances that we'll all agree on how a listening room should sound?

My view is that there is no "one size fits all" solution when it comes to room treatment. There are several recommendations for room treatment setups out there from reputable sources and they aren't all the same. Most people can probably find a recommendation that will go close to suiting their room and tastes but I'm prepared to bet that with a bit of fine tuning and slight modification they can get results that they like even more.

I think sucking it and seeing, or at least hearing, is an essential part of the treatment process. I don't think you can get the best results for your needs without doing a bit of that.



David Aiken

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