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In Reply to: DIY Tube Traps: A Sonic Metamorphosis posted by bdiament on April 26, 2004 at 09:42:15:
One concern, and it's based on my ignorance: No doubt that some diffusion and absorption is better than none, but how does the novice assure that no harm is done? I know too many "audiophiles" that cannot distinguish between "better" and simply "different". Does the novice simply trust the ears or would they be better off using room measurements, no matter how rudimentary?TIA
Follow Ups:
nt
Adding to the comments of the other two gentlemen, I can say this.One of ther first things folks with SLM's do after instaling bass traps, is try to check the FR of the room. Most are dissappointed to find that there was no magical and suddenly huge change in the measured FR. At least using the typical SLM methods to do so.
If they bother to listen, they find that bass transients are much ckleaner and clearer, the bass odes SOUND smoothed out, and less boomy.
Using test signals like the MATT from ASC will show you some of what is going on, but even that test is not all revealing, it is at the least hard to interpret by non-professionals.
You best tool for this kind of thing is you ears, and some critical listening sessions, before, and after, the application and placement of acoustic treatments.
One of the best ways to check, is to leave the treatments in the room for about 2-3 weeks (after adjusting them initially), and then suddenly removing them after a reference listening session, and then listen again right away. This will tell you if they are doing more good than harm, etc.
Some people equate boomy bass with powerful bass, or simply like the maximum quantity of bass, even if it uneven and boomy. Some of those folks may react negatively to use of ten or twelve bass traps in a room, but most would get used to the tighter, leaner bass, and begin to understand that quality is much better tha quantity.
For the cost of trying my basic room recipe at:
The original DIY Acoustic Treatment Note:
http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/a1.htm
(toward the bottom is the section on what to do a typical room)
which will only cost about $150-200 for the version without diffusors, you can find out for your self if it is better or worse. Few folks EVER go back to an untreated room!!
Jon Risch
Hi Lonestar,"One concern, and it's based on my ignorance: No doubt that some diffusion and absorption is better than none, but how does the novice assure that no harm is done? I know too many "audiophiles" that cannot distinguish between "better" and simply "different". Does the novice simply trust the ears or would they be better off using room measurements, no matter how rudimentary?"
This is a complex question the answer to which is also complex, perhaps too much so for a simple post. I'll give it a shot though.
With Tube Traps, there are a number of kinds of "harm" that can be done. Improper aiming for example (using the reflective side when the absorptive side is called for) is one kind but happily, is easily reversible, as is improper placement. The worst "harm" may be in the use of too many traps which would leave the room a bit "dead" sounding and the owner with less cash then they might have had.
Placement and aiming are well covered in a number of articles on the subject, which can be found on ASC's web site (www.tubetrap.com). I found the "Optimizing Tube Traps" article (http://www.asc-hifi.com/articles/iar89.htm) to make the most sense to me, espeically after trying the ideas out in my own room. The article makes some good points about the amount of traps as well.
ASC has a special test tone (the MATT test) which is available on one of Stereophile's Test CDs. It helps.
Trusting the ears is a good idea if the ears are experienced and not a good idea if they're not. Typical room measurements involving frequency response aren't of much use since they don't take the time element into account. I would say traps work, not so much by evening out the frequency response, though they do, as by evening out the decay time in the room. There are devices that can measure this across the frequency spectrum and in the proper hands, these can be of use.
For the interested novice, my best advice would be to try some and listen. Two traps may not be enough for a significant change, though they will have some effect. In my friend's room, we found that placing a 6 foot column in each corner of the room had a quite significant effect. This didn't yet address the early reflections from the side walls but by using the absorptive side facing the near speaker (in the front corners) and facing the listener (in the rear corners) we both noticed an immediate and obvious improvement. Bass evened out where it was previously "bumpy". When we added traps on the side walls, image solidity improved quite a bit.
I hope this has been of some help in answering your concerns. The nice thing about DIY traps is the financial investment is not very much. It probably cost us about ~$24 per 3 foot long trap, so starting with 8 to make 4 6 foot columns cost less than $200. The change in sound we achieved could not be accomplished by spending $1000 on component upgrades.
Happy Listening!
Barry
Trouble is there's no real way to be satisfied that something is 'better' rather than 'different' without trying it out for significant periods in your own situation and system. There's the theoretical, which is what you see sometimes here, and the practical, which is that you don't get to test everything for nothing.I use my local library to test out CDs, when available, so that I can tell if I like the genre, style, artist, particular recording before I buy. Unfortunately, their collection is far too limited and the audio stores pretty much aren't set up to allow full testing, AND most won't let you return unsatisfying merchandise if it's actually been tested.
Worse yet, there's not such library of audio and acoustic gear, and it certainly doesn't exist in your or my neighborhoods! So you either: find a nice dealer who will let you try and return before buying, or buy with long enough and decent enough return policies, or you DIY at low cost first and experiment, or you pays your money and you takes your chances...
Wish I were being facetious. That's our reality.
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