Room tuning at shows

Discussion in 'General Audio Discussion' started by hifi01170, Jun 6, 2016.

  1. hifi01170

    hifi01170 Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    58
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Hi all,

    after reading the THE Newport show's feedback by @shaizada , where he specifically highlighted room tuning, am now really curious on how some of those experts, who consistently manage to have a great room tuning, proceed.

    I guess, with the experience they have, they would approach each new show room methodically and then proceed step by step with the room's tuning (hopefully without spending days and days). what would be those steps? Do they measure the in-room response and proceed accordingly? do they bring a lot of acoustic treatment panels?? bass absorbers, etc.

    To be honest, for me room tuning is a boring thing to do... but when seen within the context of a show, the speed at which a room has to be setup should be very quick. And the fact that some great sounding rooms can be tuned so quickly gives me a lot of hope... false hope maybe but hope that I can also tune my room efficiently and quickly.

    Anybody with knowledge on how exhibitors proceed is more than welcome to chime-in.

    Why this thread? recently I have heard what I might call a reference system... My own system (active psi a21 / theta 3a dac) is supposed to sound as good but is not. Stereo image is not as pinpoint, lacks a bit of clarity. So I'm trying to check if room tuning might help!

    Cheers!
     
  2. slowsound

    slowsound Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Likes Received:
    43
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Canada
    Do you have a layout of your setup? Curious how close to 60* you are at the LP as well as space from the walls for the speakers.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Some of this stuff has already been discussed in the Speaker subforums.

    In general:
    1. Exhibitors tend to be deaf or don't have the time. There are a few who do care, and the results show for themselves. I noticed the Europeans are better at setting up rooms. Americans tend to be lazy and prefer to use marketing or try to obi-wan people more.
    2. The need for special tuning gizmos is over exaggerated if you already have furniture and your room is decently sized and not totally weird. Personally, I do not like the sound of dead rooms. If I wanted a studio, I'd build a studio.
    3. First reflections are evil. This means side walls, front corners, and front wall (and ceiling/floor). They kill imaging precision, cause diffuse center images, or shift the center to the left or right if there is asymmetry. Flat planes like TV screens between speakers make center imaging imprecise. Recommend to absorb or diffract. I prefer absorption on the side walls, diffraction at corners or side walls. Depends on room and height of speaker. Much of this can be achieved with furniture.
    4. There no strong need for RTA or measurements. RTA won't do much and may lead to nonsensical adjustments since the weirdness is in the time domain, not frequency domain.
    5. The exception to the above #4 (on measurements) is to identify room modes (bass). Move speakers around or adjusting ports and sub settings to avoid triggering them.
    6. Speakers generally image better several feet from the front wall - if your speakers were designed to do this. Some speakers use the front wall to reinforce bass and lower mids - in this case, you don't have this luxury.
    7. To get a more stable image in the center, tilt speakers inward so intersection of tweeters pointing outward is slightly in front of you. This will also reduce the top end.
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2016
  4. hifi01170

    hifi01170 Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    58
    Trophy Points:
    28
    thanks for your inputs @Marvey!
    @slowsound, I'll try to come-up with the layout of my living room with the speakers/lsitening position.

    Cheers!
     

Share This Page