AudioControl Richter Scale Series III, Owner'S Enjoyment Manual

Page: 22 / 32

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual
®
5. There’s a company that specializes in ‘Making good
stereo sound better’. AudioControl has been designing and
building the highest quality equalizers and sound processors
since 1977. Nobody else has put that much research and
effort into the art of equalization.
APPENDIX B -
Room Acoustics
In the real world, every residential space is acoustically bad
in some way. The only acoustically “perfect” rooms are
anechoic test chambers; and unless you’re very, very weird, it
unlikely you will be working in such a space.
How Sound Works
To understand the problem, let’s first review how sound
works and the effects of a room on sound waves. The human
hear perceives sound because it is responding to both the
vibrations of the air and pressure waves produced by sound
waves. We response to the vibrations, detect it as frequency
and then respond to the pressure and detect it as level or
intensity.
All sound producing devices produce a series of ‘waves’ in
the air, water, steel or anything but a vacuum. Remember, in
space, no one can hear you scream.
A Rooms Effect On Sound Waves
As shown here, sound waves react with every surface,
barrier or boundary they encounter. There are only two
possible reactions: Reflection or Absorption. If the energy
contained in the waves is absorbed it will be converted into
another form of energy - usually heat. Surfaces that are
absorptive, such as fiberglass, draperies or curtains, reduce the
amount of energy in the system.
Surfaces that reflect or refract the energy waves will
produce a series of ‘counter waves’ of energy. There are
always multiple reflections, at differing angles, in every
reflective situation.
18