Probably More Than You Want To Know About Room
Acoustics
Room acoustics have a major effect on sound quality. If your room has good acoustical quali-
ties, even mediocre speakers can sound pretty good. In turn, if your room has poor acoustics,
high-end speakers can sound lacking. Acoustical qualities are determined by the dimensions
of your room and the amount of sound-absorbing material present.
Room dimensions primarily affect bass response. A room with ideal dimensions will have
evenly distributed bass throughout the room. The quality of the bass will be natural and not
sloppy. Obviously, you can’t do a heck of a lot about the dimensions of your room. Don’t
worry; few rooms are close to perfect.
The amount of absorptive material in your room affects middle and treble frequencies. Hard
surfaces, such as wood or tile floors, walls, can degrade middle and treble frequencies; making
them sound harsh, tinny, or hollow. A harsh room; however, can be easily fixed. Materials
such as carpet, upholstered furniture, pillows, drapes, and wall treatments are all excellent at
absorbing unwanted sound reflections. Therefore, the solution to a harsh room is to add more
absorptive materials. If you can’t do that, why not invite a lot of friends over and tell them to
wear thick jackets or heavy sweaters.
Many acoustical problems can often be minimized by the careful placement of your speakers
and subwoofer. In addition, many of today’s Audio/Video Receivers provide room correction
circuitry, which can provide a dramatic improvement in sound quality. There are several ex-
cellent room correction systems found in today’s A/V receivers and processors. They include
Audyssey and Yamaha’s YPAO. Audyssey room correction can be found in several different
brands of A/V receivers and processors including Denon and Marantz.
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