Wilson Electronics MAXX 2 Series, Owner'S Manual

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when struck. The loudspeaker playing in the room also excites these resonances. To give
you an idea of what the perfect wall would sound like, imagine rapping your hand against the
side of a mountain. Structural wall resonances generally occur in the low to mid-bass fre-
quencies and add a false fullness to the tonal balance. They, too, are more prominent at
louder levels, but their contribution to the sound of the speaker is more progressive.
Rattling windows, picture frames, lampshades, etc., can generally be silenced with small
pieces of caulk or with blocks of felt. However, short of actually adding additional layers of
sheet rock to flimsy walls, there is little that can be done to eliminate wall resonances.
A i r V o l u m e R e s o n a n c e
The volume of air in a room will also resonate at a frequency determined by the size
of that room. Larger rooms will resonate at a lower frequency than will smaller rooms. Air
volume resonances, wall panel resonances, and low frequency standing waves combine to
form a low frequency coloration that exhibits itself when music plays in this frequency
region. At its worst, it is a grossly exaggerated fullness, which tends to obscure detail and
distort the natural tonal balance of the speaker system.
Occasionally, however, there is just enough resonance to give a little added warmth to
the sound – an addition some listeners prefer. Tube traps manufactured by the ASC
Corporation are effective in reducing some of this low frequency room coloration. Custom
designed bass traps, such as perforated Helmholtz resonators, provide the greatest degree of
low frequency control.
S e c t i o n 1 . 4 – Y o u r R o o m
R o o m S h a p e s
Standing waves are pressure waves propagated by the interaction of sound and oppos-
ing parallel walls. This interaction creates patterns of low and high acoustical pressure
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