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High and mid frequencies
Start out by talking and listen to your voice. Does it sound perfectly normal? Or is there a
slight echo to the voice? Clap your hands in intervals. Is there echo to the clap? The goal
is to have your voice sound perfectly natural and undistorted. When you clap your hand
you should hear a soft decay of the clap.
If you hear that your voice sound distorted and the clap is followed by a hard echo (also
called flutter-echo) you need to address this problem. This flutter echo is caused by
untreated parallel surfaces. The clap will echo back and forth while it rapidly or slowly
decays. Imagine how your room would sound with no furniture and carpets. Only bare
walls. Then you will have flutter echo in a very imposing way. This would create a harsh
and diffuse sound from your system.
With the clapping of your hand you can locate where the echo occurs. Depending upon
where it is, you can put a carpet/rug on the floor, put up a curtain or add furniture, or
move furniture to fill reflective spaces. For example, even bookshelves filled with books
or magazines will absorb and diffuse some reflections. Many room acoustics specialists
also offer damping panels and damping pads which can be placed at walls, corners and
ceilings. Be careful not to add too much damping to the room as this may make the room
soun dull, un-dynamic and lifeless. Find the right balance by addressing issues with your
room acoustics step-by-step.
Lower frequencies
Thick and boomy bass can not only color the sound but also be very distracting from the
music itself. Experimenting with loudspeaker placement and the listening position can
have a dramatic effect on low frequency problems.
Try out various side wall and rear wall distances. Small changes may result in audible
sound effects. If possible, avoid the loudspeaker having equal distance to its side and rear
walls. If thick and boom-y bass persists even after careful loudspeaker placement, you
may want to consider using dedicated bass-traps. These devices absorb low frequencies
rather than reflecting them back into the room. Consult your Dynaudio dealer for room
acoustic accessories.
