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Room acoustics - diy or get an expert in?

Markus S

41 - 29
I'm finally getting around to my new listening room, which is not intended to be a man cave but a room for the whole family. The recording studio look is not what I'm after, any acoustic treatments will have to be reasonably subtle and not too ugly.

So, can I do this myself or should I talk to someone who knows what he's doing?

And how do I take measurements of my room without professional equipment like this

423ak_messung.jpg


to excite the room?
 
I would do it yourself as a professional will recommend more treatment than you likely want to fit.
 
Acoustically measure the room with Room Eq Wizard software ,which is free to download from the Home Theatre Shack site, ( other room analysis software is available ) nd go from there, you could also try Diracs free two week trial of its room correction software.
KR Keith.
 
Hamish I haven't tried it with Audiovarna, I have the Amarra version, the MiniDSP version, and Diracs own, download the trial and give it a go.
Keith.
 
there was a thread about this a few days ago,,, the thread was, Room Measurement,,, by twg, worth reading i think, i was going to buy the mic and software, but what will the graph show me ?? and how to fix it, and with what, a minefield IMOA , get a quote you might be surprised in a good way . i guess its trail and error, putting things in measuring, taking things out measuring again and so on, and if it looks good on the graph does it sound better to you ,, keep us informed if you go ahead with it ,,
 
Acoustically measure the room with Room Eq Wizard software ,which is free to download from the Home Theatre Shack site, ( other room analysis software is available ) nd go from there,

How do I differentiate the room's acoustic properties from the frequency response and dispersion characteristics of my speakers?
 
DSP software can be excellent, but fine tuning should always be done by ear. As an earlier post said, you can't hear a graph.
 
How do I differentiate the room's acoustic properties from the frequency response and dispersion characteristics of my speakers?

You can eq your loudspeakers flat, take them into the garden, seven feet up a ladder, but the room will of course alter everything .
Keith.
 
It's a faff to diy, we spend a few thousand on our hifis and want the best sound so I think get a pro in for a proper job, but it is a tremendous opportunity to learn something and do some research, it boils down to would your time be better spent elsewhere?

I got an acoustician early on in the build because I was totally swamped by the project management, the hundreds of decisions and choices and so on, and keeping to budget. I had far too many things vying for my time.
 
Arta will take a recording (in fact make a recording) of you bursting a balloon. It will then compute from the impulse the reverberation time and frequency response of the room. This is quite interesting.

Then you can use Steps (included with Arta) to take a frequency by frequency measurement of the room in the lower frequencies. Modes stand out both on the graph and to the ear.

Then you have to decide what to do... I'm not convinced DSP is the answer to room problems.

Paul
 
Come on Keith, even if I EQ my speakers flat on axis, the power response will be anything but flat.

You are building these speakers yourself right ,active with DSP crossovers?
Or are you just buying commercially available loudspeakers ?
Keith.
 
I found DSP worked well at suppressing major bass modes but otherwise (at higher frequencies) passive room treatment works well.

Obviously it is easier to pay someone to measure your room and tell you what to buy - but that doesn't make you understand the process any better.
 


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