Planar Speaker Asylum

Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.

Planar Speaker Asylum

RE: Analog only

64.252.132.33

In Reply to: RE: Analog only posted by Davy on August 11, 2010 at 19:11:56

No concrete, just bass traps in the corners, then along the walls if you really want to go to town. The idea is to absorb the bass reflections so as to minimize standing waves.

Follow Ups:

RE: Analog only - Davy 06:27:52 08/12/10 (4)
Cool Thanks Josh, I might try this. I see you can get quite cheap bass traps on Ebay etc, but I guess the situation is the same as it is with the sounds insulation tiles etc?, - is the cheap stuff not worth buying as its not as effective?
I could for sure put bass traps in the corners of the room(I assume you mean bottom corners of the room, do you mean all 4?), - do you need to put them in the top corners as well?

What I have really noticed a problem with the bass when using dynamic speakers in my room, - with my big Proac 3.5s. The bass sound fine when you are standing up, BUT when you sit down it decreases a LOT!, - which is obviosuly not great, and there are indeed I am sure suckouts and peaks throughout the bass region. running the two REL subwoofer with the Proacs can help the bass be a bit more even, but there is still obvious peak and dips and the bass does still decrease when you sit down. I guess this might tbe due to standing waves?
With the Maggies the bass does not disappear like this when you sit down, which is nice - though there are some other problems of course, - the Maggies don't have enough space to breathe in my small room and there is the falling FR response with increased frequency and the 2.7s for sure sound a bit bloated and dark in this small room and the bass is a bit too much in general, but like I say the Quad tilt control works wonders to improve things a lot for a easy fix that makes the speakers sound a lot more acceptable without doing anything drastic. I bought the Quad 99 preamp today, am going to try it out tonight vs the 66.

All the best,
Colin
- RE: Analog only - josh358 08:26:39 08/12/10 (3)
  Depends on the kind of bass trap. Sometimes panels are put in the corners where three walls meet, up to eight of them. Tube traps, on the other hand, are as the name suggests big tubes that stand in the corners, so you'd use a maximum of four in the corners, then if you wanted to go to town, maybe one in the middle of the speaker wall and some more along the walls at integral divisions. The idea is to get the trap where the standing wave has a pressure maximum so that you can absorb the most energy.
  
  As to which traps are best, I'm not up on what's available now. ASC tube traps are an old standby, but there are many alternatives. The traps you choose, and how many you use, are going to depend on the room itself, as well as cost and WAF. It isn't just a matter of throwing traps in there. You need the right amount of absorption in the right places for your room, and you have to consider whether you just want to absorb bass with a resonant trap or whether you want to absorb mids and highs as well with an absorptive one. If you use resonators, you need to choose the frequencies and the Q of the resonators.
  
  Chances are you'd hear an improvement if you threw a couple of tube traps in the front corners, they're closer to a one-size-fits-all solution than resonators, but I think you're better off if you have some measurements or room mode calculations, particularly since your room is so problematic, and some idea of the reverberation time in your room so you don't over-absorb the mids and highs.
  - RE: Analog only - Davy 12:57:39 08/12/10 (2)
    Many thanks Josh,
    Those tube traps don't look too hard to fit in the room, - four in the corners and some on the sepaker wall. as for the other type putting one on each place where 3 walls meet obviously mean 8 of them which is quite a lot and it might be hard to put up the high ones!
    
    The ASC tube traps look very highly regarded from what I have read so far, - but to tell the truth the price is a bit of a problem!
    
    I know this might not be as good but how abotu a DIY tube trap like this?
    http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/traps/traps.html
    
    Does not look too hard if I can get the right fibregless wrap
    I'm not bothered about the aesthetics!
    Worth trying do you reckon?
    
    You are right though I need to get some measurements done too, - am going to look into this soon anyway for optimising the Behringer etc
    
    Cheers,
    Colin
    - RE: Analog only - josh358 13:13:16 08/12/10 (1)
      I think DIY is a great way to go. There are other DIY designs online as well, not sure how good they are but really, perfection isn't needed here. The one thing I'd warn against is overdoing it. People who are getting into room treatment tend to think "Hey, this is great, more must be better!" but what you're aiming at is the sweet point . Two channel stereo requires a contribution from the room because it doesn't include enough ambiance. If the room is too dead, imaging will be great, but the sound won't come alive. So I'd start with a couple in the front corners, then try adding the rear corners, then maybe between the speakers, then along the walls. If the room starts to get too dead and you still don't have the bass resonances under control, you'll need to use resonators instead of absorbers. Also don't forget that planars like diffusers at their first reflection points, particularly behind the speakers as we discussed a while ago, but also on the sides. And that diffusion and mid/high absorption can usually be achieved naturally, with bookshelves, carpets, furniture, wall hangings, and drapes. Used minimally, of course.
      - RE: Analog only - Davy 13:19:29 08/12/10 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Analog only posted by josh358 on August 12, 2010 at 13:13:16
        
        Cool,
        thanks a lot for this info Josh, - didn't know these tubes existed until today! And that you coudl possibly make DIY versions and save a lot of money!
        
        I will look into doing it by DIY then and I'll be conservative like you say. Hoepeully it will improve my bass response in this room and with the Procas as well as the Maggies (The Procas are problematic when you sit down like I say). I will look into adding stuff at the first reflection for the Maggies too like you suggest.
        Cheers again,
        Colin

Post a Followup:

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable