2. misc-audio
  3. 1174178776

Can you correct nulls with acoustic treatments.

I have Magnepan 1.6's. After hearing a musical clarity I really liked in a listening session at someone else's house, I broke down and bought a Rat Shack SPL meter and dowloaded some test files. I wanted to see if it was the acoustics or the type of speakers and system that made the difference.

A brief testing showed a 65 to 80 hz., 5 or 6 db. bump (the drywall bump?) that I had expected. What I didn't expect was 10 to 15 hz. wide nulls (-10,-15,even -20 db.) at several other frequencies.

I tried moving speaker positioning and the frequency of the nulls moved but the pattern was basically the same.

Acoustic treatment to tame + nodes seems intuitive. Can you treat nulls or is this a different problem?

Would really appreciate your thoughts.

Jim S.

stilljd

Showing 1 response by tedmbrady

tedmbrady
208 posts
 
When I have these issues, I end up using two tools. The first one is a rough estimator and it's online.
CaraQuick

Just punch in the dimensions of the room, fill in a little bit about your room (number of chairs, etc.) and then pick a loudspeaker in their dropdown that is close enough to Maggies. Main thing here is you can move your listening positon and speakers around and see the nulls come and go.

Then I use a measurement device like the Velodyne SMS-1 ($600) to read my room realtime and deal with the small movements, even if you don't use the subwoofer EQ function. There are cheaper analyzers, but I use it cuz I also EQ my subs.

Start with the Cara and at least find out what you're dealing with.
More to discover