is it time to tara down


Ive been a long time TAra Labs fan,air 1 from amp to preamp,the one aes on digital .ref gen 2 speaker cord,hand full of air power cords. Ive even got a pair of air 3 running my sub..problem is midrange is so pronounced,no mater what i do it over drives the whole sound field,,need some idears,on what cord to go to.im currently tring nordost moonglo on digital .but dont help..system is on here to check it out.getting ready to put arc ls25 mk1 in system..but would like to know what peep has used with system like mine,or close to it...NO DEALERS PLEASE,I WILL CALL YOU IF I NEED SOMETHING SOLD TO ME.
bbaxley2

Showing 3 responses by serus

It's funny that people comment on the small table and not about the bare walls. I doubt that you want to cover the whole wall with acoustic material, but some fabric decor (for high WAF!) in strategic places might do some good for mid and treble emphasis/brightness.
You may need a second person to move the "panel" across strategic spots that seem to reflect towards the listening position. It will be a long trial and error session but it's a good start. Only after solving that basic problem should you look at equipment and/or cables for additional enhancement.
First reflection is likely from the side walls, which I can't see clearly in the picture.
You can "see" the first reflection with... a mirror... From the listening position, the mirror will reflect one of the speakers and what's a straight line for light is also a straight line for treble frequencies.
Front to rear bare surfaces will also have some resonance, most likely in the midbass region (based on the dimensions you mentioned).
Absorbing material can be as simple as a blanket, a framed cross-stitch or decorative oriental scrolls. You can buy accessories that are made for audio use, but they don't have the WAF of a nice decor that also does the job.
In the extreme case you can cover the whole wall with acoustic foam, as I've seen in one installation. The result of that particular room was too "dead" for my taste. You could clap your hands near the speakers and hear no echo whatsoever - eery... Perhaps too sterile for simulating real-life sound retrieval, which is the ultimate goal of a home sound system.
Bottom line is that you have to experiment and determine for yourself when it's "too much of a good thing"... Invite some friends for a pizza and beer listening session and you'll speed up the whole process. That's known as the "attack of the audio nerds"... :-)
Sit at your listening position and have someone move the mirror close to the side wall until you see one of the speakers. That's a spot of first reflection. Try now putting an acoustic absorbant on that spot on the wall and listen again.
Since you have two speakers and two side walls you may find multiple such spots.
This is only for mid/treble frquencies. You still have to dampen wall to wall resonance, usually apparent around 50-60 Hz.