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Room Size and Loudness

I'm at the room tuning stage with my addiction and one of the various room problems I want to address is a loudness issue which plays out this way: To really get the best out of my speakers I need to run them at a level that makes them too loud for my room -- every once-in-a-while I can handle a Who concert, but I don't want to do it every time I fire up the system. I knew this could be a problem for me when I picked up the speakers I'm using (in April) but I like the speakers and the way they fit in with my system. Can I use acoustic treatments to solve this problem (I'm sure that might raise other problems -- but I need to know the options before I can identify points of compromise). For example, would lining a wall(s) with absorption foam, etc. be a solution? Any thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
vtl

Showing 1 response by eldartford

eldartford
4,262 posts
 
If you want to maintain tonal balance at SPL far from the original sound level there is really no way to do this other than electronic equalization. Old time preamps addressed this problem with a "Loudness" control, which is just a volume control the effect of which is variable with frequency. Today you probably need an equalizer.

I am very happly with the Behringer DEQ2496 which costs only about $300, and includes a RTA so you can see what you are doing (provided you also buy the mic for $70). With this unit you could store several equalization curves, corresponding, in your case, to different SPL, and perhaps different types of music. It's not a big investment ...well worth a try.
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