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The Room

Most often we hear folks saying the treble's too etched or sharp, sound is too bright and forward and piercing the ears, sound is 2-dimensional and flat, soundstage is lacking, not enough dynamics, bass is too loose or boomy etc. and often pass down comments of the equipment based on their listening experience. I wonder how many folks have a proper listening environment to pass down their judgements on the sound signature of the gears that are being reviewed or listened to. I am still in the learning process and have found that room treatments can have a huge impact on the sound, although in most cases results will vary with different rooms and environments.

I believe that any hard or bright-sounding components(perennial favourites are B&W speakers or Krell amps) when put together in an overdamped room will produce a sound that's dull to the point of being dead. Whenever I read comments on B&W's being harsh-sounding speakers, I don't know if they are being listened in a crappy room with bad acoustics or it's just the haters. Even with very minimal absorption on the sides and diffusion on the back, there is no issue with brightness at all. More absorption would kill off the high frequencies and make it too dull.

Just wanted to share my observations and experience. In my opinion, any particular description of any component's sound, taking individual listening tastes and preferences out of the context may not be too accurate based on the room layout and acoustics itself.

And just to point out, I am in no way associated with any room treatment manufacturers. Just a curious learner and currently still trying out different treatments to improve the acoustics in my small room. Have just got rid of the pyramid foams on my side walls as I figured out I can't live with the looks of it.
ryder

Showing 2 responses by aball

aball
2,016 posts
 
Absolutely. That is why a lot of reviews and opinions are bunk. I laugh when I read of someone testing out small 3-ways and huge 3-ways in the same room! There is no possible way that they are both optimized for that room. Same goes for people's opinions in general. Most systems I have seen haven't been setup carefully enough IMHO. Not to say mine is perfect but after 7 years of tweaking my system to match my room, and helping setup 4 other systems, I have a pretty good idea of what a happy marriage sounds like. I think many people don't feel like putting forth the necessary effort to experiment and explore. But I give the benefit of the doubt since not everyone has the same hearing.

As for B&W, I had a pair of N804 and definately found them aggressive on top. I wouldn't say bright per se but definately brash compared to my JM Lab Electra 926. They both have the same specs so I allow myself to compare them directly. The new S tweeter is a much more refined one IMO. But had I decided to work with the N804, I am sure I could have made them sound better in my room. Was it worth a year of tweaking? No, not since I had already been through that with my 926s (whose soundstage would have remained larger regardless, I am pretty sure). So do I feel the N804 are bad? Not at all! Just not right for my current room and equipment. Anyone who says such-and-such is "bad" has severely underestimated or failed to understand this concept.

I have been playing with corner traps for some time. Their impact on the imaging is remarkable considering the frequency range involved. I never in a million years would have thought that corner traps could affect the 1.5kHz range as much as they do. I have also found that their measured impact is way way smaller than their audible one - another sign that we are either measuring the wrong metrics or the measuring equipment (or technique) sucks. Perhaps it is the reduced band energy that is the change rather than certain "trapped" frequencies. Regardless, I have come to love my bass traps but it hasn't been easy getting them just right. I am currently on the 4 different set and found that for my room and tastes, the reflected side towards the room and 18"x48"x4" Corning 703 works best.

Arthur
aball
2,016 posts
 
I wouldn't say the 926 is a "much warmer" speaker than the N804 although it does put out noticibly more bass despite the same rated frequency extension. This reduced bass output in the N804 goes a long way to improving resolution and perceived detail but it also tends to leave the treble high and dry. I sold them to a friend who has them in a smaller room (11x12 instead of 14x13) and they work perfectly in it. The room filled in the bass for better extension which makes the entire speaker sound more balanced and coherent. Once again, a case where mating the speaker to the room is critical.

Room treatments are like everything else in the world: you can overdo it. I have a friend who had tons of room treatment and his soundstage and liveliness suffered. He ended up removing some of it and was surprised at how open the sound became. I once heard a speaker playing in an anechoic chamber and the music sounded terrible! No "live" effect at all. It was pretty much dead - as dead as the room. So in the end, you have to strike a balance.

A
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