9
Your listening room
Strange as this may sound, the room itself will have a profound affect on
how your audio system responds. In fact, many experts consider the
room to be as important to the sound as any other component in your
system!
Did you ever notice how it’s difficult to talk in some restaurants because
you can’t hear each other over all the other conversations going on
around you? Yet another similarly sized restaurant is perfectly suited to
intimate romantic murmuring. The difference lies in the surfaces around
you. Here is a simple test – go into your bathroom and clap your hands;
then clap them again in a room with carpet, curtains and other soft
furnishings. Notice the difference? In a room with many hard reflective
surfaces sound waves bounce around a lot before dying out. Not even
the most expensive stereo in the world is capable of sounding good in
such a challenging acoustic environment.
When it comes to your listening room the same principles apply. Wooden
floorboards, polished concrete and slate tiles are all highly reflective
surfaces. In a room without curtains or other wall furnishings the sound
may be overly ‘bright’ or aggressive.
Similarly, it is possible for a room to be too ‘damped’ or absorptive.
Where there are no reflective surfaces at all the sound may seem ‘dead’ or
lacking in energy.
Luckily for us, most household rooms are a combination of the two. And,
generally speaking, a combination of the two will bring about the best
results.
Too many hard surfaces?
If your room is too ‘bright’, try placing a large rug on the floor between
your listening position and the speakers. Or hang some soft furnishings
from the walls.
Too many soft surfaces?
If your room is too damped, try removing some of the soft furnishings
from the walls or rugs from the floor.
Managing the bass
Sometimes, low frequency waves can also bounce around and cause
problems in a listening environment. This may be the result of the shape
