3 ms·

You can, but fundamentally the absorbent material needs to be as thick as one quarter of the wavelength of the frequency that you are trying to absorb. Deep bas

You can, but fundamentally the absorbent material needs to be as thick as one quarter of the wavelength of the frequency that you are trying to absorb. Deep bass, like e.g. 30Hz, has a wavelength of 8.6 metres. If you end up putting two metres of absorbent material on every wall, you don't have room for your studio anymore! This is why acoustic panels only work for mid-range frequencies and higher. Alternatively, you can also use bass traps with a membrane tuned to a specific frequency, which can attenuate said frequency without taking up ridiculous amounts of space.

lmilcin 6y ago
That's why you actually don't want deep bass in your speakers if you have tight constraints. It is better to have less deep bass (you can add more of it if you want) than have deep bass that is very distorted. Also, as I have added later after you posted, you can play with objects around your speakers to have the reflection broken and arrive at different time, effectively reducing its impact on the main wave. But as you pointed out that will only work for waves up to some length depending how large objects we are talking about.
- bombcar 6y ago
  Isn’t that why all these minispeaker systems (like you see for sale at Costco and Best Buy) all have a separate subwoofer and low pass filters on the speakers? Easier to place one subwoofer than to tune five speakers.
  - lmilcin 6y ago
    Partly. The are other reasons: - producing low end requires large speaker, and large == costly - large speaker == lots of space required on desk, restricting your placement. Having small speakers on desk is a functional compromise. People working professionally with sound will buy studio monitors which take way more space but they can take it because sound quality is important because it is their job. - multiple speakers producing low end == timing and interference issues. When you have multiple speakers producing low end, you will hear interference as you move your head around as different lengths of waves cancel or reinforce at difference places. Since you don't need stereo for low end (your brain can't discern direction of very low end sound anyway) it is better to avoid that issue by having single speaker. Now, single speaker avoids those issues and allows you to be basically anywhere in the room and have acceptable sound, but adds discontinuity between your low and mid range. Audio professionals will prefer studio monitors because they care for for the sound to come undisturbed so much, they can place their speakers symetrically and keep their head at exactly right spot when listening.
johnvanommen 6y ago
EXACTLY I see a lot of people putting up ugly "sound absorbing panels." What they don't realize is that it takes a LOT of material to absorb sound. 100Hz is over three METERS long. There are ways to reduce the impact of reflections, but sound absorbing panels are probably one of the least practical ways to do it.
deleted 6y ago
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lmilcin 6y ago

That's why you actually don't want deep bass in your speakers if you have tight constraints. It is better to have less deep bass (you can add more of it if you want) than have deep bass that is very distorted. Also, as I have added later after you posted, you can play with objects around your speakers to have the reflection broken and arrive at different time, effectively reducing its impact on the main wave. But as you pointed out that will only work for waves up to some length depending how large objects we are talking about.

bombcar 6y ago
Isn’t that why all these minispeaker systems (like you see for sale at Costco and Best Buy) all have a separate subwoofer and low pass filters on the speakers? Easier to place one subwoofer than to tune five speakers.
- lmilcin 6y ago
  Partly. The are other reasons: - producing low end requires large speaker, and large == costly - large speaker == lots of space required on desk, restricting your placement. Having small speakers on desk is a functional compromise. People working professionally with sound will buy studio monitors which take way more space but they can take it because sound quality is important because it is their job. - multiple speakers producing low end == timing and interference issues. When you have multiple speakers producing low end, you will hear interference as you move your head around as different lengths of waves cancel or reinforce at difference places. Since you don't need stereo for low end (your brain can't discern direction of very low end sound anyway) it is better to avoid that issue by having single speaker. Now, single speaker avoids those issues and allows you to be basically anywhere in the room and have acceptable sound, but adds discontinuity between your low and mid range. Audio professionals will prefer studio monitors because they care for for the sound to come undisturbed so much, they can place their speakers symetrically and keep their head at exactly right spot when listening.

johnvanommen 6y ago

EXACTLY I see a lot of people putting up ugly "sound absorbing panels." What they don't realize is that it takes a LOT of material to absorb sound. 100Hz is over three METERS long. There are ways to reduce the impact of reflections, but sound absorbing panels are probably one of the least practical ways to do it.

deleted 6y ago

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