Rob Sinden
Distinguished Member
No matter how much money you spend on audio equipment, the sound quality you'll achieve will be nothing like the artist or director intended.
The reason that even the best audio equipment rarely provides good sound quality is because of the impact of the acoustics of the rooms they are used in.
If you have ever moved a hifi from one room to another you will know what a huge difference the listening room makes. If not, think of how different a car sounds in a garage, on the open road, or driving through a tunnel and you'll start to appreciate how important acoustics are.
In the world of hifi and home cinema, where everyone is looking to just sell you equipment, most people perpetuate the myth that all that is required to reproduce sound accurately is good equipment. This post is one of six that will explain why this in unscientific nonsense and will provide some recommendations on what is really required to reproduce sound accurately.
The Professional Approach to Audio
Where sound quality is really critical, such as recording studios and concert halls, more time and money will be spent on the design of the room than the choice of audio equipment that will be used.
As a result amplifiers and speakers that are much cheaper than many hifi alternatives will provide far better results.
The HiFi Myth
When you read about audio equipment or visit a hifi shop the critical issue of acoustics is almost never discussed. Magazines exist to sell magazines. Hifi shops exist to sell hifi, so there is little interest and virtually no knowledge in this critical part of any audio system.
Could it be that people who design concert venues and recording studios are wasting their time? Or is it more likely that customers looking to buy the best hifi and home cinemas are not getting the whole truth?
The reality of sound reproduction is that as long as sound waves interact with their environment, accurate sound quality cannot be achieved in any room without addressing the massive impact that your room's acoustics will have.
How Much Difference Do Acoustics Make?
In most rooms when you sit just 1.5m from a loudspeaker, you will hear more reflected sound from the room than direct sound from the speaker. Most people sit 3-5m from their loudspeakers so what is heard at the listening position has far more to do with the reflections that the room creates than minor differences between the components they are using.
With a stereo system the room accounts for at least 50% of what you hear. In a home cinema with more speakers (that are often poorly located), the room accounts for more than 60% of what you hear.
As a result a well designed system in a good room will easily outperform far more costly equipment in a room with poor acoustics.
What Factors Affect Acoustics?
The study of acoustics is a very complex science, but some of the basics are easy to understand. Anything that the sound waves in your room come in contact with will affect the sound of your system. The size of the room, location of seating and equipment and the nature of the internal surfaces and furniture will all have a huge affect on how your equipment sounds.
In the same way that organ pipes of different lengths produce different notes, the dimensions of your room will mean that certain frequencies will
be greatly exaggerated
Reducing Acoustic Problems
If you are serious about finding the best system for your money or upgrading your existing audio equipment, take a tip from the professionals and learn about room acoustics or find someone who is truly expert in this area to help with your system design.
Fancy cables, mains conditioners and power supplies simply cannot help rectify the fundamental compromises that the acoustics of any room will create.
There are 3 proven methods of reducing acoustic problems - these are:
Room Design and Treatment
Room Friendly Speaker Systems
Room Correction
If you are considering buying a good hifi or home cinema and the dealer involved doesn't raise the issue of your room's acoustics along with logical, practical methods for minimising their affects, I'd suggest you find another dealer.
The benefits of all these systems are used routinely in the professional world and are all based on sound scientific principals.
If you found this post helpful you may be interested in some of the other topics I've posted on:
- Professional Recommendations for Surround Sound Design
- The Benefits of Room-Friendly Speakers
- Acoustic Room Design
- Why You Need Room Correction
- The Result of Professional System Design
The reason that even the best audio equipment rarely provides good sound quality is because of the impact of the acoustics of the rooms they are used in.
If you have ever moved a hifi from one room to another you will know what a huge difference the listening room makes. If not, think of how different a car sounds in a garage, on the open road, or driving through a tunnel and you'll start to appreciate how important acoustics are.
In the world of hifi and home cinema, where everyone is looking to just sell you equipment, most people perpetuate the myth that all that is required to reproduce sound accurately is good equipment. This post is one of six that will explain why this in unscientific nonsense and will provide some recommendations on what is really required to reproduce sound accurately.
The Professional Approach to Audio
Where sound quality is really critical, such as recording studios and concert halls, more time and money will be spent on the design of the room than the choice of audio equipment that will be used.
As a result amplifiers and speakers that are much cheaper than many hifi alternatives will provide far better results.
The HiFi Myth
When you read about audio equipment or visit a hifi shop the critical issue of acoustics is almost never discussed. Magazines exist to sell magazines. Hifi shops exist to sell hifi, so there is little interest and virtually no knowledge in this critical part of any audio system.
Could it be that people who design concert venues and recording studios are wasting their time? Or is it more likely that customers looking to buy the best hifi and home cinemas are not getting the whole truth?
The reality of sound reproduction is that as long as sound waves interact with their environment, accurate sound quality cannot be achieved in any room without addressing the massive impact that your room's acoustics will have.
How Much Difference Do Acoustics Make?
In most rooms when you sit just 1.5m from a loudspeaker, you will hear more reflected sound from the room than direct sound from the speaker. Most people sit 3-5m from their loudspeakers so what is heard at the listening position has far more to do with the reflections that the room creates than minor differences between the components they are using.
With a stereo system the room accounts for at least 50% of what you hear. In a home cinema with more speakers (that are often poorly located), the room accounts for more than 60% of what you hear.
As a result a well designed system in a good room will easily outperform far more costly equipment in a room with poor acoustics.
What Factors Affect Acoustics?
The study of acoustics is a very complex science, but some of the basics are easy to understand. Anything that the sound waves in your room come in contact with will affect the sound of your system. The size of the room, location of seating and equipment and the nature of the internal surfaces and furniture will all have a huge affect on how your equipment sounds.
In the same way that organ pipes of different lengths produce different notes, the dimensions of your room will mean that certain frequencies will
be greatly exaggerated
Reducing Acoustic Problems
If you are serious about finding the best system for your money or upgrading your existing audio equipment, take a tip from the professionals and learn about room acoustics or find someone who is truly expert in this area to help with your system design.
Fancy cables, mains conditioners and power supplies simply cannot help rectify the fundamental compromises that the acoustics of any room will create.
There are 3 proven methods of reducing acoustic problems - these are:
Room Design and Treatment
Room Friendly Speaker Systems
Room Correction
If you are considering buying a good hifi or home cinema and the dealer involved doesn't raise the issue of your room's acoustics along with logical, practical methods for minimising their affects, I'd suggest you find another dealer.
The benefits of all these systems are used routinely in the professional world and are all based on sound scientific principals.
If you found this post helpful you may be interested in some of the other topics I've posted on:
- Professional Recommendations for Surround Sound Design
- The Benefits of Room-Friendly Speakers
- Acoustic Room Design
- Why You Need Room Correction
- The Result of Professional System Design
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