Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Learning about room acoustics

Hey All,

In anticipation of our move to a new house , I’ve started taking a deep dive into room acoustics.

I wish I had a better understanding of the features of this forum asi would’ve bookmarked a specific thread. I can’t recall whom,Trev maybe? But started a good thread as deep dive into room setup. Complete with pics and diagrams and a big ruler or something? Can someone point me in the direction of that thread? (And I will follow it then !)

Anyway, I’ve come across this guy :
https://www.acousticfields.com/

That’s his website but he’s got a ton of videos on YouTube. Seems like good stuff in terms of the info shared but I’m not convinced of his products or pedagogy to a point. A lot of what he says makes sense. Does anyone have experience with his videos or products?

Thanks everybody. I’ve been busy lately ,so only been able to kinda read all the current posts and threads but no time to really comment. Nice to see all the familiar names around!

Stay away from the black arts. I figure, if there is a problem, identify it. Then go about dealing with it.

I have a friend with a very expensive system. He has over-treated his audio room (2 channel) so it is just dead. Not good.

I don't like Audyssey room correction for HT. Haven't heard Dirac or any of the others.

I agree with disgruntled hard wood. Identify the problem then deal with it. Although using REW or Audyssey isn't all that bad, as they can sometimes help show you problems you didn't naturally recognize. They are just a guide not gospel! Your ears always have the final judgement!

I like that , “ the dark arts “. Nice. Yes I agree with you 2x6. I don’t use room correction but only bc I’ve never owned an avr that has it. Some would call me “ old school “ but it’s more like “ tight budget “ for now.

Well here’s a link to one of this dudes videos.... his products aside is the information he is teaching accurate? My gut says he’s close as it seems logical but even in my very untrained way I noticed some questions..... like the angle the sound bounces off the wall to make it back to the listener..... what creates that angle?

Anyway without getting overly complex here I think what I’ve learned is there are some really good things you can do at a basic level to improve sound.

https://youtu.be/d7rOtBvz8OU

Dennis Foley is not well regarded by acousticians. He does NOT practice what I would call proven and trusted methods.... Try Nyall Mellor or Anthony Grimani.

If you have a room of known dimensions post them here with windows and doors as well. Sketch is great. I routinely plan rooms with software renders for installs. It is not a “black art”. It is not magic at all.

The pile of University Textbooks here indicate it is entirely empiracal and methodical if you follow proven principles. Please DO NOT confuse what 2x6 or Reblux or anyone else says about your room as facts. Measurements are facts.

A real person in real life will need to measure your room in person if you are going to treat it. You can do it. I can walk you through it. 2x6’s pal likely reduced his RT60 below 0.2s. Bad news.

Anyone who has heard a properly treated room would not deny its overwhelming importance.

Here is one we just did. Built to spec. Probably one of the best rooms in the province after tuning...

I can ask him if I can post pics. Anyways, post a dimensioned sketch and we can go from there.

Judging by that diagram my surrounds are definitely too far forward. With my odd shaped room should I treat my front locations as if the room were squared off? I have watched several videos on measuring speaker location but everything is always based on rectangular shaped rooms.

Kodiak, like Trevor says, there are others who know it and can explain it better than Dennis.

The angles are formed between the listener, the wall, floor, ceiling and the speaker. As you move your MLP closer to the speakers, there is less wall, floor and ceiling in front of you to reflect and you hear more of the speakers. The opposite happens as you move further away. There's a region where the direct energy from the speakers is the same as the reflected energy from the reflecting surfaces.

As you move closer, you may feel as if you are on stage or in the first few rows of the performance. As you move further away, you may perceive that the performance is "out there". I prefer the latter. As I turn it up, I get more envelopment that makes me feel that I am there with them but not right beside or in front of them.

There is no right or wrong distance with well-designed speakers. It's a matter of preference. Of course when you are dealing with multi-channel, you better understand which way you prefer before setting the equipment up.

Notice I said there is no right or wrong with well-designed speakers. A well-designed speaker is one that has a well-behaved family of curves like Toole has said. This makes the speaker sound tonally similar whether you choose to sit closer or further. The only difference is in the nature of the spatial imaging as I described above. This is certainly the case with all properly placed v4 that I've heard.

But no one ever listens to scientists....since since they listen to a youtube guy named Dennis, maybe they'll listen to a guy named Trevor.
Well said Trevor!

Just thinking about this a bit further, once the new AVR is obtained, hopefully sometime this crazy year, we plan on switching around the Axioms likely to newer versions but because we are adding more surrounds as replacing the sub and centre as well (the finishes just have to match or it would bother me to no end). As such, i've been thinking more about where to move my back surrounds which currently sit a bit to the sides. The new back surrounds would also have a location different from the existing. Our room is odd in dimensions with an angle on a side, angle on a back wall from ceiling downward, a header dropdown on the far wall ceiling. I should send you some diagrams or images and see what you think for placement compared to what i had setup many years ago.
Personally i think one far wall is going to need a bit of treatment. Yet to do the room measurements...