DBarbarulo wrote on Thu, 24 August 2006 15:41 |
Hi and thanks to be here. The question is obviously about the interaction between speakers and consoles (or rack units) in a mastering environment. As seen in several pictures of Sterling, most of the time there's an obstacle between listener and source. Is a compromise (if is) in the name of ergonomics?
Again thanks and regards
DB
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Some guys worry about some ideal of acoustics theory and ignore the real world ergonomics. I think this is putting the cart before the horse. Certainly you should not ignore the impact of a console, rack, or anything else, but the room is there to serve the work, not the other way around. If having a console makes the work flow easier, then have a console. Eliminating a console and sitting on a big leather couch with a couple small, low racks in front of you will not eliminate acoustic impact, only change it. It may be for the better, it may not. Neither way is right nor wrong. Each just has advantages and disadvantages.
For me, a console is the way to go. Once you've decided to have one, however, you should make the acoustic impact as small as possible. This includes having as small a footprint as your application will allow. It also means avoiding large, flat surfaces that will reflect sound to your listening position, causing comb filtering. You also should have the bottom of the console (between the legs) open.
When designing my console (which I did as part of the room design), I chose angles for the various elements to avoid harmful early reflections, and also made the back (facing the speakers) soft. Set into a wood frame is some 703 rigid fiberglass wrapped in fabric that matches the side walls. There are two bays of gear, and a smaller center section that houses VU meters and provides a platform for the monitor controller and t.c. 6000 remote. This cavity is stuffed with some fuzz, and is of course covered by the fabric wrapped 703 panel. This actually creates a little (very little) bass trap right in the console. It's not big enough to do much, but it certainly doesn't hurt. My point is that you can purposefully use the structure of a console as a part of the acoustic plan. Don't just get something "off the shelf" when it can be a part of the overall deign plan that fits the bill ergonomically, visually, and acoustically.