Ethan Winer wrote on Mon, 01 September 2008 10:29 |
Chris Griffith wrote on Mon, 01 September 2008 00:42 | I've always read you cant have too much basstrapping. Is this true?
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Yes, in a room the size you're making it's not possible to have too much bass trapping, Assuming, as Jay mentioned, that it's good bass trapping, extends to a low enough frequency, and optionally absorbs mids and highs less than is absorbed below about 300 to 400 Hz.
Quote: | Is this overkill for a room this size? Am I going to put weird bumps in the low end or should I be fairly safe?
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Adding bass traps should never introduce new peaks and nulls. It can only make things better. And it's not just peaks and nulls that matter, but ringing too.
--Ethan
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I have been chasing GREAT low end (huge, powerful, articulate, pitch-defined) in my small control room for around 3 years now. I am using a lot of proprietary design membrane bass trapping and a couple of SpringTraps. With the membrane absorbers, I started with X amount, then added more, then more, then more, then more again, then even more--and this last round was a big addition. I don't think--physically--I could add much more, if any. With every single addition things improve. At around step 3 (of 6) there started to be a 'stillness' or calmness' to the air--as if it was a much bigger room, or maybe as it's sonic signature became less and less a part of the equation. I have truly full range monitoring: custom-designed 3 way speakers, 2 custom sealed box subs with JL Audio drivers, digital room correction (separate digital correction and crossovers for the subs) and over 3,000 watts RMS. I can truthfully say there is not a control room in L.A. that I would rather be sitting in listening to music right now.
With this last, and probably final, addition of membrane absorbers, the bottom end's power and effortlessness has become almost limitless in terms of any situation I might encounter in real life, except maybe being run down by an 18 wheeler or being in an earthquake. But the other interesting thing is that the soundstage has finally completely 'broken free' of the speakers, floating whatever space there is in the recording in front of me as if I was listening to it through a big, glassless window frame. All kinds of little sonic details (that don't seem like they would have anything to do with the low end) come peeking through without drawing extra attention to themselves.
FWIW, I'm also using a dozen RPG Skyline Panels and a fair amount of carefully-placed 4" thick open cell foam.
Thanks A LOT to this forum for helping me find my way to this sonic point, which I am now really enjoying.