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By M. Patrick Quinn
Everyone that works with sound in some capacity knows how important the acoustics
of the room they are working in is. The acoustics are the properties of an
area that determine how sound is transmitted throughout the space. The following
are three rules that anyone working with sound needs to follow in order to
achieve the perfect acoustics for a room:
1.Get rid of reflective surfaces - Not everyone has access to a professional
studio in order to work with sound. You may have to work with what you have,
which could mean that you're stuck using a spare room or basement. Because
every room is different, you'll have to treat each room differently. The first
thing you need to do is get rid of any reflective surfaces. Reflective surfaces,
such as the glass in windows, will be detrimental to your stereo image and
can cause you to hear your audio repeat itself several time as it bounces of
the reflections. This means that you'll need to cover any glass in the room.
Cover up windows with curtains or blinds, and don't forget to cover polished
areas such as hardwood floors with carpeting as well.
2.Position your listening position correctly - Don't just prop your listening
setup wherever it seems most convenient; where you position yourself is vital
to achieving the perfect acoustics. Avoid tucking yourself into an alcove and
try to keep as far away from any walls as possible. Rear ported speakers should
be placed ten inches away from any hard surface in order to properly produce
bass. This goes for sub woofers that are side or rear ported as well. If the
space you are using is oblong, then position yourself in line with the longer
part of the room to allow low frequencies to develop and to prevent reflections
from the back wall.
3.Adding absorption or diffusion - Absorption is one of the most used treatments
for home studios. Whenever there is a lot of reflection in a space, absorption
is needed to prevent an echo that affects your mid and high frequencies. You
can get absorption tiles to place on your walls. Don't use too many or you'll
end up with a dead unrealistic space. You want a little bit of reflection to
create a realistic stereo image that is more natural. This also means that
if you have absolutely no reflection in your room, you'll want to add diffusion.
Although you may have access to a professional studio if you are taking DJ
training classes or going to sound engineering school, knowing these basic
rules for creating the right acoustics for your sound design can help you set
up a studio in your own home.
Patrick Quinn is a Copywriter at Higher Education Marketing, a leading web
marketing firm specializing in Google Analytics, Education Lead Generation,
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, and Pay Per Click
Marketing, among other web marketing services and tools.
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