Know Your Room

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Achieving acoustical excellence hinges on a deep understanding of low-frequency behavior in your room. Dominated by modal resonances, this critical range is influenced by room dimensions and the specific positioning of audio sources and listeners. Our sophisticated simulation models allow us to estimate the frequency response at any point in your space. 

The graphs included in our reports illuminate not just the frequencies of these modal resonances but also any significant dips in the frequency response that need addressing. Armed with this knowledge, you can make informed adjustments to remove unwanted resonances and achieve a well-balanced, sonically satisfying environment - be it a home studio, a cinema, or a control room. 

 Spatial Deviation is an objective metric designed to assess the uniformity of frequency response within a specified listening area. Centered around a critical listening position - often the primary position in a room where optimal sound reproduction is desired - this metric offers a nuanced understanding of how the acoustic properties vary across different points within the listening zone. 

By capturing the degree of variation in sound characteristics, such as amplitude and phase of different frequency components, the spatial deviation serves as a diagnostic tool for identifying areas of inconsistency that could compromise critical listening tasks. 

Lower values of this metric indicate that the room offers a more uniform auditory experience, which is conducive to tasks like audio mixing, monitoring, or focused listening. Conversely, higher values suggest a heterogeneous sound field that may necessitate further acoustic treatment or system calibration to achieve the desired level of uniformity. 

 The Speaker-Boundary Interference Response (SBIR), also known as the Allisson effect, refers to the changes in a speaker's frequency response when it's close to walls. When a speaker is near one or more walls, certain frequencies can either be amplified (peaks) or reduced (nulls). This effect is especially strong at lower frequencies. The exact frequencies affected depend on the distance between the speaker and the walls. 

The example curves represent a speaker placed 1.2 m from one, two, and three walls. With each added equidistant boundary, the SBIR becomes more evident, increasing the notch and the null. It also shows how its frequency is dependent on the distance from the boundaries by placing the speaker equidistant from the three boundaries by 0.3 m.
 

In the realm of room acoustics, the temporal decay offers insights into how sound behaves over time. Often shown as spectrogram or waterfall graphs, it provides a detailed, frequency-specific visualization of sound decay over time. Within the room's modal range, where its physical dimensions align with sound wavelengths, resonant frequencies arise, forming standing waves. At these frequencies, sound doesn't dissipate swiftly due to wave-boundary interactions, resulting in prolonged decay. Grasping these room intricacies is crucial to aid decisions on design, materials, and treatments for optimal acoustic results. 

The phenomena of first and second-order specular reflections have significant implications for the acoustic behavior of a room. These reflections interact with the direct sound, influencing sound quality, spaciousness, stereo imaging, and overall auditory perception. 

Proper control of these reflections is a technical requirement for accurate sound reproduction. Knowing the location of the primary interfering reflections enables the precise positioning of targeted acoustic treatment, improving the auditory integrity of your space.

Our pressure maps offer a frequency-specific analysis of sound pressure levels inside the room and in the room boundaries, enabling a nuanced understanding of how sound interacts with the room's architecture. These visual tools are particularly useful for identifying modal hotspots and other areas requiring acoustic treatment, thereby aiding in designing and implementing effective acoustic solutions.