Forums - Print Page

Forums
https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl
AUDIO FORUMS >> Room Treatment >> Decware Bass Traps
https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1310818678

Message started by Pale Rider on 07/16/11 at 13:17:47

Title: Decware Bass Traps
Post by Pale Rider on 07/16/11 at 13:17:47

Started putting my order together for a few diffuser panels and bass traps. But when I tried to order the traps, it seems the link is not active:

Quote:

12 x 12 x 24 Inch corner bass absorbers

model FC1224

Used in the corners this 8 pack covers 16 lineal feet, or two corners from floor to ceiling.

I was on the phone with both Sarah and DeVon the other day, and completely forgot to ask. Anyone know why?

Title: Re: Decware Bass Traps
Post by connorbond on 05/17/12 at 17:55:21

what do these do to the overall sound of the room?

Title: Re: Decware Bass Traps
Post by Brett on 05/18/12 at 07:04:11

Bass traps even out the frequency spikes and dips caused by the room reflections. It helps to think of sound waves as light, and room walls as mirrors. Only in this situation the light waves are huge. Since bass waves are so large (the wavelength of a 20Hz sound wave is 56 feet long), reproducing them in a relatively small audio room is problematic to say the least. The wave hits the wall and gets bounced back and depending on its phase (degree of its arc) and it's relation to the listening position it either falls directly back onto itself effectively doubling it's energy (reinforcement) or gets reflected out of phase creating a null (cancellation), or somewhere in between.

As with everything, it's not cut and dry. Based on the acoustic math we are given it shouldn't be possible to reproduce a 20Hz wave in a small room, but the reality is that we can. So we can take from that some of the energy gets absorbed (in other words passes through the wall) while remaining energy is reflected. And depending on the type of wall you get more or less of those dynamics. So concrete could be considered difficult because you have to deal with more reflected bass energy and treat it as such.

There's a story about a famous concert hall that recently had it's floor filled with concrete. It had a very noticeable effect on the bass and not for the good. And so by popular demand the concrete was removed. Bass needs to breath as it does in open areas like amphitheaters.

So bass traps deal with the energy that is reflected back into the room and attempts to stop the deleterious effects of those reflections rather it causes reinforcement or cancellation. By adding bass traps the listener is able to hear more of the initial sound wave because the subsequent reflected waves are lessened. And bass frequencies will be more even throughout the room. Listening position and speaker placement will become less critical.

Since bass naturally finds it's way to the corners this is the most effect placement for the traps. Trap design can be simplified as bigger is better. It would be difficult to have too much bass absorption. Higher density absorption materials give more energy dissipation for the space utilized.

Having said all that, the effect bass traps have on the music is to increase the bass where it is needed, and decrease bass where there is too much boom. Having a null in the bass response and having a peak is a symptom of the same problem. Not enough bass absorption.