once and for all...
"Adrian Tuddenham" wrote in message
valid.invalid...
I think the BBC did some research into this in mono a long while
ago. They were mainly interested in the point at which the acoustics
of the listening room began to become audible behind those of the
original studio.
I seem to recall they concluded that as long as the listening room
had a shorter reverberation time than the studio, the listener would
only be aware of the studio acoustics. That assumed a listening room
with no obvious vices (i.e. a fairly flat reverberation/frequency curve)
and did not test for any effects on stereo imaging.
This is virtually common sense. I'm glad to hear the BBC researched it.
One factor we have not touched on (another can of worms) is whether
the whole of a listening room needs to be treated. When using an empty
cloakroom as a temporary control room for a portable recording session,
I found that it was possible to put the monitors (BBC LS3/5As) at the
same level as my ears and only treat the room at that height above the
floor. Luckily, the rows of coat pegs allowed me to hang several
thicknesses of blankets away from the walls at the correct height.
The upper part of the room was undamped and, when I stood up, the
sound quality was vile with no stereo image -- but, at the seated
listening position, I found I was able to form quite a good image and
ignore the rest of the room.
I wouldn't recommend this as general good practice, but it does show
that it is possible to get away without elaborate acoustic listening
room treatment in some circumstances.
Around 35 years ago, when I lived in an apartment in Bryn Mawr, I tacked
4'-square panels of 2" Fibreglas (covered with "glass cloth") to the walls at
about ear level. They did a great job suppressing early reflections, while not
wholly deadening the room. However, I remember an evening some guests stopped
by, and a woman had an immediate claustrophobic reaction to the reduced
ambience. (No one else did.) Her reaction was "honest" -- she was unaware of
the sound treatment.
One might think that virtually complete deadening would be desirable when
playing ambient-surround recordings. But I doubt it.
|