How do I tune my room?

I think i kinda get it. You play a sine sweep through the monitors, and put a mic about where your head would be. Record the sine sweep as you play it. Then load up something like Voxengo SPAN and look at both the sine sweep and your recorded sweep. Your recorded sweep will look like the Swiss Alps. Add dense material as needed to corners, walls, etc. until it smoothes out?

How do I tune my room?

You need a real big tuner.

Damn, beat me to it.

ORIGINAL: John

How do I tune my room?

You need a real big tuner.

ORIGINAL: John

How do I tune my room?

You need a real big tuner.

ORIGINAL: robby

With a really really really big peg winder?

LOL...I really set myself up for this :-)

short version - hire an acoustician! There is simply no way any space can not benefit from a knowledgeable, experienced acoustician!

slightly longer version - learn as much as you can about acoustics, and then apply that to your room. You don't need specialized test equipment (although you will get better results with better measurements) because at least half the effort ought to happen before you start measuring.

There is quite a bit of good information on the web, but beware, there is some real snake oil out there as well.

At the risk of being run out of town on a rail, Ethan W sells some great panels at very reasonable prices, but some of his advice flies in the face of all that is known about physics! Buy his products or not, but be very wary of his advice!

John Sayer's site, and the studiotips.com are both pretty well juried sites, and once upon a time there was some really good information on the Auralex site. Last time I looked it was no longer there, but I complained and they said they'd be putting it back up.

Really long answer:
There are three issues you need to address -

1) room geometry - this affects bad reflections and eigenmodes. It's important to get it right, but 90% of the time that isn't an option! So, you settle for fitting the listening position and speakers as best you can.

2) isolation - how isolated do you need to be. If the space is already built you can't do a whole lot about this, but, if you have a real leakage problem you should probably address it, the longer you wait the more expensive it gets! The bad news is that better isolation means that you trap more energy in the space

3) treatment - there are two generally accepted approaches to treating a room, and both take advantage of one end live and one end dead (acoustically!!) Which is which is largely a matter of taste and resources. There is a third approach which doesn't believe in specific treatment approaches<G>, and I've been in one space designed that way. It sounded great! I would not try to execute such a design myself, but I am trying to learn as much as I can about it!

Proper room tuning is a result of all these things, and more. It's complex! You can get close using nothing but your ears, but that takes time and lots of experience!

Good luck!

Bill

You can also check this out... Haven't tried it yet though:

* IK Multimedia Ships ARC - Advanced Room Correction System
http://www.digifreq.com/digifreq/newsinfo.asp?NewsID=3335

Scott

--
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If you're on a budget, some 703 insulation (or equivalent) and these go a long way.

Also, on that site, they have the trap frames. I'm actually looking into purchasing a few of them for my space now. Easy solution.

In the past, I built some traps and absorbers based off of designs on the John Sayers site. They were relatively inexpensive (under $250) in total. They did wonders as far as taming the low end in my small space and were pretty easy to build.

-rich

If folks are interested in learning a bit about acoustics, specifically as it relates to building a recording studio, may I recommend the following books, in no specific order:

Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers: Theory, Design, and Application by Trevor J. Cox & Peter D'Antonio, pub 2005
The studio designer has four tools at his or her disposal - room geometry, acoustic absorption, acoustic diffusion, and acoustic reflection. This book has one of the best explanations of how to use them, and when you might want to use them. It is biased, but considering who wrote it the bias is pretty reasonable!

Building A Recording Studio by Jeff Cooper, pub 1984
This remains my favorite book. Yes, it's dated, but the gentleman knows how to build a facility, and how to explain it.

Home Recording Studio: Build it Like The Pros by Rod Gervais, pub 2006
A relative newcomer, I found the acoustical sections to be a bit disappointing, and there were a couple of other things that I didn't agree with<G>, but his explanations on how to build walls, as well as his approach to all areas of studio design are really quite good.

Master Handbook of Acoustics 4th Edition by F. Alton Everest, pub 2000
This used to be the bible, and even at 8 years old it still does a really good job of explaining different aspects of small room critical listening spaces.

Project Studios: A more professional approach by Philip Newell, pub 1999
Recording Spaces by Philip Newell, pub 1998
Recording Studio Design, Second Edition by Philip Newell, pub 2007
If you own, operate, or dream about recording studios you need to read all three of these. The guy is leaning towards eccentric, but he is brilliant, and he will show you different approaches to design that you simply won't find documented anywhere else.

Handbook for Sound Engineers, Third Edition by Glen Ballou (Editor), pub 2005
This falls somewhere between reference book and text book. I can't imagine life without it, though I cringe every time they update it, because I end up buying the new version every time. Oddly enough, I've kept several of the older editions for the information they omitted or changed in the newer editions.

Spaces Speak, Are You Listening by Barry Blesser, pub 2006
Not strictly a design book, but a fantastic read! You will learn something, even if you don't want to.

Music, Sound, and Technology by John M. Eargle, pub 1995
Another book that will help you frame your understanding of small, critical listening spaces, as well as music in general and technology as it applies to music. I think he may be the best technical writer our field ever had.

Sound System Engineering, Third Edition by Don Davis, Eugene Patronis, pub 2006
The first edition of the this book was hugely responsible for my interest in audio. I have all three editions on my bookshelf. This latest edition has wandered far off into the theory, sometimes at the expense of the practical approach of the first edition, but it is still a very valuable book.

Audio Systems Design and Installation by Phillip Giddings, pub 1997
This one has nothing to do with acoustics, but everything to do with everything electrical or electronic. It's out of print, and copies are commanding silly prices - to the point where I have considered auctioning off my copy - but I don't!

Two other books you should read if you enjoy Giddings are:

Grounding and Shielding Techniques by Ralph Morrison, pub 1998
Noise Reduction Techniques in Electronic Systems, 2nd Edition, by Henry Ott, pub 1988

Lastly, for an understanding of recording techniques, and a historical perspective on the technology, find a used copy of:
Modern Recording Techniques by Robert Runstein, pub 1975