I had to take a few days to digest the info provided at the Bob Gold site and all the referenced links.
The results of the room mode calculator don't tell you all that much, mainly because they don't reconcile what you will actually experience at the listening position.
The results can suggest where you should look for issues.
The reference material led me to read differing opinions regarding the proximity of the standing waves along the frequency spectrum.
Some posited that the the waves that occurred distinctly, at a frequency that was clearly separate from other standing waves, would be the most likely to be noticed while listening. The calculator does not, however, predict if you will hear a peak or a null because your listening position needs to be known for this to be considered.
As a corollary the standing waves that are bunched up, the ones Bitflipper mentioned at 170-185Hz, might sum to be a huge problem or they may sum in such a way as to have minimal effect. So, some people assumed and argued that the bunching would exasperate problems while other folks predicted that the bunching increased the likely hood that the effects would probably offset each other. The actual results are, once again, very much dependent on the listening position.
It took me several reads and some reading between the lines to garner the conclusion I just shared.
The point that I think seems to describe the *conclusion* of my reading of the references, the linked explanations, and the forum discussions at the acoustic design forums, is that a room mode calculator identifies areas of special interest.
Once you have established and tested at a listening position the calculations may explain why you are observing certain peaking or nullification.
I hope that makes sense... if it doesn't I invite you to go read all that stuff too... I'd like it seem simpler. :-)
all the best,
mike
post edited by mike_mccue - 2013/08/27 13:27:34