Ideal room size for AR-303's

[thiptoman]

Is there an ideal room size that the AR-303's performs at its absolute best in ? I have no problem getting excellent sound from my AR-228's in the 13 ft wide x 15 ft length audio room. I find that the larger speaker is over whelming at times in the deep bass in this room. The overall sound is silky smooth but bass is definitely a problem here . If there is an ideal room size please offer suggestions .

[ar_pro]

It might just be a matter of placement...I've had 3a's in similar-sized rooms, with pretty good results. Could the speakers be too close to a corner, or to the floor? Sometimes bass-heaviness can be corrected by elevating the speaker, or moving it out from the front wall a bit.

[JeffS]

I also have my 303's in a 13' x 15' room, and find the bass to be overwhelming at times. I have the center of the woofers about 3' from the side walls, 2' from the front wall, and about 20" above the floor. To tame the bass I use my old MXR 10 band EQ and cut the 31Hz band by 9dB on the left and 6dB on the right (there is an open doorway 6' x 7' to the right of the right speaker). I also cut the 62Hz band 5dB on each side. I haven't tried placing them further away from the walls because it just isn't practical for me, but I suspect that the bass would still be very potent. I think the 10 band EQ is a good solution if you must use a room that's this size.

Oh, by the way, great to have the forums back!

[soundminded]

In general, the best listening rooms are larger with none of the principal dimensions the same or even close and not at whole number multiples of each other. That is because the dimensions determine the frequencies at which standing waves or room resonances occur. Below the wavelength of the principal resonance due to these dimensions, the room does not give bass reinforcement and so there is a low frequency cutoff. You might test to see at what frequency this occurs in your room because although the bass may be loud, it may not extend down as deeply as the speaker is capable of in a larger room. Given your dimensions you would expect strong resonances at 72hz and 84hz (one wavelength) and lesser resonances at multiples of those frequencies and at one half those frequencies. Speaker placement generally produces the loudest bass when the speakers are located close to room boundaries, the corner near the floor or ceiling being the highest (3 adjacent boundaries), in the corner midway between floor and ceiling or next to a wall on the floor or at the ceiling (2 boundaries), on a wall above the floor or on the floor away from the back wall (one boundary) and away from the walls and above floor level last (no boundaries.) The materials of construction (acoustic absorbancy/reflectivity) the rigidity of the walls, floor and ceiling also affect the sound your speakers will produce. Typical 1/2 inch drywall sheetrock on 2x4 studs 16 inches on center found in most modern American homes absorbs a surprising amount of bass energy and thin wood paneling is even worse. According to Leo Baranek (BBN) wood must be at least 2 inches thick to be a good reflector of bass, contrary to popular opinion. Wet plaster on lath is very good. So is cement.

Here's a link to one of the most informative and authoritative lectures on acoustics related to music by one of the world's leading acousticians you are likely to hear. Sadly, it will tell you why recreating the sound of a live performance heard in a concert hall at home is far beyond today's technology.

http://www.me.gatech.edu/me/publicat/invites/01geg.html

and here's another good link related to acoustics.

http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2001/Ma...ur2_030901.html