The Good and Bad News About Studio Acoustics (full article from Primacoustic)

Here's the bad news:
The plain fact is that most studios, whether in the home or in a commercial building, tend to have a rectangular shape because this is the most cost effective method of building a room.

Unfortunately, this makes the room ineffective for creating music. Parallel walls introduce flutter echo and standing waves while also introducing resonant frequencies and harmonics, which detract from the performance.

Furthermore, when trying to 'fix the room in the mix', the resulting recording is usually found to be lacking when played back on another sound system. A room with too many reflective surfaces will sound "bright" and recordings will tend to sound dull as the engineer reduces high frequencies while mixing. A room with too much absorbing surfaces will sound "dark" and recordings will tend to sound shrill as the engineer adds high frequencies to compensate for the room's lack of ambiance. And this is just for the high frequencies. More room issues await you in the mid and bass bands.

Here's the good news:
Acoustic foam is very effective at combating general room mode problems and is indispensable for creating a neutral ambience. The trick is knowing where to put the foam to be the most effective. Too much treatment can be a problem as well. Enter Primacoustic room kits and wall systems!

We have assembled acoustic treatment room kits for recording and mixing rooms that help you place the right amount of acoustic foam in the right places. Already have some heavy drapes and/or a big soft couch in your studio? Then look to the wall systems to find a solution for those untreated walls and ceiling.

A guide To typical room problems:

• Primary & secondary reflections
• Flutter echo & room chatter
• Standing waves
• Listening fatigue

Front Wall:
Front-to-back room chatter and standing waves are created by the monitors firing at the rear wall and creating an endless echo as they reflect back to the front wall. All monitors, and especially those with rear firing ports, stream bass directly to the front wall creating a comb-filtered effect. This is resolved using the Europa Flutter Wall.

Side Walls:
Side-to-side flutter and primary reflections from the monitors reduce imaging and cause listening fatigue. The ear tries to selectively listen to the direct source that is competing with powerful side wall reflections. Orientique Washboards absorb these reflections while also reducing side-to-side standing waves and flutter echo.

Rear Wall:
Rear wall reflections require a balanced solution. If completely deadened, the room becomes listless and dark. The resulting mix tends to be overly bright. The solution is to introduce the LEDE concept, or live-end dead-end.

In the LEDE room, the back end of the room is made brighter or more "live" with reflective surfaces, and the front made quieter or "dead" with more absorptive materials. Scandia Scatter Blocks allow some of the random energy to reflect off the rear wall back into the space while controlling the remainder. This 'soft-diffusion' creates a more natural listening environment as in the LEDE room. The Scandia wall system also works with the Europa Flutter Wall to reduce front-to-back standing waves and room chatter.

Bass Management:
Finally, bass control is essential in any room. Without a bass trap, bass tends to boom and get muddy. You cannot solve room problems in a mix without affecting the final recording and this is especially true for bass frequencies. Australis Bass Traps are effective from 65 Hz and up to smooth out low and low-mid frequency response. Australis Bass Traps can be positioned anywhere, but will provide maximum bass absorption when placed at a 90 degree corner seam, as low frequency bass energy tends to migrate to the corners.

By solving the primary acoustic concerns in your room with Primacoustic room kits and wall systems, stereo imaging is increased, the listening sweet spot is enlarged, and listening fatigue is greatly reduced.

Primacoustic Broadway Panels in Studio