-
WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Is room treatment significant if i only listen at low volumes?
- Thread starter regan
- Start date
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
It's a very good question and one that a lot of room treatment aficionados tend to not consider. Many room issues are exacerbated as the level increases and conversly, become less of an issue at low levels.
IMO it depends somewhat on what you like to hear and just how large an impact your room has on the sound. Generally, we lose sensitivity to deep bass as volume lowers, so it's possible room modes and such may be less important. However, midrange issues that impact imaging, "bright" sound, and such will still be an issue, so if those are problems I would address them.
When I didn't have knowledge about room accoustic, I thought I listend music from speaker.
But it was not.
I still can't hear listen music sound correctly.
Room distortion is much bigger than other elements.
Room mode is exist always. Uncontrolled reflection sound cover and make unclear music.
I will start make low noise floor of room first if I hear not loud sound. That point may show my room distortion.
But it was not.
I still can't hear listen music sound correctly.
Room distortion is much bigger than other elements.
Room mode is exist always. Uncontrolled reflection sound cover and make unclear music.
I will start make low noise floor of room first if I hear not loud sound. That point may show my room distortion.
Last edited:
While it may be more pronounced at higher levels, it still very audible at lower levels too.
The room is the most important factor to sound quality in most cases IMO. Even more important than the speaker. I'll much rather listen to mediocre speakers in a great acoustical room vs great speakers in a poor acoustical room. If you get the room right first, the sound will generally be good.
The room is the most important factor to sound quality in most cases IMO. Even more important than the speaker. I'll much rather listen to mediocre speakers in a great acoustical room vs great speakers in a poor acoustical room. If you get the room right first, the sound will generally be good.
Galliardist
Major Contributor
But if you're limited in what you can do to the room, you really do need good speakers.
DanielT
Major Contributor
Okay, the less of the problem room modes and such we hear in deep bass at low volume. That's how it is, well with low volume. Plus The Fletcher Munson Curve affects.If you turn the volume down to a barely audible level, you hardly hear any problems, to take it to the extreme. The other extreme, very high volume other problems when driving amps into clipping, speaker/subwoofer distortion can become audible.
Okay obvious points I admit but still.
BUT at low volume you also hear less of what is good, so you have to weigh one against the other, so to speak.
Should you use Fletcher-Munson loudness compensation?
I know many are familiar with the Fletcher-Munson or equal loudness curves. In a nutshell: “The Fletcher Munson Curve contains a set of graphs that show that when you listen to music at a lower volume, mid-range frequencies will be sound more prominent, whereas high and low frequencies will be...
audiosciencereview.com
Last edited:
It's always a benefit to have good speakers and also choose a directivity pattern that works best for the room and usage. A challenging room or lack of treatment will often benefit from speakers with narrow beam width in both planes.
While the audible impact of room correction alone might be lower at lower volumes and therefore is less of a "requirement", imho there's no harm in doing it anyway if your audio gear already offers the feature.
With automatic loudness features like DynamicEQ from Audyssey on the other hand, you actually benefit a lot while listening at low volumes.
With automatic loudness features like DynamicEQ from Audyssey on the other hand, you actually benefit a lot while listening at low volumes.
I am familiar with Fletcher-Munson, as well as a couple of other early studies, and of course Robinson and Dadson whose work led to ISO226 (and more recently revised in the early 2000's). I am not sure what you feel I said was incorrect?Okay, the less of the problem room modes and such we hear in deep bass at low volume. That's how it is, well with low volume. Plus The Fletcher Munson Curve affects.If you turn the volume down to a barely audible level, you hardly hear any problems, to take it to the extreme. The other extreme, very high volume other problems when driving amps into clipping, speaker/subwoofer distortion can become audible.
Okay obvious points I admit but still.
BUT at low volume you also hear less of what is good, so you have to weigh one against the other, so to speak.
Should you use Fletcher-Munson loudness compensation?
I know many are familiar with the Fletcher-Munson or equal loudness curves. In a nutshell: “The Fletcher Munson Curve contains a set of graphs that show that when you listen to music at a lower volume, mid-range frequencies will be sound more prominent, whereas high and low frequencies will be...
I have heard this many times but feel it is incomplete. If the room is poor acoustically, it may drive the type of speakers that would best compensate for the room, which IME is primarily their directivity (and thus off-axis response). Really good speakers cannot necessarily compensate for a really bad room.
DanielT
Major Contributor
Edit: No
I know you know that curve. I wrote more for others who read this thread and don't know it.
You didn't say anything that was wrong, I mostly just filled in on the same track you were on.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2021
- Messages
- 648
- Likes
- 1,421
I find my room treatments and Dirac are every bit as helpful at low volumes as at higher volumes.
My home office is a near-field setup in small room with a lot of treatment, and most of my listening on this system is at low volumes. My wife and I both work from home, so my listening levels are low enough to not disturb her during our working hours, so at least 40 hours of quiet listening per week. Room treatments dramatically changed low volume listening quality for me.
For reference, my home office is a 10'x10' room with:
My home office is a near-field setup in small room with a lot of treatment, and most of my listening on this system is at low volumes. My wife and I both work from home, so my listening levels are low enough to not disturb her during our working hours, so at least 40 hours of quiet listening per week. Room treatments dramatically changed low volume listening quality for me.
For reference, my home office is a 10'x10' room with:
- 5x: 2'x4'x4" absorption panels
- 4x: 2'x2'x4" GIK Alpha series absorber/diffusors
- 2x: 2'x2'x6" GIK Alpha series absorber/diffusors
NP.I know you know that curve. I wrote more for others who read this thread and don't know it.
You didn't say anything that was wrong, I mostly just filled in on the same track you were on.
I should have stuck with simple answers: yes, and no.
DanielT
Major Contributor
No
Room is more critical with louder volume, so depends how the room is now. No treatment, highly reflective room will always benefit.
So why is it less critical at low volume? Because late reflections and resonances falls below threshold of hearing faster.
This also means it is easier to treat a room for low volume listening only.
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2020
- Messages
- 949
- Likes
- 1,263
Measure frequency response at various volumes and compare?
It's the time domain behaviour that changes. Resonances at lows and reflections (early and late ones) above the Schroeder frequency. They a more pronounced at higher levels.
Because of the Equal Loudness curve, very low frequency hoots won't be as obvious at low volumes.
Similar threads
- Poll
