what is the cause of each frequency lack or excess?

KingCash

New member
so i recently acquired the sonarworks 3 studio monitor/room calibration kit.


i did 3 tests on my JBL's and 3 with my Yamaha HS7's.


it showed me the corrections i would need to make to get a flat frequency response in my room..


here are two screenshots of the frequency spectrum response I'm getting in my mixing position. one shot of the JBL's on shot of the Yamaha's.


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my main question for this thread is what can i further do to my room to naturally acquire a flat frequency response?


here are my current acoustic treatment specs:


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room specs:


-fairly large/mid sized room
-GKI acoustic bass traps in the front two corners near the monitors
-Foam pads underneath each set of studio monitor to decrease bass signal.
-bed symmetrical. everything symmetrical
-foam bass traps spread along the ceiling corners evenly (because they dont work in corners........)
-fair amount of foam and chopped up foam bass traps spread across the walls and ceiling in "key reflection points".




looking at the frequency response again that sonar works gave me my room is giving me a nice 6db downward bell curve just above 1k on the frequency spectrum...i wonder if this is because foam or something else.


but most of the other hi frequencies beyond that seemed to be relatively flat. i'm not sure if this AS WELL could be because of all the foam or not but I'm happier about that section.. albeit not perfect.. :/


as for the low frequencies going up it makes a nice shift towards a plateau right after 100hz all the way to seemingly 500hz i have no idea what could be the cause of this giant low to mid boost in such a long sustained manner.... but i definitely probably need to find a good solution to this.


so if anyone has any thoughts on how i could further treat my room to naturally flatten the frequency spectrum it would be greatly appreciated..!!


thank you


- Jake
 
The corners still need to be cut. Top left, top right, same behind and all around (floor level). You can put bass traps in the corner, but also on the floor use bean bag chairs or pillows (big, thick ones), some people even use tires (your room is too small for that but just to get you thinking)...

GJ
 
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im not sure what you mean when you say the corners need to be "cut"

im most likely going to buy a nice amount of fiber glass and or dry wall tomorrow. to completely fill the back two corners where the GIK traps cant fully cover it all yet.

thanks for the reply too.
 
I'd go with something that is not drywall or fiberglass (which might add to your problem by becoming a low frequency resonator). By "cutting" the corners, I mean, as you described, there's still a lot of "corner" above and below your portable bass traps. To filter low end, you need thickness/density, which is different from high end reflections (which you've effectively treated with your foam absorber/diffusers).

Try throwing something thick/heavy in one corner and see if it helps.

GJ
 
i didn't mean to say drywall. yea drywall can definitely be a resonator. but i dont believe fiber glass pads would be.

i will fill up the front two corners today with a large amount of fiber glass. and ill will run tests again and probably even post them into here.

and hell if the tests come back successfully this could become a good reference thread for people will similar shaped rooms to see a before and after of some extra treatment.

plus i was also advised from another forum to lower my table and that might potentially help the 1k Dip

by no means am i completely disregarding your advice in saying throw something thick and heavy in the corners. but through more reading and search I've done since i posted this I'm going to have to go in on the fiber glass purchase. its only $30 for a big amount at my local builder supply company anyways. :victory:
 
I've flooeded my corners with layers of fiber glass and rock wool alternating.


here are pictures of the before the new room and after


Left is before and right is after


Yamaha


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JBL


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here are pictures of the new room




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so this absolutely CRUSHED me. honestly soul shattering.... the bass difference is little to none in the frequency spectrum. i might have fixed the yamaha 1k dip a little bit by lowering the table or something? idk but the results are god awful for the amount of fiber glass and rock will if filled the front and back corners with....


PLEASE if someone can help me I'm seriously looking for a permanent solution to incorrect frequency responses in my room..


NOT TO MENTION I HAVE $200 WORTH OF GIK TRAPS SITTING IN TOP OF THE PILLARS OF FIBER GLASS AND ROCK WOOL I CONSTRUCTED. THIS HAS LITERALLY DONE NOTHING TO THE BASS RESPONSE. THIS IS THE MOST DISAPPOINTING THING RIGHT NOW. a

(*note to rhythmjg) I'm not disregarding the book you pointed out to me I'm just copy pasting this text from another forum.

i honestly probably need that book. but i would also question what that book could possibly teach me that i cant learn online.
 
The book can teach you a lot; it's kind of an industry standard.

Re: frustration; it's tough, without an architecturally-designed purpose-built room, you will always be dealing with imperfections. We did a lot if the same things in our control room, but had a bass resonance issue that couldn't be fixed without major construction (not possible with a rented facility). In the end, we got everything almost right, but still had to strap an EQ over the output and notch out that frequency. If you learn your speakers and your system in your room, with music you are very familiar with, it eventually won't matter, as your ears will compensate. You will never get a perfectly tuned, anechoic space in a room that wasn't designed for it. (But you can get a lot closer with Rod Gervais' book)...

GJ
 
*side note: heard the decay of the lows are likely improved which only show up on waterfall graphs.

and nice advice. i also was skeptical about the sonarworks EQ. which is why i went out of my way to try to correct the anomalies myself.... but i came up with the brilliant idea of throwing a few of my favorite commercial songs into the daw and into the sonar works equalization just to A/B it. and i can say of the top pop and rock songs i played into it, it was pretty refreshing way to listen to the songs. it really did make them a little bit better in a weird way. so much so i could almost hear their mouths opening and closing and such things as when a tongue hits the roof of a mouth and what not. it was weird it felt flat but good.

I'm more hopeful at the point of this post

i also posted a second thread on this that is more organized and quicker to read so just disregard it.. called "my acoustic nightmare" I'm not trying to spam. mostly just felt this one was becoming irrelevant in relation to which my concerns had become.

i also just acquired the book. its a bit big and long. ill reference sections though. and read deep on parts that i think apply to me. and if i cant make it in 5 years... then hell i'll read the whole beast.
 
This is a nice thread - it's not really very often that someone's really set out to treat their bedroom studio right on this forum, even though it's so often mentioned being essential.
 
Bass is really hard to control unless you completely reconstruct the room. Theres a certain shape and material that complements Bass frequencies from piling up and creating those Room modes. Ive tried it and Bass frequencies just never get absorbed like you would want. Watch out for over dampening your room because you will start to loose perception of your High end and parts of the mid while the low end stays the same almost. Not a huge issue but I think what you got so far is legit. Just spend time listening to a wide range of genre's in your room and adjust to your room acoustics.
 
"Before" graphs of Yamaha... this 6 dB boost at around 300 Hz. I mean, wow. How did commercial music sound before? Still ok, unnoticeable?
And you put this plugin on the master in the mixer? or it works some other way
 
You can't get a perfectly "flat" spectrum in a bedroom studio, there will always be standing waves and if you move your speakers a bit the frequency shifts.

Why would you even want that super flat spectrum? If you don't mix loud it won't make a big difference. As long as it is not bad - You can get good sound by knowing your room well and cross-referencing a lot over 3 - 4 systems minimum.

Rockwool / traps / etc... help but not as much as people seem to think.
 
>>>>Rockwool / traps / etc... help but not as much as people seem to think.<<<<

Actually, they help quite a bit, but you need to know where to put them.

Of course, a purpose-built room will always be objectively better.


GJ


 
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