Room Treatment

Room structure and treatment is a critical part of any sound reproduction system.  See Hales Design group introduction to room acoustics and comment from ASC, makers of the Tube Trap.

Room Lenses work well placed behind the tweeter panels of Maggies.  They disperse, in many directions,  the high frequency information which is beamed from the back of the speaker.  You can view Greg Weaver's DIY page , search AudioAsylum.com Tweaker's Asylum for DIY room lenses or buy from Argent , the inventors. 

The room lens below has 3 outboard 2.25" tubes (rolled up nautical charts) directly behind the tweeter and one 3" tube which is inboard in a position to disperse the first order tweeter reflection from the back wall to the listening position.  This particular arrangement yields superb vocals. 

For Orchestral or Opera, the 4th tube placed outside and close to the other three tubes works well to give an expansive soundstage.

Noodle Lenses  Bob's Great Idea - Room lenses made from K-Mart foam noodles mounted on 5/8" dowel

Soundstaging is vastly improved. I now use a 5th tube lying against the outer tube.

Without the noodles, my sound stage was way too deep, 8 to 10 feet behind the speakers and everything sounded distant and muffled. I believe this is due to the reflective nature of my backwall and windows.

With the noodles the sound stage is about 4 to 5 feet behind the speakers, very focussed and very clear. On the la Boheme CD you can see the singers walking around !! I can not listen to my Maggies with out them

Room lenses in position to diffuse tweeter back wall mirror reflections

PVC room lens clones

These can behave as Helmholtz resonators to tame vertical room modes.  However maggies don't radiate much vertical energy, just longitudinal

Mike 3" PVC Pipe Lenses (Greg Weaver Style)

Absorbent Panels   work well behind the listening position and behind the speakers.

Mike has two sets of wooden frames holding 2" thick Sonex arranged in 2' x 4' rectangle behind his listening chair. 

Behind the speakers Mike is using four 2' x 2' wooden frames holding acoustic fiberglass ceiling tiles (3" thick) covered with a double knit cloth.  The drapes cover the panels.