New optimization methods make low notes sound better in small rooms

Joy or rage? Both feelings are not far apart when dealing with the sound of deep notes in our homes. Those of us who do not own a large concert hall but have a normal living room instead, can quickly be driven to despair when the new bass speakers which sounded so good in the shop just now are set up at home: they are sometimes too loud, sometimes too quiet, sometimes they drone unpleasantly – nowhere in the room seems to be perfect.

The problem is that in rooms with rather small dimensions, deep notes (with long wavelengths) cause so-called room modes to be excited: these are standing waves with unpleasant side effects. So far there has practically been no solution to this at all. But now room acousticians from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have systematically dedicated themselves to the problem and have developed a method  – patent pending – which can help. To do this, a Helmholtz resonator has to be specially optimized for each case. We are now looking for a company which offers just that – for recording studios, music academies, theatres or even private music enthusiasts.

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