Hearing is Believing - The Ultimate Small Mixing & Mastering Room

This video lets you hear RealTraps' amazing new modular treatment solution as if you were right there in the room. If you have the desire - and budget - for the very highest quality, this is the treatment solution for you. It's also ideal for regular 2-channel hi-fi listening. Presented by RealTraps partner Doug Ferrara, graphs show the huge improvement in frequency response and decay times at all frequencies. You'll also hear music as recorded from both the front and rear of the room.

If you have technical questions about this video that require a reply, please do not post them here as comments. YouTube is not a good venue for a technical exchange. Please post your questions in whatever audio forum you know me from, or post in my acoustics forum at www.musicplayer.com.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• realtraps
• home
• studio
• acoustic
• treatment
• bass
• traps
• diffusion
• diffusors
• absorbers

[MRHDOTCOM1]

Many swear by the ARC system. Do you think It's good in combination with good acoustical treatment?

[EthanWiner]

@MRHDOTCOM1 I some cases room EQ can help a little, in conjunction with bass traps and other treatment, but it's not a substitute for treatment as many believe.

[EthanWiner]

@graphite412 Brian's room has no EQ in the monitor chain as far as I know. There are two articles on the RealTraps site about the futility of trying to solve room acoustics problems with EQ or other such products.

[graphite412]

@EthanWiner That is awesome to hear. Was Brian Lucey's room only treated with traps and diffusiors and the type of treatment used in the video? Was there something similar to krk's ergo or software correction also set up to get a little better reduction of the peaks of room modes? Have you used any of these type of products? I know they do a couple different things like time domain correction, which I haven't really studied yet. Do you have any comments on these type of systems?

[EthanWiner]

@graphite412 Yes, with enough treatment you can do real work in a small room. But the smaller the room, the more treatment you need. Your questions are the right ones, but the answers are more elusive. It's a matter of how good you want versus how much you can invest. 1,000 cubic feet is pushing it, but 2,000 is definitely in range for great results given enough treatment. The room in this video is about 1,500 cubic feet, and Brian Lucey's room I mentioned is only 2,065 cubic feet.

[graphite412]

@EthanWiner Awesome! So it is possible to do mastering in a smaller room if there is the right sound trapping and diffusion coupled with the right equipment? What room dimensions in cubit foot would you say is the smallest space that could be tolerable or accurate, after treatment, with the right dimension ratios, for a mastering situation? 1,000 cu ft? 3,400 cu ft? 8,000 cu ft? Maybe these aren't even the right questions... Thanks for the answers so far though!

[EthanWiner]

@graphite412 A 10 dB span is about as good as possible in a small room like this. Yes, with even more bass traps it could be improved. But compared to Before it's a night and day difference. Practical consideration limit what's possible. This is why we played recorded music Before and After, so people can judge for themselves. Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering has this same system of absorbers and diffusers, and he mastered The Black Keys "Brothers" which won 3 Grammys.

[graphite412]

I've seen the graphs on the frequency response of the room, before and after the treatment was applied. It seemed as if you had about 10 dB of swing from the dips to the peaks in the low end. Would you say that this is what should be expected? Also how about the decay times for the modal ringing? What is their ideal length? I know having a larger room would help out, but I'm wondering what sort of swing and decay would be tolerable for a mastering environment.

[TheFunkmeisterD]

Okay, that really made a difference. Appeared to snap things into focus and got rid of the hall like sound. All that might look a bit strange in my living room though lol

[Parkinson9999]

That guy could be a radio presenter (I wouldn't be surprised if he is), he's got a great voice. It's the first thing that I noticed, even though the subject of the video is totally different.