MartinLogan EFXBK User Manual

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24RoomAcoustics

English

Your Room

Thisisoneofthoseareasthatrequiresbothalittlebackground

tounderstandandsometimeandexperimentationtoobtain

thebestperformancefromyoursystem.Yourroomisactually

acomponentandanimportantpartofyoursystem.Thiscom-

ponentisaverylargevariableandcandramaticallyaddto,or

subtractfrom,agreatmusicalexperience.

Allsoundiscomposedofwaves.Eachnotehasitsownwave

size,withthelowerbassnotesliterallyencompassingfrom10’

feettoasmuchas40’feet.Yourroomparticipatesinthiswave

experiencelikeathreedimensionalpoolwithwavesreflecting

andbecomingenhanceddependingonthesizeoftheroom

andthetypesofsurfacesintheroom.

Remember,yoursystemcanliterallygeneratealloftheinfor-

mationrequiredtorecreateamusicaleventintime,space,and

tonalbalance.Ideally,yourroomshouldnotcontributetothat

information.However,everyroomcontributestothesoundto

somedegree.FortunatelyMartinLoganhaddesignedtheEFXto

minimizetheseanomalies

Terminology

Standing Waves

Theparallelwallsinyourroomwillreinforcecertainnotesto

thepointthattheywillsoundlouderthantherestoftheaudio

spectrumandcause“onenotebass”,“boomybass”or“bloated

bass”.Forinstance,100Hzrepresentsa10feetwavelength.Your

roomwillreinforcethatspecificfrequencyifoneofthedominant

dimensionsis10feet.Largeobjectsintheroomsuchascabinetry

orfurniturecanhelptominimizethispotentialproblem.Some

serious“audiophiles”willliterallybuildaspecialroomwithno

parallelwallsjusttohelpeliminatethisphenomenon.

Reflective Surfaces (near-field reflections)

Thehardsurfacesofyourroom,particularlyifclosetoyour

speakersystem,willreflectsomewavesbackintotheroomover

andoveragain,confusingtheclarityandimagingofyoursystem.

Thesmallersoundwavesaremostlyaffectedhere,andoccurin

themidandhighfrequencies.Thisiswherevoiceandfrequen-

ciesashighasthecymbalsoccur.

Resonant Surfaces and Objects

Allofthesurfacesandobjectsinyourroomaresubjectto

thefrequencies generatedby your system.Much like an

instrument, they will vibrate and “carry on” in syncopa-

tionwiththemusic,andcontributeinanegativewaytothe

music.Ringing,boominess,andevenbrightnesscanoccur

simplybecausetheyare“singingalong”withyourmusic.

Resonant Cavities

Smallalcovesorclosettypeareasinyourroomcanbechambers

thatcreatetheirown“standingwaves”andcandrumtheirown

“onenote”sounds.

Clapyourhands.Canyouhearaninstantechorespondback?

Youhavenear-fieldreflections.Stompyourfootonthefloor.

Canyouheara“boom”?Youhavestandingwavesorlargepanel

resonancessuchasapoorlysupportedwall.Putyourheadin

asmallcavityareaandtalkloudly.Canyouhearabooming?

You’vejustexperiencedacavityresonance.

Rules of Thumb

Hard vs. Soft Surfaces

Ifthefrontorbackwallofyourlisteningroomissoft,itmight

benefityoutohaveahardorreflectivewallinopposition.The

ceilingandfloorshouldfollowthesamebasicguidelineaswell.

However,thesidewallsshouldberoughlythesameinorderto

deliverafocusedimage.

Thisrulesuggeststhatalittlereflectionisgood.Asamatteroffact,

someroomscanbeso“overdamped”withcarpeting,drapesand

soundabsorbersthatthemusicsystemcansounddullandlife-

less.Ontheotherhand,roomscanbesohardthatthesystemcan

soundlikeagymnasiumwithtoomuchreflectionandbrightness.

Thepointisthatbalanceistheoptimumenvironment.

Breakup Objects

Objectswithcomplexshapes,suchasbookshelves,cabinetry

andmultipleshapedwallscanhelpbreakupthosesonicgrem-

linsanddiffuseanydominantfrequencies.

Dipolar Speakers and Your Room

MartinLoganelectrostaticloudspeakersareknownasdipolarradi-

ators.Thismeansthattheyproducesoundfromboththeirfronts

andtheirbacks.Consequently,musicalinformationisreflectedby

thewallbehindthemandmayarrive,eitherinoroutofstep,with

theinformationproducedbythefrontofthespeaker.

Nowthatyouknowaboutreflectivesurfacesandresonant

objects,youcanseehowthemidrangeandhighfrequencies

canbeaffected.Thetimingoftheinitialwaveasitradiatesto

yourears,andthenthereflectedinformationasitarrivesatyour

earslaterintime,canresultinconfusionoftheprecioustim-

inginformationthatcarriesthecluestoimaging.Consequently

theresultisblurredimagingandexcessivebrightness.Softwalls,

curtains,wallhangings,orsounddampeners(yourdealercan

giveyougoodinformationhere)canbeeffectiveifthesenega-

tiveconditionsoccur.

rooM aCoustICs

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MartinLogan EFXBK Black ESL Series Premium On-Wall Electrostatic Loudspeakers (Pair)

User Manual - Page 24