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In such a situation, it is a big mistake to jam the work sta- tion and loudspeakers against one wall. The only practical method of low frequency “tuning” is to experiment with the placement of the work station and loudspeakers, even if it requires two or three different arrangements of equipment and furniture. If the best sounding arrangement turns out to be awkward, the client can compare the trade-offs and make an informed decision.
A conceptual floor plan for a home production room is shown in Figure 3. (Two additional layouts were presented to the client.) The proposed design includes a new corner trap that doubles as a storage area. A 26-inch high bunker trap extends along two walls. The remaining acoustic treatment consists of plant-on wall panels and a large, suspended panel made of fabric over pegboard—an “acoustic cloud”.
Conclusion
Even though a few Super Audio Compact Disc albums are released every month, surround sound has failed as a medium for home music listening. Rooms designed for music composing, mixing, and mastering must be optimized for 2-channel stereo playback.
For the next few years at least, the trend is expected to continue, and 2-channel stereo will remain the standard for- mat for music production. Most popular music producers
and recording engineers hate working with a center channel in spite of its obvious advantages. They have learned how to transform deficiencies into benefits, and the situation is not likely to change soon. Films, TV, and computer games all benefit from surround sound, but so far as music is con- cerned, the only viable consumer market seems to be luxury automobiles.AT
References
1 A. N. Burd, C. L. S. Gilford, and N. F. Spring (1966), Data for the acoustic design of studios, BBC Engineering Monograph No. 64 (British Broadcasting Corporation).
2 F. Alton Everest (1987), “Acoustical design of audio rooms,” in Handbook for Sound Engineers, edited by Glen Ballou (Howard W. Sams & Company, Indianapolis), Chap. 6.
3 Don Davis and Chips Davis, “The LEDE concept for the control of acoustic and psychoacoustic parameters in recording control rooms,” Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 28, 585-595 (1980 September).
4 Floyd E. Toole (2008), Sound Reproduction (Focal Press, Oxford).
5 John Eargle (2003), Handbook of Recording Engineering (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston).
6 Trevor J. Cox, Peter D’Antonio, and Mark R. Avis, “Room sizing and optimization at low frequencies,” Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 52, 640-651, (2004 June).
George Augspurger is an audio and acoustical engineer who has been active in studio design for many years through his firm, Perception Inc. He spent over a decade with JBL starting in 1958 as JBL's Technical Service Manager and later established and man- aged the Professional Products Division. In 1968 he became Technical Director for JBL, a position he held for two years before moving on to independent consulting. He now teaches at the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC. He is a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society and the Acoustical Society of America and reviews audio and acoustic patents for both journals.
20 Acoustics Today, April 2013