Reshaping a room’s walls only obscures resonances rather than removing them

Evidence

Figure 7.25 shows one method of working out where absorption should be placed in a room to control early reflections. By imagining the relevant walls to be mirrors, it is possible to create “image rooms” that show the direction of the early reflections. By defining a reflection-free space around the listening position and by drawing “rays” from the image speaker sources, one can see which portions of the wall need to be made absorbent, as shown in Figure 7.26. This is very straightforward for rectangular rooms but a little more complicated for rooms with angled walls. Nevertheless, this technique can still be used. It is applicable for both stereo and surround systems, the only real difference being the number of sources. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2299 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Non-parallel walls do not eliminate room modes — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 912; Treating room walls as mirrors locates where early reflections need absorbing. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2299

Broader Connections

• Treating room walls as mirrors locates where early reflections need absorbing. #expands (0.85) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2299