Hi Guys, thought I would jump in here since I am RoomTune.
The reason I designed RoomTune and the whole MGA family of products is so you can become your own listening expert. Just like every recording is unique, every playback situation is as well. Some listeners’ places are super easy to tune and others seem like a nightmare for them changing with every new recording put on, driving the listener crazy. Acoustics isn’t really all that hard, you just have to learn the basics and get away from Audiophile formulas and sales pitches, or buying into a method because it worked for your friend, reviewer or acoustical company themselves.
I’ve always worked from the premise that the goal is to restore the music’s performance back into the environment (after going through the audio chain) and then adjust it per your preferences. It’s also my goal to be able to play any recording in my collection to it’s fullest potential, and again to my liking. Like mentioned here, if you read back to my earlier days of tuning up your reviewers, you will see as much as I added to the rooms I have also taken away from them. Fact is every recording presents a new acoustical/mechanical presentation to your space and there’s no way around this. And why should there be? Part of the fun of being in the hobby at it’s higher level of performance is understanding the variables and how to Tune them into their best delivery. You might be a casual listener that has stopped at the plug & play level of listening, but to many folks this is a beginners level. I design easy to use products but also work my way up to the ultimate listening environment, which is the Tunable Room. The Tunable Room is a giant variably adjustable musical instrument that you sit inside of and adjust to any sound you wish. As cool as that is most listeners are never going to spring for that level of listening. Instead most have a living room, basement, remodeled garage or spare bedroom. Whatever the case is keep in mind that it is unique.
This might surprise a lot of you, but a big part of my business has been removing other companies acoustical treatments as they (the listener) start all over again. The reason this happens is because HEA audiophiles tend to over do the hobby. It’s not your fault, just part of the over selling revolving door the hobby has created for you and then thrown you to the wolves. Here’s what I tell folks when they ask me to compare my stuff to others’ "what is your goal". My goal for you is to become the master (expert) over your own system and sound. If you think diffusing, trapping or dampening the sound in your room is the ticket, go down that path, and it will either workout for you or you might be emailing me if and when it doesn’t work out so well. Here’s the easiest way for you to decide your path with acoustical products, look at their name and see what makes the most sense to you. Dampeners dampen the sound, diffusers diffuse it, traps trap it.....and RoomTune is designed to Tune your room and system.
I’m not really crazy about rooms that don’t sound natural to me. When I walk in a room I usually ask the demo person to turn off the music so I can hear what the room is sounding like. When I ask them to turn back on the music I can hear the music playing like the sound that I heard when the music was turned off. The system will always sound like the room unless the system needs tuned up as well. Learning how to tune your system to the room is as important as tuning the room to your ears. Once you do this a few thousand times :) you learn what in the audio chain is out of tune. Sometimes it may take you a while but once you hear an electronic component out of tune you recognize this sound separate from a room being out of tune.
Here’s a trick you can do if you think your room is over treated. Most rooms tuned to a natural setting are about 3db up from the systems output. If you took your system outside where there are no walls and play it, you will have your true system output. Now take that system into your listening room and your sound will have increased 3db-6db. A typical good sounding room will end up around 3db of natural amplification. If you find that you had to turn down your volume half way when you got inside your on the right path. If you found that you kept the volume the same or even turned it up, your in trouble. When your room is in tune (or getting closer) you will almost always be turning your volume down because your system is working less and producing more.
Did you also know, that if your room is in tune toe in means virtually nothing (excluding panels). If you have to play with toe in to get your stage or tonal balance better your system is struggling to interface with your space. The better your room is tuned the more your room is going to react naturally to sound. And, the more your system tunes to the environment the less you need it to work so hard to get things right. A simple system in a room tuned to it will give you a natural soundstage virtually anyplace you set your speakers left and right. The more out of tune your room is the more fussy toe in becomes.
There’s all kinds of tricks and treats to finding out if your room is in tune or how your system is mating up with your room.
Michael Green
www.michaelgreenaudio.net
