The problem with absorption panels- it kills the fine details


If you’ve ever removed your absorption panels, you’ll find that you’ll hear a lot more detail and there is more openness. Truth is all those fine pressure amplitudes that add so much to enjoyable listening are considerably extinguished with absorption panels. The room seems quieter with absorption panels because all the fine detail is diminished.

It sounds different, so people think it sounds better. Absorption panels can kill good sounding music. I removed most of the absorption panels, and things actually sounded better. All the furniture in the room and the bookshelves were doing their thing in a great way. So I’ve concluded I really don’t need all that crap on the walls.

emergingsoul

Showing 1 response by clearthinker

It's true, a room can be over-damped.  None of us would like to listen in an anechoic chamber.

But think on this.  A performance properly recorded for stereo presentation will contain all the artifacts of that performance in that room.  We should hear it as if we were in that room.  But if we listen to it in our rooms we will hear reflection artifacts of our room on top of those of the performance venue.  It seems to me that will confuse and complicate the performance we are trying to listen to, even distort it.

If we want truth in playback, may I make a plea for a bit more damping, rather than a bit less.