Absorption, Diffusion or a combination of it all?

erik_squires,

I just have always had them in the corners of my room. It's a basement system so I thought they would be appropriate.

So, you don't think they would be good then with Planar speakers?

ozzy

Hi OP,

I think bass traps aare great. My concern is specific to ASC tube traps that when I heard them they seemed to impart a very specific character to the bass, which traps should not do.

As I went from room to room, the rooms treated by ASC with tube traps all sounded the same, in a bad way. Like no matter what music played the drums sounded EXACTLY the same.

Imagine Duran Duran and a symphony orchestra sounding like they played the same drums.  Hopefully you don’t suffer this issue.

@ozzy - are you planning to use subwoofers with your planars? The bass generated by dipole speakers is a lot different than a typical box speaker since it doesn't pressurize the room like a box speaker. In my opinion, this results in more natural sounding, and very nuanced bass. 

A dipole speaker will have nulls in the low bass response to the sides of the panels since the front and rear waves cancel at that point, so the side to side and floor to ceiling room modes are not excited the way they are with box speakers.

I am using DIY bass traps that are similar in construction to the Tube Traps and I have found the bass to be very articulate and natural sounding. But in my room with my system (dipole woofers that reach down to below 20Hz), I haven't found that the bass traps make all that much difference. They do smooth out the bass a touch, but it's a fairly subtle effect. Using REW to measure the room response, I don't see a huge difference (although the response is a bit smoother with the bass traps).

It's possible (maybe even likely) that the ASC tube traps work a bit differently than my DIY solution, but I'd give them a try before making any decisions to change things. 

erik, jaytor,

Thank you for the help. The planar speakers that I am thinking of getting claims they go very deep and do not require subs. But I question that..

And the dealer recommends not using the ASC tube traps. He claims they will absorb too much. 

I do have (4) JL F-113 subs in the room.

ozzy

JL makes great subs, in particular the room correction is outstanding. 

Anytime you work with bass traps or any absorber you are changing the tonal balance somewhat.  Excess bass trapping makes speakers sound lean, while an excess of reflections make the system sound bright.  Tuning a room is a balancing act. 

Also, check out the AM Acoustics room mode simulator.  Try to keep your speakers and listening location away from the lowest room modes if possible. That is a great first pass at tuning your room.