Meeting Topic: Room Treatment
Speaker Name: Ben Loftis, Studio Outfitters
Meeting Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Ben Loftis, a room treatment expert based out of Nashville, TN and founder of Studio Outfitters, spoke to our section about small room acoustics. He began by explaining the myths and misconceptions about small room acoustics, and the difference between large and small rooms. He explained common characteristics of good rooms (no standing waves, no flutter echo, dense uncorrelated early reflecrtions, consistent sound regardless of listening position, etc.) and the design characteristics that help lead to such qualities. He went on to explain the different types of studio design, the pros and cons of each design, and how he tests rooms to determine the best solution for the room. He then talked about the kinds of wall-mounted acoustic treatments on the market, common misconceptions about many of them, especially bass traps, and the new tools available to objectively test acoustic treatments. He also spoke about a free computer program called DRC, Digital Room Correction, (http://drc-fir.sourceforge.net/) and how it can be used to compensate for a room's shortcomings. Mr. Loftis provides a copy of the slideshow he used in his presentation available for free download at: http://www.studiooutfitters.com/downloads.html.
