News

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that an audiophile in possession of a good hi-fi must be in want of room treatment. The problem, most audiophiles agree, is that said treatment tends to be expensive, big, and fugly. Nucore Technologies, Inc. of Hillsborough, TN and RealTraps of New Milford, CT have some innovative new solutions.

Cathedral Sound Room Dampening Panels: Robert Stein, of Ultra Systems, Inc., which distributes the Cathedral Sound Room Dampening Panels, describes them as "surprisingly small (11" x 16" x 2"), dècor- friendly, but uniquely powerful tools for reducing room acoustic problems, especially those associated with bass standing waves."

The Cathedral Sound Room Dampening Panels are "usually mounted in the upper corners, which will tend to 'horn load' with acoustic pressure where two walls meet the ceiling," explained Stein, who claimed the panels help equalize frequency response in the room.

They work, he said, by ameliorating standing waves, which can cause boomy bass in some areas in the listening room and anemic bass response in other locations in the same room. Not only is bass more tuneful, said Stein, but it has "greater impact, the midrange (and dialog) is more articulate and dynamic, and soundstage size and layering is significantly improved."

According to the press release, "The Cathedral Sound Room Dampening Panels use simple materials to adapt to room acoustic control the long identified principles of air flow and the relationship to pressure changes known as the 'Venturi Effect.' The Venturi Effect demonstrates that air flowing through a constriction must speed up due to the restriction, thereby reducing its pressure. In our product application of this principle of physics reduces acoustic pressure in the upper corners of the room where the large flat surfaces, the walls and ceiling, meet and multiply the pressure they are collecting in a 'horn loading' manner."

The Cathedral Sound Room Dampening Panels, Stein said, "easily wall-mount and are actually more effective than the 4–6' panels otherwise necessary to affect the frequencies below 200Hz—which is where room nodes are principally excited. In addition, at these frequencies, the 'room-boom' not only colors the human voice, but also interferes with broader-band articulation due to room resonance 'hang-over.'"

Stein said the panels will sell for less than $90 each.

Contact: Ultra Systems at (215) 862-6570.

Realtraps Diffusor: RealTraps just announced a combination diffusor/bass-trap. It marries a high-performance bass-trap with a "genuine QRD well-diffusor that's effective down to the low midrange." The device is designed to transition from diffusion to absorption over the range between 400–800 Hz.

The RealTraps Diffusor is designed to be placed on the rear listening room wall, behind the listener, where it "scatters mid and high frequencies, while low frequencies pass through the reflecting well membranes to be absorbed by rigid fiberglass behind it. The membranes also increase bass absorption beyond what fiberglass alone could provide. Thus, comb-filtering artifacts are reduced dramatically over the entire effective range."

The RealTraps Diffusor is 24" W by 48" H by 6" D, and comes in both "far" (6" thick) and "near" (3" thick) versions. The far version is recommended for rooms where the rear wall is at least 6' behind the listener's ears. For smaller rooms, the near model is more appropriate. Price for either model is $499.99 each,

According to RealTraps, "In the overall scheme of acoustic treatment, diffusion is more like icing on the cake, when compared to the staples of absorption and bass trapping. However, good diffusion can add a nice sense of spaciousness not possible with absorption alone." The problem is, RealTraps explains, "truly excellent diffusors are complex to design and build, and thus cost more than absorption which is simpler to manufacture—and even the best diffusors are ineffective below around 800Hz, so absorption is still needed....We have developed what we believe is the ultimate diffusor because it offers the best of both treatment types. Indeed, two or more RealTraps Diffusors adjacent will create the ideal 'rear wall' treatment for listening rooms and mixing suites of any size."

The RealTraps Diffusor will be available in November from RealTraps at (866) 732-5872.