Fine Tunes #3 Letters

Letters in response appeared in November 1999:

Doctor's orders

Editor: Jonathan Scull's new "Fine Tunes" column is just what the doctor ordered.—David Eide, Lockport, IL, deide@ngelaw.com

Stuffing boxes

Editor: In regards to "Fine Tunes" in the September '98 issue, Jonathan Scull comment on building a quasi-Tube Trap out of newspaper-filled boxes caught my attention. Would this be an alternate route to building bass traps?

As my listening room has a standing-wave problem at about 50Hz, would J-10 recommend balling up the newspaper and lightly stuffing the box, or would he suggest leaving the newspapers folded and stacked tightly? His input on this matter would be extremely helpful.—Steven C. Jones, stejones@erols.com

As Steve suggests, this is indeed a cheap and fairly effective way to build your own bass traps. Try three medium-size boxes stacked in each rear corner behind the speakers. Stuff each box with different amounts of scrunched-up paper to spread out the absorptive effect over a wider range of frequencies. We found that a heavier stock paper in some of the boxes combined with newsprint in the others was quite effective.

Kathleen suggests European fashion magazines, but any relatively thick, coated magazine stock will do nicely. For newspapers, I suggest the New York Times for classical music and the Village Voice for jazz! Have fun and experiment, but consider yourself lucky if you null the 50Hz boom on the first try. If it works, you might consider a light fabric covering to spruce up the looks. Or you might graduate to the Argent RoomLens or ASC Studio Traps for even more control over your room's acoustics.J-10

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