What Are Room Modes? Finally A Simple Explanation

Comments · 113

• IB

  @IBuildIt · 5 years ago · pinned

  OH NO! The room modes have gone to my head!!<br>Technically, you still have room modes in very small rooms, but they are high enough in frequency that standard absorption (acoustic panels or velocity traps) will effectively treat them. The lower in frequency the modes, the harder they are to treat. Most normal rooms will have room modes - resonances - that are very difficult to treat. <br>The best way to treat these low frequency modes is with a targeted approach, like Helmholtz absorbers or diaphragmatic (limp mass) absorbers, But those are difficult to build correctly (so they hit the right frequency), take up a lot of space and need to be located correctly in the room. <br>The way I did my room was to add as much standard absorption as I could, plus I experimented with the wall panels to act as a broader-band diaphragmatic absorber. My approach was to chip away at those resonances to try to bring it down to the point where it&apos;s no longer as much of a &nbsp;problem.

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• JA

  @jay..._a_g · 5 years ago

  Thumbnail 10/10. You&apos;re slowly pulling me into this audio stuff.

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• JA

  @jackbaltus6738 · 5 years ago

  Both woodworking and speaker design are my hobbies, so for me this is the place to be :) Thx!

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• BU

  @BurgerJohnny · 5 years ago

  Now it all becomes clear. &nbsp;<br>I have spent a lot of money in the past on expensive sound systems that sounded so good in the store. &nbsp;But always some like crap when I set them up at home. Thanks.

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• VI

  @vicf6509 · 5 years ago

  I enjoy the channel, the subject matter, and the electronic builds.

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• DA

  @danhorton6182 · 5 years ago (edited)

  I’ve been waiting for the audio stuff to come. &nbsp;I really hope you build some DIY designs, share crossovers, ect. &nbsp;Thanks John! Nice shirt!

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• FR

  @frankcaserta812 · 4 years ago

  Great explanation. &nbsp;I enjoyed your woodworking videos, but this is even better, very interesting and more unique.

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• PA

  @paulhirst3548 · 5 years ago

  Really enjoying this John. &nbsp;It is inspiring me to get off my butt and finish my amp so that I can get back to the room treatment version 2.

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• SP

  @Speedsparky1 · 5 years ago

  Good explanation of modes

• TY

  @tylerd.9457 · 5 years ago

  I think this subject is fascinating.

• TO

  @toddshields8501 · 4 years ago

  Hey John,<br> &nbsp; &nbsp;While searching for content for a presentation I’m creating for my boss, the owner of a nightclub, I stumbled across your video.<br> &nbsp; &nbsp;I most certainly appreciate your dedication to exploring the physics of sound, because the physics are quite complex, and difficult to understand, let alone explain.<br> &nbsp; &nbsp;The resonance (or resonant frequency) of an object deals with the mass of the object (for example, a wall, or a car trunk lid). Every object on earth has a natural resonant frequency, which is defined as the frequency at which a specific object naturally vibrates. The more mass an object has, the lower its resonant frequency. A car trunk lid will vibrate (and sound terrible to others outside the vehicle) when a subwoofer produces a tone at the trunk lid’s resonant frequency. Adding mass (such as DynaMat) to that object will lower its resonant frequency, making it more difficult to for a subwoofer to make it vibrate.<br> &nbsp; &nbsp;Room Modes, on the other hand, are created primarily by the omnidirectional tendencies of low frequencies and their longer wavelengths. When a subwoofer emits a frequency, it will bounce off of every surface in a room, with walls being the biggest concern.<br> &nbsp; &nbsp;Let’s take a 63Hz bass note, where the full length of the wave is 17.94 feet. If that single wave is emitted from a subwoofer that is placed 4.48 feet (one quarter of that wavelength ) from any surface, it will bounce off and combine with the primary emitted wave and create a cancellation effect. This is due to the reflected wave being inverted. <br> &nbsp; &nbsp;Different frequencies and wavelengths are bouncing off of every surface of the room, &nbsp;causing many frequencies to reflect and combine with the primary wave, thus producing multiple areas of cancelation).<br> &nbsp; &nbsp;The use of sound deadening material may help reduce some reflections, but only minimally.<br> &nbsp; &nbsp;Most importantly, room modes are created directly from reflections, and are not associated with the resonant frequency of any object,

• AS

  @ashnur · 5 years ago

  Lol, why would I unsub, this stuff is even more interesting than the old stuff. And I want to make sound systems, so you just basically making the content that I needed :D