Whether you’re setting up a home theater or a studio to practice your music, acoustics should be a priority. For the best possible results, you need to understand how acoustics work in your space, and how to create an area where the music will sound as impressive as possible. Below, the commercial sound experts at Claiborne Sharp Professional Audio share a few things they’ve learned during their years of experience in Shreveport, LA.

An Introduction to Arranging Professional Acoustics

1. The Issue of Natural Reverberation

When sound moves through a room from a single source, it will travel until it hits a wall—at which point it bounces back. This reverberation may sound beautiful in large cathedrals, but in smaller spaces, the sound becomes distorted. To optimize acoustics, you must understand how to balance out the many tones and sounds and predict how sound will move through the room.

2. How to Fix It

You can combat reverberation by installing absorbers, diffusors, and bass traps on walls. Absorbers are foam panels which suffocate the sound so it can’t bounce back. To keep the room from sounding “dead,” add diffusors, which will send some sound back while preserving the original tone. Meanwhile, bass traps absorb low frequencies most diffusors and absorbers can’t.

3. Finding the Right Position

Bass traps are designed to balance out noise by absorbing low-end frequencies. Low-frequency buildup usually occurs in the corners of a room, so install bass traps in each corner. Meanwhile, diffusors and absorbers should be placed at the first reflection points for the sound. You can find these with the help of a friend after you set up your speakers. To do so, slide a mirror along each of the left, right and back walls of the room. Have your friend sit in the listening spot and tell you when they see the speakers in the mirror. The location of the mirror is the first reflection point.

Crafting professional audio solutions isn’t easy, especially in smaller rooms. Luckily, the team at Claiborne Sharp Professional Audio specializes in creating customized sound systems to optimize acoustics. Contact them at (318) 861-5953 to schedule an appointment, and visit them online to learn more.