Quote:
Originally Posted by SAC  Uncontrolled Q (dispersion) in a source is a PROBLEM, not a positive attribute. And the use of diffusion and absorption as a sink are in direct response to the need to control such uncontrolled 'dispersion'. |
I think there's more to it than that. For me there is something magical about
spaciousness that in some ways trumps accuracy. There is an airiness you
get from bouncing high frequencies off a bare wall that you just don't get
from a regular speaker in an typical room, though a room analysis would
probably show awful numbers.
I'm prepared to believe that a normal front-firing speaker in a
properly treated
room is capable of spaciousness, I'm betting my upcoming room treatment on
that. But the usual sound I hear in supposedly good listening rooms is much
darker. I once listened to a Mackintosh system with line array speakers in
a probably rather dead showroom. The sound was beautiful, but it wasn't airy or
spacious. It was warm, cozy, but not spacious.
There is some similarity I believe with lifestyle differences between, for
example, Europe and North America. European cars are light and nimble,
American cars are heavy and tough. European speakers are small, American
ones are huge. Even European pop songs are sung two or three tones
above those from North America. Ok, I'm generalizing, but I find it
interesting to think about.
And I'm only talking playback here. I realize that discussions in this forum
are mostly about control room type rooms, and recording studios, for
which accuracy is paramount. I'm hoping to build a room that is both
for recording and listening, which is both accurate and spacious. SAC
gives me hope that this is indeed possible.
Paul P