Bass traps and rear-ported speakers..

[jeff_free69]

My small control room has been fairly well treated with a combination of Ethan's realTraps and DIY equivalents (4 ft wide x 4" thick x 6 ft high in each of the front corners). Not to mention along the ceiling and front wall - so i think i've got that early reflection problem licked As I shop for new monitors I am wondering if having speakers with ports in the rear is not advised. ie because those ports will be essentially aimed into the corner traps, will the traps suck up too much of the port energy?

Some of the speakers I'm considering are :
Adam A7
Dynaudio Bm 5 or 6 ,
Event ASP 6 or 8
mackies 624/824 mkII - would these be even worse due to the passive radiators in the back? ( or maybe it might improve them since some people think they are a bit tubby, the original ones at least

I am not adverse to adding a subwoofer if needed...

Any thoughts?
Ethan? (did you fall into my "trap"?

[ddageek]

a speaker should be operatong as an omni directional radatior by the time your down near the ported freq.!

[DSMrehearsal]

to be honest, I belive the answer is to work with the speakers you like listening to the most. I have owned (and still do) passive radiator (mackie) rear ported (PMC) and front ported (ATC) they are all good tools in their own ways, but none of them work well in the same room. speakers and room go hand in hand. find something you feel comfortable with, then treat your room to match the speakers.

[chrysb93065]

Quickie +1 for the ASP 8's. I also have a pair of rear ported Yamahas in the same location - in front of Ethan's Real Traps in the corners. The traps seem to eat the bass with the Yamaha speakers.

[jeff_free69]

Originally Posted by chrysb93065

Quickie +1 for the ASP 8's. I also have a pair of rear ported Yamahas in the same location - in front of Ethan's Real Traps in the corners. The traps seem to eat the bass with the Yamaha speakers.

Interesting - the ASPs have some serious bass- which yamahas are also there (ie would you expect them to be more comparable if there were no traps)?


Re >> omnidirectionality of bass...
yes I can certainly see that being true theortically, but in practice I have to imagine that some of the energy is being lost into the traps, though I'm not scientifically certain of their effectiveness below 50-100hz where ports typically kick in... so i admit this could be much ado about nothing..


thanks

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by jeff_free69

I am wondering if having speakers with ports in the rear is not advised. ie because those ports will be essentially aimed into the corner traps, will the traps suck up too much of the port energy?

I doubt that will be a problem. As ddageek said, by the time you get that low the source and direction don't really matter. Now, you probably don't want traps two inches away from the ports. But a few feet or more should be okay, regardless of which way the ports "point" toward.

--Ethan