Bouncing Back With Big Sound: First Reflection in Small Rooms

The task of sound control for home theaters owners comes in many forms depending on the frequency of sound and the size of the home theater space. Controlling sounds in both the low and high frequencies is imperative to guaranteeing the quality of sound desired for the maximum home theater experience. The control of low frequency sounds is commonly referred to as bass trapping while controlling high frequency sounds is known as first reflection.

As far as home theater sound control goes, first reflection is in essence the opposite of bass trapping. First reflection is a completely different sound problem that comes with the small home theater room. The home theater system setup in a small cannot create a sound field that is easily heard to it as it moves from right to left. Rather, the sound bounces arrive at the listeners’ ears in a very short time after the initial impulse. The actual sound heard is hardly what the creative artists intended the viewer to experience. The sounds that are clearly emitted from the speakers are perceived in an unclear manner because two to three versions of the sounds are heard a few milliseconds apart in time. What is actually heard is a muddied, unintelligible tone.

One of the biggest mistakes people make in home theater treatment is installing a lot of thin treatment for early reflection controls. The sound control priority is to address the problem with low frequency control. The best way to accomplish dual sound control is to use a thicker panel, for example four inches, instead of a thinner 1-inch panel. The benefit is both low and high frequency absorption in the room. The cost is essentially the same with a better sounding room. To solve the sound problems of the small room, corner panels should be mounted in the theater room in most of the available but convenient locations.

The suggestion for home theater owners with small rooms is to put a pair of 4-inch thick, 8-foot panels at opposite diagonal corners for a room with four available corners in the room. The panels are then 45 degrees to each wall touching at two walls and stacked up floor to ceiling. For side wall and ceiling panels should be restricted to one panel on the left and one on the right for each row of seating, with three to four panels hung from the ceiling, and one to two panels on the rear wall. Complete sound absorption is achieved without the dull and lifeless sound in the high end that results from over-absorption.

Small rooms offer a challenge to home theater owners looking to achieve successful sound control. Without the need for technical understanding, both low and high frequency sound absorption can be achieved with the proper size, amount, and placement of panels throughout the home theater space.