Words From the Wise

1. Use your ears rather than placing too much trust in measurement tool.
2. Be minimal. Over design of an acoustic space is the cardinal sin of acoustics.
3. Think "outside the box". Listen to advice from professionals, but always remeber that the numbers are only a prediction of probable room response. They may (or may not) reflect reality.
4. Think long and hard before implementing any specific treatments. As a professional acoustician (Physics Degree) and an audio engineer for over 25 years, I start a design by first thinking of every possible approach to take with a specific room. I then begin SUBTRACTING the over-kill until I arrive at a solution that is the least working solution. I am a firm adherent to Occam's Razor.
5. I then add treatments symetricaly around the space to fitted one at a time, and LISTEN to the results at each point. I have found tools such as the Techron TEF instument invaluable, but no substitute for the human ear.

BTW, even with all of the other tools at my desposal, I have found the CARACAD program to be an excellent tool for assement of a rooms probable acoustic signature. Of course, I am helped in this by having a professionals understanding of the acoustical properties of materials, and as such, have made extensive use of the materials editor function of the CARACAD program. If you do not have the proper grounding in Physics, be very careful, and judicious in your use of this powerful tool, because an error in the data you supply will make the predictions meaningless.

For the money, however, it is the best software for this purpose I have ever used or reviewed.

Regards,

D. Terry Hazelrig(CEO/Chief Acoustic Engineer)
Timescape/Diyacoustics
152 Dexter Circle
Madison, Al. 35757-8005
Email: timescape100@knology.net

There is someone out there enjoying just about every audio device made. If you enjoy it, it's a good choice.

Correct placement of your speakers makes a bigger difference than many dollars. Experiment, it's free and it gets you off the couch.

I would never have believed how much difference cables could make until I tried some. The Cable Company has contributed more in three transactions than any other single vendor to my system.

Think hard about your lifestyle before you go for a record player that requires 4 individual boxes and cubic yards of software. You bet it sounds best, but once you're into it, it can be a space hassle, and by then you will know what you would be missing if you gave it up.

There are great deals on the used market, but there's absolutely nobody on the buyers side - it's all about the sellers. Be prudent, protect yourself.

1. Go to the ends of the earth to listen to as many great systems you can find.

2. Do not bother with hi fi stores unless you are lucky enough to have a holy grail audio store nearby (they are rare).

3. When you find the sound to fall in love with, use it as a model.

4. don't let anyone convince you the speaker is of lesser importance. It doesn't matter how much gilded wire, bench press components, or 24 bit discs you have, it means nothing if you don't have great speakers to give the music life.

5. Speaker first, all other components to match. Super charging a Toyota won't make it a Porsche.

Home theater;1)Big screen 2)Big subs 3)Dedicated room 4)Room acoustics 5)Understanding spouse!

1. Listen to the MUSIC, not the "system."
2. Get good sources and fine wires to connect them to amps and preamps.
3. More money isn't always the answer. Maybe you just need a bigger throw rug on a hardwood floor or a tapestry on a bare wall.
4. Power line regenerator/conditioner (the best investment I have made).
5. Listen to the MUSIC, not the "system." Yes, I repeat myself because I have been guilty of concentrating more on buying, acquiring, collecting, consuming, and hording stuff, making me forget the whole point: It's the music. Derive your joy from the perfect sax solo, not the perfect power cord. I'm an "audiophile" because I love music, not because I love equipment.