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First Reflection Points
Since the ear/brain system tends to integrate the sounds arriving within a 10
millisecond time window, it is important to control the early reflections arriving
from the side walls to the listening position. A hard-surfaced wall can
produce a strong frequency-dependent reflection that can interfere with the
reproduced sound-stage, as well as change the perceived tonal balance of
the system. Therefore, damping these first reflection points is strongly
recommended. Please refer to Section 8.3, Early Reflections, beginning on
page 45, for further information.
Corner Treatment
It is important to control the corner and wall reflections of low frequency
sound. These reflections can cause significant distortions in phase and
amplitude, resulting in muddy bass definition, smeared bass transients, and
compressed image definition. Placing Tube-Traps (available from Acoustic
Sciences Corporation) at the room corners and centered at the walls behind
the system and listener can significantly control these bass colorations and
restore the quickness of bass transients.