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In the Forum: Horn-Loaded Speakers
In the Thread: Bill Gaw: over 50 years of high-end audio experience and time aligned horns.
Post Subject: Bass trapsPosted by anthony on: 10/30/2025
Bill, Romy,
This is my solution to the bass, see them on the walls in this photo:
Romy in particular, note the all steel construction. There is some foam in them behind the steel plate and the entire trap is only about 4"-5" wide. These bass traps do not absorb the mids and highs, in fact they reflect them back into the room...the room in this state sounded terrible...great in the bass but strident elsewhere just like listening in a room of ceramic tiles and glass walls...horrible.
Then you treat the mids and highs back to normality with some simple wood panelling:
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Mids and highs are beautiful again because they are reflected by the panelling, bass has clarity and massive texture because it does not even realise the panelling is there and is handeled by the bass traps. Those bass traps are effective 30Hz-600Hz, with some effect at 20Hz if the trapdoor to the room is closed.
Bill, I would be surprised if what you are hearing is NOT due to shorter reverberation times in bass frequencies. In my experience, the lower in frequency you are able to hold an even decay time in the room, the better the bass/sound.
Regarding the Trinnov, I am yet to really get in and play with it. The Waveforming feature is exactly the same as a Double Bass Array but you need multiple subs in front of you and behind you for the feature to work, which is fine, but I do not have the room behind me. I expect that oce properly setup in room Waveforming could be transcendental.
With the bass in my room now well controlled by analogue methods such as these bass traps and subwoofer placement, how the bass is made has more importance. That sense of envelopment with stereo that is possible when some of the bass is made behind you is a wonderful effect, even though you cannot locate where the bass is coming from, that envelopment happens nonetheless. Waveforming may eliminate this effect. Also, being able to use high quality amplifiers and alter the balance/volume of the bass sources within the room may be where the last 10% of bass quality is found, and is where I next intend to investigate.
What is nice though, is that when someone with a lot of audio experience sits in your room and says "I've never heard bass like that"...which has happened to both of us it seems...or when you drive them to question their mantra...which only you have done.
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