Is There Any Way We Can Visualize Sound Wave in Room Setup?

[mozcho]

I have been trying to learn about room acoustics, as many have said the room itself might be the most crucial element in HiFi. I read many pages about terms like the first reflection point, standing wave, absorber, diffuser, etc. etc. However, these are quite abstract. Are there any ways to view the sound wave patterns? Any software available?

 

[JoeESP9]

Get a free download of REW (Room Equalization Wizard). Get a calibrated USB mic. Mini DSP, Behringer and Parts Express all have the same mic. It comes with a mic specific correction file that is an REW plugin. You'll also need a PC or Mac. Many of use use a modest laptop for this. Whatever PC you use it doesn't have to be particularly powerful.

There are a number of REW users on AK including me.

 

[Guest159]

Short answer: no, there's no way to actually visualize what is happening in a room. About the best you can do is measure a few points and apply some general theory. Mirrors are useful for determining first reflection points. Truly accurate modeling of a room is a measurement problem. The number of mics you'd need to fully describe the acoustics of a room would be a room so full of mics the acoustics would be radically altered. It's a problem with measuring wave behavior in general.

 

[JoeESP9]

You don't need to measure every spot in the room half a dozen readings may be more than enough. You are trying for better sound in the "sweet spot", not everywhere in the whole room (not possible). However, that makes for better sound even when out of the "spot".

You can use REW to generate waterfall plots among others. They're about as close to a 3d display as available for few to no dollars.

 

[Guest159]

You don't need to measure every spot in the room half a dozen readings may be more than enough. You are trying for better sound in the "sweet spot", not everywhere in the whole room (not possible). However, that makes for better sound even when out of the "spot".

You can use REW to generate waterfall plots among others. They're about as close to a 3d display as available for few to no dollars.

That's not what the OP asked.

 

[mozcho]

Actually we can see this as minor and major scope: the minor (and more immediate + easier to achieve) one would be the creation of a better sweet spot; while the major (much harder) one is to view sound wave patterns like the way we could view water waves like this:

To "visualize" sound wave, may not as easy as I thought.

 

[Guest159]

Actually we can see this as minor and major scope: the minor (and more immediate + easier to achieve) one would be the creation of a better sweet spot; while the major (much harder) one is to view sound wave patterns like the way we could view water waves like this:

To "visualize" sound wave, may not as easy as I thought.

It is extremely complex in all but the most simple spaces using the most ideal sound sources. Just modeling how a speaker projects sound in a 360° space is complicated. Most behave like omnidirectional sources at their low end and become more directional as they climb in frequency with various steps and lobes as they transition from driver to driver. Then there's the dynamics of how waves wrap around the cabinet and interact with the corners of the box if it has them. Add a room and you multiply the factors massively. People have wrote research papers on the trouble with modeling this stuff.

 

[John James]

Mushrooms.

 

[aramirez626]

Mushrooms.