User Manual

20 21
Dynaudio LYD Series Personal Reference Monitor Listening tests / Final tweaks
Listening
tests
Once you have your speakers properly positioned, its time to start
listening to them. Subjective listening tests can be made with reference
material that you are familiar with; a favorite album, movie or other
recording. Objective tests can be made simply with a smartphone
app or more sophisticated acoustic measurement system.
Reference material
Play some recorded material that you are familiar
with through the speakers to see if the sound
is what you expect. Adjust the tilt lters both
directions to hear the different tonalities that are
possible. It is also suggested that you listen to
material you know actually sounds bad or has
defects in the recordings. A truly neutral loud-
speaker will reveal these defects clearly.
The whole point to a good loudspeaker is to
get accurate representation of the sound, good
or bad, so that mix decisions can effectively be
made. Adjust the tilt lter to the setting you are
most comfortable with.
Pink noise
For an objective test of the speaker’s response,
you will need a metering system. This consists
of a device that can measure the spectral output
of the loudspeaker in real time and a source of
pink noise that can be played back through the
loudspeakers.
• RTA Spectral Analyzer
• Pink Noise Source
Dynaudio has created an iOS app with these
tools built in so you can quickly test and calibrate
your LYD speakers using your iPhone, iPad or
iPod touch. In the Apple App Store, search for
“Dynaudio Meter” to locate and download this
free app.
You can connect the device directly to the speak -
ers using a conventional headphone to RCA
adapter. Play the pink noise from the Dynaudio
Meter and adjust the level for a reasonable play-
back volume. If you wish to play pink noise from
your computer workstation, a WAV le containing
pink noise is available at:
www.dynaudio.com/pinknoise
Play the pink noise through one speaker at a time
at a reasonable level (~80-85dBA) and place the
iPhone or iPad at the listening position. Change
the Sound Balance lter to see how the response
changes the response curve in the RTA. Pink
noise is a balanced level of noise across the entire
spectrum. In the RTA display, the reading should
be as level and even as possible.
If you notice excessive levels in the low frequen-
cies, try setting the Sound Balance lter to Bright
(B) and check the results. If the spectrum analyzer
shows a greater degree of high frequencies, set
the tilt lter to dark (D) and check the results.
Once you have the tilt lter set for the attest
response curve in the RTA, return to your ref-
erence material to see how it sounds. Through
this process of objective tests with the RTA and
subjective listening tests with you ears, you will
arrive at the best setting for your Dynaudio loud-
speakers.
Beyond the settings for the loudspeakers, additional tweaks may be
desired to improve the response of the system and room environment.
You may discover that a reective surface is causing a high frequency
anomaly or perhaps room modes are disturbing the bass response
in the room.
First reection treatment
Sound reecting off of hard surfaces that are
close to the listening position can cause problems
in the high frequency response and imaging of
the loudspeakers. These rst reections can be
relatively easy to x in many cases. Figure 7 shows
some common causes of rst reections in a
typical control room.
First reections can be located easily by using a
mirror placed on various surfaces in the studio
Final
tweaks
Figure 7: Reection diagram
to check if you can see either loudspeaker in
the mirror when sitting in the listening position.
If you can see either loudspeaker in the mirror, it
follows that upper frequencies will bounce off that
surface directly back to the listening position and
potentially cause response problems.
Placing absorptive material on these surfaces will
reduce the effect of rst reections and improve
the sound of the system. The thicker the acoustic
material is, the more effective it will be. Also, cre-
ating an air space behind the material will improve
its effectiveness. Place as much absorption that
is practical at the rst reection points to improve
the response of the system.
Bass trapping
If you notice any peaks or dips in the low fre-
quency response curve of the RTA (20-250 Hz),
they may be caused by room modes. Room
modes occur at specic low frequencies that
have wavelengths that are equal to or multiples
of the dimensions of the listening room.
For example, if the listening room is 4 meters
long, there may be a room mode at 43 Hz since
its wavelength is about 8 meters. What this means
is that for this frequency, the room response will
change dramatically depending on the position
of the listener and the loudspeaker. You may hear
a more of this frequency or less of it depending
on the listening position in the room. Modes
can be formed from all dimensions of the room;
length, width, and height. The solution is to place
sound absorption designed for low frequencies
in the most effective places to reduce the effect
of room modes.
Many manufacturers make sound absorptive
devices called bass traps that are designed to
be placed in or near corners and will reduce the
amount of reected low frequency energy in the
room. By dampening the resonance of the modes,
the low frequency response of the room may be
smoothed out.
When placing bass traps, always check the result-
ing frequency response curve with pink noise and
an RTA to ensure that the loudspeaker response
is improving. Then listen to your favorite reference
material to see how this affects it.