Bose Model 601 Owner's guide - Page 10

V.

Room

Acoustics

The

Model

601

provides

outstanding

performance

in

a

wide

variety

of

listening

rooms.

A

particular

virtue

is

its

ability

to

pro-

vide

an

unusually

large

"Best

Listening

Area."

However,

the

acoustics

of

the

listening

room

will

affect

the

quality

of

sound

reproduced

by

any

speaker

system.

Although

the

science

of

room

acoustics

is

a

complex

one,

there

are

steps

that

can

be

taken

to

optimize

the

acoustics

of

your

listening

room.

One

of

the

most

common

problems

relates

to

rooms

that

sound

too

"bright."

This

occurs

when

the

room

contains

very

few

furnishings

and

has

bare

walls

and

floors.

The

result

is

nor-

mally

a

shrill

or

harsh

sound.

A

simple

test

to

determine

the

"liveness"

of

your

room

can

be

accomplished

by

clapping

your

hands

together.

If

you

hear

a

ringing

or

echoing

sound,

your

room

is

overly

"live"

or

"bright."

The

addition

of

carpeting,

wall

hangings,

or

drapes

will

usually

help

to

remedy

this

problem.

If

your

listening

area

contains

heavily

stuffed

furniture,

wall-to-

wall

carpeting,

and

heavy

drapes.

etc..

you

may

find

that

the

sound

coming

from

your

speakers

is

lacking

in

high

-frequency

energy.

Rooms

like

this

sound

dull

and

lifeless

and

are

often

referred

to

as

acoustically

"dead."

By

removing

some

of

the

absorbent

furnishings,

the

tonal

balance

of

the

system

can

be

improved.

The

low

frequencies

of

any

speaker

system

radiate

equally

in

all

directions.

Because

of

this,

the

wall

behind

the

speaker

and

adjacent

side

walls

reinforce

these

lower

frequencies.

The

bass

response

of

the

601

can

be

altered

by

changing

the

posi-

tion

of

the

speaker

in

relation

to

nearby

walls

and

corners.

If

the

speakers

seem

to

be

lacking

in

bass,

moving

the

speakers

closer

to

the

rear

wall

or

nearer

to

a

corner

of

the

room

will

increase

the

bass

response.*

If

your

system

tends

to

produce

a

bassheavy.

or

"booming"

sound,

move

the

speakers

away

from

the

corner

wall.

Next,

move

the

speaker

away

from

the

rear

wall.*

Also

try

using

the

10

low-cut

filter

of

your

amplifier

(if

equipped

with

one)

as

this

may

restore

a

more

natural

tonal

balance.

Many

room

acoustic

problems

can

be

improved

by

using

the

bass

and

treble

controls

of

your

amplifier.

You

are

encouraged

to

use

your

amplifier

tone

controls

to

adjust

the

sound

quality

to

suit

your

listening

room's

acoustics

and

your

personal

listen-

ing

tastes.

'See

Section

IV

A.

Speaker

Placement,

for

recommended

distances.

•

Bose Model 601 Owner's guide - Page 10

Acoustics

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