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If you place your speaker on a node, it will cause a null or dip in the frequency response at 60 Hz.ġ/2 wavelength from the wall is an anti-node, where the two waves have added together (constructive interference). The animation shows them as equal strength, which does not actually happen in your room… but your bass reflections are still strong enough to cause serious problems! The amount of cancellation depends on the strength of the reflection relative to the direct sound. These are the places where the direct and reflected sound are always cancelling each other out (destructive interference). After reflection, the sound pressure (charted amplitude) is zero at 1/4, 3/4, 5/4, etc wavelength from the boundary (the points in the wave that don’t move). Courtesy of Dan Russell at Penn State University. This causes a horrid dip, notch or null in the frequency response.Īnimation of a sound wave reflecting off a boundary. If your speaker is one quarter wavelength from the wall for a certain frequency, wave cancellation occurs at that frequency. When the reflected sound wave bouncing off your wall combines with the source sound wave coming from your speaker, it creates acoustic interference. Bass waves radiate backward from your speakers, toward the wall in front of you… and when they hit the wall, they reflect. Speakers are more omnidirectional at low frequencies, meaning bass waves radiate in all directions, causing a rumbling ruckus. Not hearing enough bass through your monitors? The distance between your room boundaries and speakers has a huge impact on your bass performance. Speaker Placement and Reflections from Nearby Walls Is Speaker-Boundary Interference Killing Your Bass? PART: 1 2 3 4