Newnes Audio and Hi-Fi Engineer's Pocket Book, 3rd Edition

32

Golden ratio If two dimensions are similar (a square room),

the resonances will reinforce each other and give a strong

emphasis to all sounds of that frequency. A room that is a cube

is even worse.

Ideally, room dimensions should be such that all resonances

and harmonics of each are well spaced. The golden ratio to

achieve this is

1:1.25:1.6.

Any dimension could be a multiple

of one or more of

these,

i.e.

1:2.5:3.2.

Standing waves can be reduced by fitting absorbents on one

of the opposite pairs of

walls,

but not so much as to excessively

reduce reverberation time. Non-parallel walls and bay windows

reduce resonance effect so are desirabl ...