At 100 Hz, I think you'd have to use so much wool that your speaker would look like an inside-out anechoic chamber.
But you can always experiment. But don't forget that the easiest way to mitigate diffraction is to place the speaker closer to the wall or corner. Because those "diffractions becoming secondary sources" are what cause baffle step. At low frequencies, diffraction means baffle step.
My speakers are small, so in an anechoic chamber they would exhibit marked baffle step. But they're hung from the ceiling in the corners of the room, which means they're playing into an eighth sphere, which means baffle step is greatly mitigated.
You're never going to listen in an anechoic chamber and you're never going to place your speakers in the middle of the room, right? If you have a problem, make a BSC (passive) filter with say 1 decibel of step. It's one inductor, and one high watt resistor. 1 dB of compensation = 1 dB of efficiency sacrificed.
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That's a good question. I don't know the answer.
But I do know that some sound systems may produce a balanced, reasonably loud sound but it's like everything is all mixed together. It's noise; it sounds kind of like an orchestra but it's more of a homogenized lump of sound. Other systems reveal the individual instruments, and then nuances of those instruments, and so on. This is exactly the hierarchy I experienced when tweaking my speakers. I just kept trying stuff, going back and forth, for about a year.
If you listen long enough then minor flaws will gradually become apparent. I could still make improvements to them but I'm done for now. I want to build something completely different.
@ferret - I'm using flat woven conductor ribbon, maybe 3mm apart with 5mm conductors.
Got 'em at a yard sale. I also have some round conductor with the more like the 10mm spacing. So dont give up your idea; similar has been done - and sold. On what pretenses, that's another matter. I once fixed a system that had these flat ribbon cables overlaid in a bundle going through the attic (Oscillation in Cary amps) by instructing the owner to separate them - it worked.
Got 'em at a yard sale. I also have some round conductor with the more like the 10mm spacing. So dont give up your idea; similar has been done - and sold. On what pretenses, that's another matter. I once fixed a system that had these flat ribbon cables overlaid in a bundle going through the attic (Oscillation in Cary amps) by instructing the owner to separate them - it worked.
The problem is many people fail to take the step of investigation. My wife and I were remarking how wonderful this bread tastes for breakfast. We got it at the Franz "bread outlet" store. That remark led to "you have to be so on top of everything - in all contexts - just to live a life". All you own, all you consume, all the services you need.
If you just buy what the salesperson tells you to buy, eat what the one grocer has to offer, accept the estimate of the first service provider - you're gonna get killed.
And because everything is changing all the time, you have to constantly refresh your 'on top of' awareness of all things - so it's a lot of work (just to live a life). Kinda like being a stock broker, which I imagine is one of the more difficult ways to make a living...
No one told me I needed Lii Audio F15s. I found them and made the purchase based on my own investigations. Including some time spent with other FR speakers. The very best choice for my $500? Who knows - but at least I looked into it some before making a financial arrangement with Lii. All things - bread to speaker to Subaru Forrester.
Those little customer feedback histograms Amazon made famous are your friend. Sometimes I bust a gut reading how some manufacturer clearly uses their customers' experience for their design verification / quality assurance plan. (Usually reading about someone who bought the thing before any customer feedback data had accumulated).
If you just buy what the salesperson tells you to buy, eat what the one grocer has to offer, accept the estimate of the first service provider - you're gonna get killed.
And because everything is changing all the time, you have to constantly refresh your 'on top of' awareness of all things - so it's a lot of work (just to live a life). Kinda like being a stock broker, which I imagine is one of the more difficult ways to make a living...
No one told me I needed Lii Audio F15s. I found them and made the purchase based on my own investigations. Including some time spent with other FR speakers. The very best choice for my $500? Who knows - but at least I looked into it some before making a financial arrangement with Lii. All things - bread to speaker to Subaru Forrester.
Those little customer feedback histograms Amazon made famous are your friend. Sometimes I bust a gut reading how some manufacturer clearly uses their customers' experience for their design verification / quality assurance plan. (Usually reading about someone who bought the thing before any customer feedback data had accumulated).
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I get exactly what your saying.
dsp that changes phase relationships (not just group delay) seems to be where it’s at ime.
Problems I have understanding the correlations is due to the fact the dsp I’m using (ypao) is fairly secretive about how it does it’s delay but I did find out its not just group delay but includes phase delay.
Anyway it’s yet another subject I’m not educated in.......I just know from experience I can fine focus in and out of the micro details by manipulating those adjustments. I’ve posted awhile back trying to get a better handle on it and found there is a group working along similar lines. Wesayso is one I think Matt has a link to some of it, I’ll try to find my interaction with them later on and link it.
My next move is going into a setup that will allow a more open/incremental adjustment so knowing what’s what will be easier.....still trying to figure out if a MiniDSP shd will allow such adjustment.
But when it’s all dialed it’s like being in a snow globe of music was how I described it.......everything is right but yet not imaged as ones used to, more like your one with the music, very hard to explain unless you experience it.
I meant baffle edge diffraction Speaker baffle design, diffraction and baffle step | Audio Judgement
Mine are pretty much in the middle of the room when I'm listening
I understand.
Above the baffle step frequency, there is no appreciable diffraction. The baffle projects virtually all the sound forward, or into a half sphere.
Below the baffle step frequency, placement of the speaker in the space can mitigate baffle step. We all know this. Anything that mitigates baffle step mitigates diffraction too, right? (Except for crossovers.) It's all about the quarter wave. A speaker on a stand in the middle of the room will theoretically exhibit a 3 decibel baffle step. The diffraction pattern will be allowed to form unimpeded and we will observe a sharp baffle step response. But if we physically impede that diffraction pattern, like for instance placing it the "magic distance"
from the wall, then the diffraction is less pronounced and maybe we'll have only a 1 dB step response.As far as I know it's really that simple and it addresses the objectionable artifact it causes. Is there another significant issue I'm missing?
I'd build a line level baffle step equalizer. Try +2 or +3 dB.
Yes. Diffraction from the baffle edge causes comb filtering causing ripples in the frequency response.
Is the outlay of $2,000 justified to remove 'electromagnetic polarization distortion' in a digital signal cable (patent pending)? 
SIGMA Clock-50 - The Shunyata Distribution Company
SIGMA Clock-50 - The Shunyata Distribution Company
At all frequencies? It's really obvious at lower frequencies when you move around the room.
Chamfering the edge and using felt on the baffle help a little. I'm afraid you'd have to get radical to really address it. I think maybe an asymmetrically shaped box might help mask the effect a little.
By the way, I didn't even build my boxes. They're Design Acoustics boxes straight from the dumpster. Other than the woofers they were in tip top shape. They came with the felt lined baffle, just the right amount of stuffing, and even some kind of sound absorbing material stuffed into parts of the grille. I had to cut the hole bigger for the metric woofer, massage the tweeter hole, and do some other tweaks. They came out great.
You are correct. The degree also depends on the driver's directionality. Another article on edge diffraction Diffraction from baffle edges
SL mentions lack of study into the audibility. Earl Geddes has done some, he does think it's an issue worth addressing.
That article talks about stuff I haven't thought about. It also explains a diffraction issue that is very apparent in my setup.
"Note that there is no baffle step at 90 degrees off-axis, and boosting low frequencies for a flat on-axis response will add to the downward sloping trend of the frequency response off-axis"
If you stand under one of the speakers, you get full bass response. There are spots in the listening area where bass gets lighter too.
That's why I want to switch to using a subwoofer.
"Note that there is no baffle step at 90 degrees off-axis, and boosting low frequencies for a flat on-axis response will add to the downward sloping trend of the frequency response off-axis"
If you stand under one of the speakers, you get full bass response. There are spots in the listening area where bass gets lighter too.
That's why I want to switch to using a subwoofer.
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