Acoustics play a big role in listening quality, so the acoustic comfort of a room is an element that should not be neglected. When investing in a quality HI-FI audio system, you must ensure that you have good acoustics in your listening room and if this is not the case, you can make corrections.
What is acoustics?
Sound is a wave that travels through air. Obstacles such as decorative elements and furniture but also walls, floor and ceiling act like mirrors on sound waves. Improving the acoustics of a room means seeking to reduce wave bounces , to attenuate resonances , without having a total absence of reflection, which would make listening unpleasant.
Do not confuse sound insulation and acoustic correction :
Sound insulation aims to prevent the propagation of sound from one room to another, while acoustic correction seeks to reduce the problems of internal noise in a room.
Why do some rooms have poor acoustics?
Many factors can come into play in the acoustics of a room.
Firstly, the architecture itself. For example, the greater the ceiling height, the amount of glass surface or the volume of the room, the worse the acoustics will be.
Then, the construction materials used: concrete, plasterboard or tiles are hard and smooth surfaces which, therefore, generate great reverberation.
Furniture and decorative elements are also important, if you have little furniture, if it is made of smooth materials or if you have large empty spaces , the acoustics of your room will be much less suitable for the diffusion of sound. 'quality sound.
Sound absorption: some simple avenues for improvement
The objective is to improve acoustic comfort inside the room in order to avoid loss of clarity due to disturbances such as resonances, reverberation or echo.
Porous or fibrous materials are absorbent, they are capable of allowing sound waves to penetrate into their structures. The most affordable solution is to enrich your decoration and furniture with absorbent materials .
For floors:
Choose large, thick rugs or an absorbent covering like carpet. You can also install floor cushions.
For the walls:
Opt for wall textiles, natural materials such as cork or wallpaper, the thicker they are, the more waves they will be able to absorb.
For the ceiling:
The simplest is to install acoustic foam, but this is a rather expensive solution and not necessary if the other surfaces in your room are sufficiently absorbent.
Another area for improvement is to change the position of your speakers. Place them at listening height, away from the wall and closer to your listening point to maximize direct waves.
An EQ to correct and adapt the sound
If hardware solutions are not an option for you, you can always go for an EQ. An equalizer will not correct the acoustics of your room but will allow you to adapt the sound to it.
An EQ is a tool that allows you to act on the audio signal. This allows you to adapt the listening of your Hifi system according to the imperfections of your room by acting on the frequencies that need to be adjusted.
Our Octavio Maestro connected speaker has an EQ that you can easily control from the Octavio Virtuose app. You have access to predefined modes or, if you wish, you have the possibility to define your own settings. 
In summary, you have the choice between many solutions to improve the acoustics of your room, either by correcting it directly with furniture and opting for suitable materials or by choosing to adapt the sound to the acoustics of your room with an EQ.
