Behringer B2030A - Manual (Page 7)

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TRUTH B2030A/B2031A
3. APPLICATIONS
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The TRUTH is capable of producing high volume
levels. You should mix your recordings at moderate
levels, so as to avoid listening fatigue and hearing
impairment.
3.3 Speaker placement suggestions
Since the sound of a speaker depends to a great extent on its
surroundings, placing your TRUTH correctly is very important.
Please try to follow these suggestions through. Your efforts will
be rewarded with better sound and higher resolution.
Both speakers are built identically. There is no need to concern
yourself with which speaker should be placed left and which
speaker should be placed right. Place the TRUTH on a flat and
stable surface, if possible use a dedicated speaker stand. In this
way, the speaker is acoustically decoupled and won’t induce
vibrations in nearby objects, which would affect the bass
response. If you cannot use a stand, put the TRUTH on spikes or
damping foam material. Another aspect is the distance between
speaker and wall: keep the speaker away from the wall, as this
would emphasize the bass response, particularly in corners,
where two walls form an angle.
The BEHRINGER TRUTH B2030A/B2031A are so-called near-
field monitors, which means that the impact of the room acoustics
on the sound will be reduced considerably owing to the short
distance between speaker and listener.
Fig. 3.1: Incorrect speaker setup
This illustration shows how you shouldn’t do it: you can clearly
see that a portion of the sound bounces back from the walls
before it reaches the listener’s ears. Thus, direct and reflected
sound waves overlap which results in a coloration of the sound.
Fig. 3.2: Correct speaker setup
This effect can be reduced by turning the speakers towards
the listener. To make reflections from ceiling or floor less likely,
the tweeters should be on the same height as your ears. Please
note that the TRUTH should be operated vertically. Where this is
impossible, place it horizontally as shown in figure 3.3, to allow
for an improved stereo image.
Fig. 3.3: TRUTH setup horizontally
Not only the physical location of speakers but also the acoustic
characteristics of the room have a substantial effect on the way
your TRUTH sounds. Make sure that the room neither sounds too
hall-like nor too dull—basically, neither like a bathroom nor totally
without an echo. You can alter the room acoustics easily by
installing or removing carpets, curtains or furniture. Fabric
covering on the wall opposite the speakers might be a good idea
if the room is too reflective. The next chapter describes how to
adapt the TRUTH to the room acoustics, once it has been set up
properly.
3.4 Adapting the TRUTH to the room acoustics
This chapter describes how you can use the switches on the
rear of the B2030A/B2031A to adapt the speaker to the acoustics
of your control room. However, you should try to improve a
potentially impaired sound by optimizing the loudspeaker
placement beforehand.
Fig. 3.4: Rear panel legending
If you are still having problems, you could try the following:
The ROOM COMPENSATION switch allows you to lower the
bass range, depending on the speaker position. Ex-factory, the
switch is set to a neutral position. If you’ve set up the TRUTH
close to the wall or in a corner, try reducing the low-frequency
level in steps of 2 dB. Since every room and speaker setup are
unique in their acoustic properties, we cannot provide more
specific information here. The same applies to the HIGH
FREQUENCY switch , which determines the tweeter level
(between +2 dB and -4 dB). Here too, the best setting depends
on the room acoustics. If you have an additional subwoofer
installed, you can attenuate the TRUTH’s lower cutoff frequency
using the LOW FREQUENCY switch . This can be necessary
when adapting the TRUTH to your subwoofer. Trust your own
aural instinct, but don’t forget: Listening at high volume levels
over long periods leads to listening fatigue and thus reduces
your ability to judge the sound. Consequently, we recommend
regular pauses to keep your hearing “healthy”.
As a general rule, you should set up and adjust the TRUTH
with great care. Above all, you should take your time: unlike hi-fi
speakers, the B2030A/B2031A is tuned to produce a neutral
sound, which can be confusing when you are working for the
first time with such a high-quality speaker. Don’t try to adjust the
TRUTH with its rear panel switches to produce a “bombastic”
sound that impresses you or other listeners. To get a feeling for
the TRUTH’s sound, you should listen to as many records as
possible that were produced in other studios. We also recommend
that you listen to your own recordings over as many other
systems as possible, for example, your car system. If you find
that your mixes are somewhat “dull” in their overall sound, the
reason might be too much treble from your TRUTH. On the other
hand, if you set the bass level too high, you will find that your
mixes lack bass power. Tuning a speaker can take several days’
time, so once again: take your time!