IR Length

I had the opportunity recently to have access to an anechoic room located near me. I took this opportunity and shot a few near field IRs of various speakers/cabs in the chamber and then shot the same speakers/cabs in a live room at the same facility. Used the AXEFX III to capture them along with a Matrix GT1000 power amp -- MIC + DI method to eliminate the power amp influence. Vintage 57, AT4050, API 512 mic pre's. Interestingly, the results are only slightly different from a "typical" IR with "normal" room reflections, and not quantifiably better. I'd equate it to the difference of turning down the IR length in the cab block from max to one of the 2 lower settings. If anything, my ears perceived the higher frequencies from around 2.7k up to be slightly more present and maybe a little smoother sounding. There are still reflections in the IR from the anechoic room, they were just more muted and at slightly different times and frequencies compared to an open room. I'm assuming because the anechoic room has dramatically less reflections? Unfortunately I didn't get a copy of the graphs afterwards.
As this was not a scientific attempt, I know there is a lot more at play affecting the results than the room itself. But, I found it very interesting how little difference was obtained in the anechoic room. We did use a Dynamount in both the chamber and the normal live studio room so the mic position was identical in both environments. Same mics and preamps as well. What I've taken away from this is that the difference is there, but for the average user, negligible. It's not some magic mojo. Not anywhere near as different as a far field IR compared to a near field IR. It might just be my ears and what I'm used to hearing, but I did/do not prefer the anechoic IRs over the IRs with reflections baked in. . They are just a slightly different flavor.
 
I finally tried to change the length. I prefer it maxed globally . The sound is smaller with a shorter ir, not what I am looking for .
 
I bet those rooms sound stange, what with no reflections.
Absolutely horrible. Actually feels like it's hurting my ears after a bit. I also get to hear my tinnitus at full volume, as well as breathing, blood moving through my ears, and all that good stuff. I truly hate anechoic chambers, but they can be a necessary evil.

I've been doing some work with REW just lately while I fine tune the acoustic treatment in a 2-room home studio build. It's now really clear to me how hard it is to judge a speaker, a cab, or for that matter an IR, when the room has such a massive influence on what the listener gets to hear. I am pretty damn certain that if I set up a preset in the control room (which I though was going to be a nightmare, but sounds pretty amazing straight off the bat with estimates from me, and the studio builder using a bit of artistic licence with increasing bass trap volumes), that preset will need a load of work to sound good in the live room (which is OK, but I have some bass resonance issues that I need to get under control, and that changes everything).

The room plays the instrument almost as much as the instrument plays the room.

Liam
 
Absolutely horrible. Actually feels like it's hurting my ears after a bit. I also get to hear my tinnitus at full volume, as well as breathing, blood moving through my ears, and all that good stuff. I truly hate anechoic chambers, but they can be a necessary evil.
Yes, an anechoic chamber with the door closed can be a bit oppressive. The silence feels almost like pressure on your head and body.

Most people never experience true silence at any time in their lives. It takes some getting used to.
 
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