Eigenmodes of a Room

Application ID: 63


When designing a concert hall, it is extremely important to take the resonances into account. For a clear and neutral sound, the eigenfrequencies should be evenly spread through the registers. For the home stereo owner, who cannot actually change the shape of his living room, another question is more relevant: where should the speakers be put for the best sound?

To illustrate the effects we are going to calculate every eigenfrequency below 100 Hz, together with their corresponding eigenmodes. The eigenmode shows the sound intensity pattern for its associated eigenfrequency. From the characteristics of the eigenmodes, we can draw some conclusions as to where the speakers should be placed.

The eigenmodes differ slightly from the exact solution for an empty room. The equations are only solved in half the geometry and then analyzed everywhere using coupling variables.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: