Field Story
The Recording Studio With the Disappearing Bass
A newly built home recording studio had a puzzling problem: bass response measured perfectly at the mix position during initial testing, but recordings consistently sounded thin. The engineer's SonaVyx room scan revealed the issue — a strong room mode at 63Hz that boosted the monitoring position by 12dB, causing the engineer to unconsciously reduce bass in every mix. The RT60 measurement confirmed excessive low-frequency decay time. Bass traps in the corners solved the problem, and the next mix translated perfectly to other systems.
Recording StudioImpulse Response Measurement per ISO 3382-2: Ordinary Rooms
TL;DR
ISO 3382-2 specifies methods for measuring reverberation time in ordinary rooms (offices, classrooms, hospitals). SonaVyx captures the room impulse response using a logarithmic sine sweep and extracts RT60 via Schroeder backward integration. This guide covers the simplified procedure for everyday rooms.
ISO 3382-2 vs ISO 3382-1
While Part 1 targets performance spaces with detailed multi-parameter analysis, Part 2 focuses on ordinary rooms where the primary goal is RT60 measurement. It allows:
- Fewer measurement positions
- Interrupted noise method as well as impulse response method
- Simplified reporting requirements
Measurement Procedure
- Prepare the room: Ensure normal furnishing and occupancy conditions
- Set up source: Use an omnidirectional source or SonaVyx's sweep through the room's speaker system
- Position microphone: At least 1m from walls, 1.2m height, representative listening positions
- Capture IR: Play the sweep signal and record the response
- Analyze: SonaVyx automatically deconvolves and computes T20/T30/EDT per octave band
Standard Reference
ISO 3382-2:
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Last updated: March 19, 2026