I read F. Alton Everest's Handbook on acoustics, the industry "bible", and any number of other books years ago - I've being doing audio production since 1990 and wanted to understand as much as I could gather about acoustics.
However, the complex calculations involved in doing the job on a pro level are WAY over my head because the principles not only depend on knowing how to calculate all this stuff, but on knowing the acoustical characteristics of every detail in a room. I don't have the training to do the job correctly. There are computer programs that help, but nothing compares to the work done by acousticians.
It doesn't do much good to know that you have a problem at, say, 150 Hz, unless you also know how to fix that problem at the source, and that's about the room itself. EQ software has serious limitations.
So I know the basics about where to put acoustical materials, though when I recently upgraded my RealTraps installation to add more control, I sought out advice from the company's founder regarding exact placement. His advice was spot on - it turned out better, in fact than how I originally planned to install the traps (you can place traps temporarily by simply sitting them on a box at the height your going to use them and leaning them against the wall; I had made several errors, and the improvements he suggested were immediately audible, including solving a null point at 120 Hz).
RealTraps did a nice little writeup on my acoustical treatment and room in a recent newsletter.
However, I once had a discussion about redoing my previous studio with Russ Berger, who happened to be seated next to me at an AES seminar. Russ designed a number of zillion dollar studios I've worked in extensively over the years; he's one of the acknowledged experts in the field.
Long story short, he told me that getting the acoustics right in a basement studio like mine is nearly impossible, due to the materials the outside walls are made of, eight foot ceilings being minimally acceptable, etc., and that I'd be wasting my money trying to build out a room. This was about 15 years ago, when I was still in my old place (once my kids left my wife and I eventually downsized). I figured he knew more than I did, and ever since have merely minimized the problems in my rooms with acoustical treatment.
The recent treatment has made my room significantly more trustworthy, and I have Fortune 500 clients I do ad music and other postproduction for, but even with a substantial investment in acoustical treatment I still double check everything with accurate headphones. That's just the way things go, because my room has its limitations.
Currently I use the Audeze LCD-X reference cans that many mastering engineers use, in conjunction with Sonar Reference software to correct any frequency anomalies these cans have (despite their cost, there are a few things that still need correction). Then I do yet another reality check with my mixes using Waves NX rooms, switching that in and out to see where I am.
As I said, things have improved markedly, but below 200 Hz it's good to have a secondary reference.
Blah blah blah, forgive the long post!
