Whether consciously or intuitively, everyone realizes that rooms have a huge effect on sound. If someone blindfolded you and led you first into the Village Vanguard and then into Carnegie Hall, you’d immediately know which one you were in just from listening, even if you’d never visited those venues.
This rule applies not only to music venues, but also to the spaces where we listen to recorded music—such as a living room, a bedroom, or even a back porch. But in this digital age, where even the modest
