PSI AUDIO AVAA C20 Active Bass Trap > Sonicscoop review

Sound always exists within a space. From the Grand Canyon to the smallest closet, there is no separating sound from the listening environment. If your room is coloring the sound, then you’re making critical mix decisions based on skewed information.

This can lead to many frustrating hours back and forth between the studio, the car, and/or any other secondary pair of speakers. In our field, experimenting is what keeps us alive and fresh, but second-guessing is what kills us.

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The C20 is a bass trap, but not a passive one like the standard acoustic treatment we’ve been discussing so far. It is also referred to as an Active Velocity Acoustic Absorber. While this is active, and does need power, this is not a DSP-based solution and in no way affects your audio chain.

The C20 is designed to focus on low-end issues and deals with problematic modes between 15 Hz and 150 Hz. Above these frequencies, passive solutions work well and are recommended. This device also does not employ active noise-cancelling technology similar to many headphones, which analyze incoming audio, and create a polarity inverted copy of it. The C20 does not make sounds, it absorbs them.

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Summing it Up

All things considered, I found the PSI AUDIO AVAA C20 to be a resounding success, and I’m buying this one. I tried this device in three different control rooms at different listening levels.

Overall, I ran into zero problems with it. I never ran into the limiter, or had stability issues even when turned up, but I tend to listen at relatively conservative SPL levels. To me, the difference was greatest in my apartment, the room I’m most familiar with.
- Rich Crescent, Jan 2022


Link to product: PSI Audio AVAA C20
Loin to review: Sonicscoop