Yes, it is very very important. There is a myth out there that you don't need to treat a room if you are using nearfields - that the primary sound coming directly from the monitors overwhelms the room. Sorry, its just not true, and there have been lots of demonstrations proving it is not true.
There are various things that can be a problem in a room. One of the biggest is "modes" -- particular frequencies that resonate with your room because of the dimensions of the room. For example, if you have a mode at 500 Hz, then no matter how much you spend on monitors, they will ALL have too much frequency at 500 Hz and so you will have problems making mixes that translate well.
There is another myth out there that says you can correct for room modes by using EQ on the speakers. I can't get into the math here, but again, its just not so, darn it! The big studios have spent millions of dollars treating their rooms because that really is the only way to handle this situation.
Fortunately, you can do it for a lot less, especially if you are willing to pick up a hammer and saw. Even hanging premade traps such as the ones from realtraps.com can do wonders toward smoothing out the room. One great source for info about sound treatments is:
http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html
Here are the forums owned by the guy that wrote a lot of that material:
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php
Be VERY careful about using acoustic foam products. They have a place, but they only handle the higher frequencies -- they just don't do much regarding bass frequencies.
-lee-
Near-Field Monitors that Translate *Naturally*
Moderator: James Steele
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Here's where to talk about preamps, cables, microphones, monitors, etc.
Here's where to talk about preamps, cables, microphones, monitors, etc.