I made an error in describing the artificial Ficus trees I'm using. They are 6 feet tall, not the 5 foot models.
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I first saw them used at T.H.E. SHOW at CES maybe 10 years ago. There is a very prominent high end electronics manufacturer that uses them in his listening room to help control reflections and give him a more accurate reference system. My room has a lot more problems than his room, so I have a lot more deadening needed. And that requires MORE artificial Ficus trees scattered around the room perimeter. I think the effect is more about the number / density of the leaves more than natural vs. artificial.
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@lemonhaze Very interesting info. Thank you. @bpoletti Who knew fake ficus trees could be an audiophile tweak? I wonder if real ficus trees sound more natural and provide more air? Heh heh. |
I have chosen diffusion in the form of artificial Ficus trees. My room needed help from the lower midrange up. The artificial Ficus trees, layered sometimes two or three deep, broke up the sound in the room giving only the sound produced directly from the speakers to my ears. The difference was well worth the small expense. I discovered that the deeper the trees were layered, particularly BEHIND the speakers, the more the impact on lower frequencies. 6 feet deep effectively damped frequencies a little below 200hz. And the added benefit was a big increase in WAF. The ones I picked up were 5 foot tall models U$60 each from "At Home" home decorating store. |
In my case, in my room and my equipment, the result using diffusers is 3D imaging, separation between instruments, clear sound. I encourage you to try with N7 panels at the back of the speakers. It’s a kind of magic in the image sound. Later, when music is clarified, if you need to treat bass reflexions, you can use absorption, but using absorbers, carpets, corners …
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I use both absorbtion and diffusion. Agree with those who stated it was best to place diffusers behind speakers. I have combined quadratic diffusers, large bass traps and have absorbing panels at first reflection points. That's the front half of my room. Behind the seated position is wide open. The sound is beyond the capabilities of the equipment alone. Extremely important to treat the room. |
As you see, lots of contradictory advice making a basic understanding difficult to grasp. The solution is to educate yourself by reading the science and then proceed with some confidence. It is a science but you can start by addressing the most important treatment which will get you a long way in the right direction. I have posted a fair bit on this so you could read some older posts of mine. Once you have heard the amazing improvement you can then decide if you want to take it further by measurement which is inexpensive. For the cost of a beer and hamburger you can get a microphone and then download REW for free. Know also that every room needs treatment. It does not depend on your type of furnishings etc. Ignore those that say: "I just use a rug and drapes and my sound is fantastic." All that tells you is that they have never heard a properly treated room. Whether you use absorption and/or diffusion depends on the size of your room as does the required time for the sound to decay. This decay should be as near as possible across the spectrum and is known as RT60, being the time it takes for the sound to decay by 60dB usually about 300ms. All this info is on the net. If you approach a professional acoustician and they don't ask for room dimensions just run away. Small rooms require mostly absorption Mid sized rooms require both Large rooms require mostly diffusion And all rooms require bass traps. In fact if you only do one thing then put bass traps in the corners. A floor to ceiling BT in the 2 front corners will have a huge effect. Google super chunk DIY BT's You will unavoidably have some nasty peaks and nulls. This is where the BTs help, they smooth out the room response. Get this right and you no longer hear the room, you hear the recording venue. Next: Add broad-band absorbers at first reflection points. The problem with a small room is the inability to place the diffusers far enough from your ears.
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I've never seen concrete ceilings? Is this for a bomb shelter?
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I'll take the bait. I would use only absorption. Why? Because I can control how much I use. I would treat the front 1/3 of the room first to deal with first reflection issues. Then I would proceed with caution. Having said that, I don't use specialized products. I use furniture and wall hangings and thick Persian rugs with heavy felt underlayment. Has anyone listened to a room with the old concrete acoustic ceilings? They were the first gen version before the softer asbestos version came out it the late 60s and 70s. I had a house built in the late 50s and no room has sounded as good from a clarity and bass perspective. My thinking is that bass goes right through and is reflected back with softer absorptive/diffuser materials but that the concrete material has a small but noticable effect on all frequencies. Ceilings with this material cannot be scraped. The whole ceiling needs to be cut out...that's why they're still around. Flipping a house with this ceiling is not cheap. |
As already suggested, watch the YT videos mentioned. I used a combination of absorption and diffusion, alternating panels, and keeping 1-2 feet between them. I went with only absorption panels on the front wall and diffusion/absorption on the back wall. Alternating diffusion and absorption on the side walls. Bass traps in the upper room corners. None on the ceiling. It’s made a huge difference in my 12’ x 20’ x 8’ room. Used only for home theater. There is much better clarity in movies, better dialogue, much tighter bass and overall a more immersive experience. |
The sofware you are looking for is called Room EQ Wizard. I dont think it will run on an iPad, but it will run on any computer. Watch the instruction videos because it is not self explanatory but very informative if you use it correctly. |
The answer would depend entirely on a measured room response taking into account the on-axis response of the speaker. If the speaker has a flat on-axis response and room response mids-highs are elevated, I would pick absorption. If the room response is good, I would go for diffusion. I would also consider the music I am listening to. A lot of "near live" stereo microphone recorded music and I would want broadband absorption because I cannot get a wide enough frequency range with diffusion. If I am listening mainly to studio, I would not be as concerned. I see others have gone beyond the simple request in their answers. There is no single solution. Front wall treatment varies depending on what speaker to wall distance you are targeting. Room dimensions come into play, angles between speakers, walls and listening position, and as noted, your starting position concerning room response. Also, whether you will equalize / use DSP. |
My experience matches what others have said. Too much absorption will make the music sound dead, but some absorption is likely necessary. I tried the GIK Diffusor/Absorbers behind my speakers to start with and found the sound to be kind of flat. Replaced them with QRD diffusors and this made a big improvement. Deep, wide sound stage with a lively sound. Absorption or a combination of absorption and diffusion for the side walls (and ceiling), particularly at first reflection points, also helps a lot. I like to use "art panels" like those offered by GIK and others, with scatter plates which provide a mix of absorption and diffusion, and can be fairly attractive. If you have a small room and have to place your listening position close to the rear wall, absorption with a bit of diffusion (such as the GIK panels mentioned above) can make a big difference to the clarity of the music since your ear/brain has a hard time distinguishing the reflections from the direct sound when they are spaced so closely in time. Don't let anyone tell you that some rooms can get away without acoustic treatments, at least if you are striving for the best sound. In my experience, targeted acoustic treatments offer the best sound quality improvements for the money spent than anything else I've done to my system. |
OP Diffusers behind the speakers on the front wall. Absorbers on the front wall will close the stage, speakers will not disappear as the stage will be behind the speakers; don’t believe, try it. Diffusers on the front wall will disperse the reflections and you will hear an improvement in both depth and width, and speakers disappear, at least that’s my experience. Putting a few random panels up on the front wall or only behind the speakers will not help much; best is as a large panel between the front speakers. Multi diffusers/absorbers best on the side wall at the first reflection. You don’t want to kill the room but you do want to control it so the sound from your speakers will hit your ears before the first reflection of the sidewalls. I do nothing on the back wall as you want reflections from the room. Speakers need a room for many reasons… it’s about controlling the reflections. Simple test, is take your system outside and hear how horrible it will sound. Can’t just do one or the other. Vicoustic is another manufacturer that make both products, which is what I use. Every room is different, and everyone has their opinion what’s right, so buy both types of panels and return what doesn’t work for you. I suggest watching the hour long video because a lot to learn, and maybe watch others as you’ll probably discover they all support it each as it’s science/physics and can be tested and proven. Lastly pull your speakers into the room and same with your listening seat off the back or unlikely any treatment will help much. Have fun and good luck. |
Check around your area to see if you can find a local builder. I found a guy via FaceBook (which I never use for such things) and he built panels and bass traps for a fraction of the cost of some of the ones you'll see offered. Granted, there's nothing wrong with those services, room correction, etc. Please don't hear me dismiss that. But I was able to build, add, and add a few more, finally with 2 diffusers for several $100 vs. thousands. And custom made, same insulation options, and I was able to get the precise sizes for my room. |
Not sure I like those gik diffuser panels, don't like the way they look. I don't think anyone really knows what they're using and why. Some say use diffusers behind the speakers and some say use absorbers and for those who lack conviction, use a combo deal. Truth is many rooms may not need acoustical treatment due to all the furniture, and pictures in the room already, which serve as diffusers. Unless you're using diffusers in a large area in the room, most often they are probably a waste of time. The biggest challenge people tend not to focus on is what the hell you do with a ceiling. A wide open flat space the tends to be problematic, incredibly difficult to mount panels on.. Who wants to put holes in their ceilings? I'll put up a few absorption panels, behind speaker and at first reflection points and call it a day. I guess first reflection points are a bad thing. As Sound waves spread from a speaker the first reflection point is fairly big. if I ever see a diffuser panel thats unique and really nice looking I'll get it.
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That’s really just a silly either/or question. Use what works best for the sound of your room. I’d recommend diffusers behind your speakers and absorptive panels at first reflection points and possibly between your speakers along with maybe bass traps in the corners, but that’s just spitballing. Contact GIK and see what they recommend. I will say I intend on using these diffusers behind my speakers because they seem to work well, aren’t expensive, and look pretty cool… |
