Helholtz Resonators DIY Input


I am very intrigued by @mahgister success with DIY No Cost Helmholtz Resonators and feel he is really onto something. I have read the past posts and have made 6 of various glass bottles and containers from 500ml, 750ml, 1.75ml.  Bottles are filled at 10% volume, straw lengths are 2-4 inches (longer for larger bottles) with 1/2 inch exposed out the top with a straw opening diameter of approx 1/8 inch.  They do seem to alter the sound in a positive manner but I wanted to reach out and see what improvements can be made.  Any input on the following questions, realizing best locations need to be determined individually, would help speed up the process and improve the results

Are there any general guidelines/rules that should be followed by all such as:  
     Best type of bottle material to use. Glass, ceramic, plastic?
     Use all the same volume size containers or vary sizes? Are there ideal sizes? Max size?
     Any Ideal straw sizes (length/diameter) by container size and length exposed out top?
     Are smaller volume containers best for high frequencies and large containers for low frequencies?
     Are there any required locations that would apply to all rooms.  Such as in corners, in front of
       speakers, behind speakers, at listening level when possible etc.
     How much liquid is best?

Any  input on these questions or general input from experienced individuals  who actually use Helmholtz Resonators would be appreciated.

Please this is a NOT a discussion on whether they work.
  
128x128tksteingraber

Showing 1 response by millercarbon

Rather than go into details it is better to first understand what is going on and why these things work at all. Because once you do understand then you will be able to answer all your questions. It is for example that I do understand the principles that I am able to look at Mahgisters room and see what looks like a gas can with a straw in it and understand it is a tuned HR.

The general principle is a Helmholtz resonator is more like a shock absorber that we can tune to absorb certain frequencies. The way it works, a pressure wave comes along and pressure forces the air into the tube or passage and enters the body of the resonator. There it expands again and vibrates around inside the cavity. This creates a high pressure inside. When the pressure wave passes this pressure comes back out the opening.

But as it comes out notice it has been both delayed, and attenuated. Some energy was lost going through the opening. Some delay was achieved by the time it took to expand into the cavity.

These can all be modeled mathematically. The effect is to smooth out and make smaller what would otherwise be a big peak or mode. Just like the way a shock absorber on a car slows the wheel bouncing up, but then also slows it coming back down again, resulting in a smoother ride.

HR are by the way very similar to or closely related to the way a ported speaker cabinet works. With a speaker it is the volume of the enclosure, together with the diameter and length of the port, that tunes the cabinet to a certain frequency. Just the same, only different.