Home made absorption panels.....

go to Jon Risch's website.

Drapes work well for me. And the old stand by, bookshelves filled with books are effective too. Only thing is, if you only own a few books, buying a bookcase full can cost as much as a nice amp!

One problem that I have is that one ref. point will be on a sliding glass door covered with vertical venetion blinds. Maybe I can build something on a floor stand. Any ideas?

oops, I responded too early to these useful suggestions in my previous post. They`ve all been useful and will be concidered. Thanks for your input.

Tvad - Thanks for an excellent, cost effective idea.

Does the bookcase filled with books thing really work? If so, would it be better than, say Tvad's homemade panels? I have two bookcases full of books that I could use for this purpose but before I was thinking of draping a cloth over them so they'd be less distracting.

Tvad's suggestion is a good one, because you can tailor the look of the panels to your aesthetics and room decor.

Glitch, a couple months ago I took down my wall mounted bookcases so my friend could paint the walls for me while I was at work. I was shocked how much echo there was without them on the walls.

I did the exact thing Tvad suggested and covered the panels with a natural white needled cotton fabric at Wallmart, works good and looks good also.

My solution was similar to Tvad's but I used a heavy cotton cloth which my grandson and I painted. It was a nice project for him. We spent an entire day buying the material, building and then painting the panels. They have his signature.

A cheap method to help with boomy base is to take a few of those corrugated cardboard boxes from your local grocery store (in particular the ones with those 1-2" holes along the sides) and stuff them with pink insulation material. You can then put one upside down box into the other, effectively making a cube, or leave them open on top. Wrapping them in a soft cloth will also help with aesthetics. Unless you find the "Chicita" logo appealing.

These will work well, placing 2 behind the speakers in each corner and two behind the listening position in each of the rear corners if needed.

Heck, I have an IKEA couch wich has these huge, plushy pillows covered in some type of denim that has also worked well (well, well enough) when I was trying to convince my wife and daughter that audio can be fun .........

I suppose, that you could also cut up an old comforter and fasten the pieces to 1/4" 3x3 ft. pieces of plywood. I may try that.

Something else that comes to mind, would be a large plant at both ref. points. Of course, that would diffuse the sound rather than absorb it. I don`t suppose the diffusion would be as good as absorption. Just guessing.

Thanks Tvad, Perfectionist has quite a set-up. My problem still remains with the sliding glass door with vertical metal venetion blinds.

I`ll be using a corner set-up per bobby p`s suggestion for my merlins that are on order. Using a corner placement, I`m not sure sonically what will be experienced yet. Or, for that matter, where the ref. points would be.

I wonder if anyone else has used this corner set-up and what if any sonic benefits were achieved?

Yes, problem would be solved but it`s a rental.

You can make frames out of inexpensive 1x2 lumber, which gives you 1.5" depth. Cut high-density foam (or other acoustic materials) to fit the frame. Then, go to your local fabric store and pick out your choice of inexpensive fabric (you will be surprised at how many styles and patterns you can choose from - even "artistic" patterns/colors). Then, stretch the fabric over the frames and staple. Hang as you would a picture frame. If interior decorating isn't your thing, take your girlfriend/wife/mom with you to the fabric store! You can make a lot of panels that actually look very good "artsy" for cheap. I did this and it worked. Then I got remarried and had to sell the whole house - dedicated room and all!!

If you want to use what pro recording studios use, as well as the manufacturers of high-end absorption panels, then you want what's known as "compressed fiberglass" or "rigid fiberglass."

Two of the more popular versions of this are the Owens-Corning 703 & Owens-Corning 705. This is a specialty item that you cannot find at Home Depot or Lowes, and depending on where you live, may have to be mail-ordered. If you can pick it up in-person at a supplier like I did, then after buying some spray-glue and fabric, you can make 2' x 4' x 2" thick pro acoustic panels for about $12 a pop! Compare that to the $50-$200 often charged.

Everything that you need to know is here: http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

There's plenty to read & learn there to keep you busy for awhile. In fact I think that this site would be a great read for most A'goners.

I made myself a bunch of these and they much improved the acoustics of the room. And they look great too. They are also light-weight and easy to move around.

Good luck,
Ray

Studioray, thanks for that post. I intend to build a couple of those panels and the instructions will be helpful.

Studioray, thanks for your input, however, the link doesn`t work.

Gee that's funny, the link seems to be working for me, anybody else having problems with it? Here it is again:

www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

Thanks Studioray....got it.

Well....as an interesting little addendum,,,,I happened upon a yard-sale today and found two new plush carpet remnants of good quality, each about 3`x6` that almost matches my carpet exactly. Paid a total of $3.00.

I`m gonna cut `em up and use `em as sound absorbers. Had a helluva day. ;o)

one of my favorites is an egg crate mattress. you can buy them at target or wallmart for under $20.00 .

i use them agains a side wall and back wall with my quad 63s .

A cheap method to help with boomy base is to take a few of those corrugated cardboard boxes from your local grocery store (in particular the ones with those 1-2" holes along the sides) and stuff them with pink insulation material. You can then put one upside down box into the other, effectively making a cube, or leave them open on top. Wrapping them in a soft cloth will also help with aesthetics. Unless you find the "Chicita" logo appealing.

These will work well, placing 2 behind the speakers in each corner and two behind the listening position in each of the rear corners if needed.

Heck, I have an IKEA couch wich has these huge, plushy pillows covered in some type of denim that has also worked well (well, well enough) when I was trying to convince my wife and daughter that audio can be fun .........

Yeah that's good. I really like plushy stuff and stylish cute plushies assists me buying such exquisite products.