Be careful not to end up with a room that's dead in the upper frequencies and still highly reverberant in the bass. It's easy to over-absorb short wavelengths, but very difficult to absorb long wavelengths. Lining the walls with a lot of foam panels is unlikely to yield good results.
In my opinion, as a ballpark general guideline diffusion panels usually make more sense than absorption panels at mid and high frequencies. Absorption makes more sense in the bass region.
Duke
dealer/manufacturer |
I made panels for my room and they were most effective. There are plans out there describing type of damping material, fabric covering, size of panel etc. There are specific materials to use. It's worth the effort, your room acoustics count as much as the gear you use.
Larry |
Before you make your own panels, have a look at these. Excellent price, and I have been happy the results in my listening room with four of their 2 x 4 foot wall panels.
http://www.atsacoustics.com/ |
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I second Duke: in my experience all the so called anti reverberration acoustical panels make the sound dead. Diffusors do work but in the majority of cases you should use bass traps. There is one caveat though: bass traps are bulky and you'll need lots of them to get significant reduction of room modes. If a room sucks, you'll never get good sound, even with extensive acoustic modifications.
Chris |
OC703 is the material of choice for many DIY panels. It comes in 1" or 2" and maybe even thicker 2'x4' sheets, usually in '6 packs'.
You Tube (no kidding) has a couple vids on such constructions.
My plan is to treat '1st reflection' points and the back wall of my listening area. This will reduce the echo type effect while leaving the rest of the room fairly live.
Don't overdo it! |
What kind of panels are you talking about? I've made some membrane panels and my only regret is that I didn't make them bigger. 6X3 instead of 4X2 would have doubled the material cost but that's insignificant to the labour and result. Membrane panels are more specific solutions for a narrower band problem. |
I guess the catagory would be 'broadband absorbers' or some such. certainly NOT tuned, i would use panels such as I describe to treat excess 'liveness' in any listening area. Placed on the wall between speakers, you may be able to modify the image.
My use will, again, be to damp out the first reflection point of each speaker, Magnepan 1.6s.
My first pass effort will be to make some panels on stands to move around and see....listen actually! If I can make a few specific improvments in image/staging while damping out the back part of the fairly long (25' or so) room, I'll call it quits. When I decide on location....maybe a 4 month project, I'll do a permanent mounting.
Owens Corning 703 is some kind of boiler insulation which has gained a decent DIY reputation in the audio catagory.
I suppose with only a little ingenuity, you could make panels in any desired shape or size. I'll stick to the 'as issued' 2'x4' and multiples of that.
Next step is to find some accoustic fabric....maybe a trip up to the fashion district in LA and see the sights. Since I share the space with spouse, I must consider WAF and even make new drapes part of the negotiations. You can't be too careful! |
My panels frames are 5" thick wood frames with a pegboard divider recesed 2" into the frame.The front part has a 2x4 Metro diffuser(foam)inserted in it.Then the back is a piece 2x4'-2" thick OC705 inserted,& covered with a breathable casing to keep the fibers in..They will be mounted about 4" of the wall to maximize sound waves..What do you think?? |
Just my opin......I would lose the pegboard. Also, foam doesnt' transmit sound. the object is to either aborb, turning sound energy into heat, or to diffuse/reflect randomly. The 705 will absorb, since it is 'transparent' to sound. If you can't breath thru it, the foam will tend to reflect.
Mounting away from the wall is a good idea, it'll give you incoming and outgoing 'treatment'.
Again, just my opin, but I'd either make diffusors or absorbers. The local fabric outlet has a real open 'fabric' which would be good for covering 703/5 doing as you suggest, keeping the fibers in. Cover the whole thing in accoustic cloth and your there.
As a sidenote, an anachoic space is NOT what you want. I've been in a very dead recording studio and it is ...funny sounding..... Many normal audio 'q's are simply gone missing. Don't do that to your listening space. |
Silicone around the edges of the pegboard or it might vibrate or, better yet, avoid it. The pegboard is the same as the wall that you're trying to get away from. If the pegboard were in front and not touching anything, that would be a membrane but not a good one.
The foam might be better aesthetically but it's less functional than double thick 705. For a single layer of 705, I would expect reduced effectiveness below 200 Hz. Double thick is fairly effective, with the air space behind, down to 100Hz. |
Owens Corning 703..4-2'/2" thick...you can buy a 6 pack off ebay for under $100.00..works well if your handy with material covering |
For bass traps, would I be better off with one, 4 inch thick panel (24" x 48") in each corner or two, 2 inch thick panels stacked vertically (24" x 96") in each corner? Or is there a difference?
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Here are two links to DIY help:
www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html
http://www.bobgolds.com/
http://forum.studiotips.com/viewforum.php?f=8&sid=17689dd547daffa3ecfd9db0fe725313 |
I read somewhere that using pegboard acts like a resonator .With the hole's like bottle openings..The reason im using it is to keep the aurelex and the OC 705 seperate.The frames will be mounted about 3 inches of the back of the wall to let sound in from the back also.. |
Other then using burlap what other kind of material will let sound through. |
Pegboard will only act as a resonator if it is free to resonate and not touching anything, except at the edges. The holes mean that it cannot be sealed and damped, which is not critical but helpful. The idea being that movement is disssipated into heat.
Cotton is preferred to synthetic. |
Ngjockey, The pegboard could be damped by either its natural internal friction or by a sheet of something laminated or layered with it. If the holes are 1/4", it will pass frequencies above about 50,000hz, clearly in 'Bat' territory.
Either way, it will still reflect and the OC705 behind it will be wasted.
Why just cotton? It will absorb moisture and be more sunfade prone. A good poly synthetic will have acceptable acoustic properties while having a better, longer lasting finish.
I think Spaz needs to answer a few questions, starting with what he wants to make.....Reflector/diffusors? Absorbers or some kind of single frequency resonator? Is his room Too live? Boomy? Shrill/glassy?
When I start down this path, I've already found a source for 2" OC703 and a selection of fabric covering and a Very open white scrim to prevent fiberglass bleed thru. I would like to find an upholsterer to do the finish work and make a complimentary drape set. WAF, you know! I won't even buy a nail until I know what I want to make, how many and how to keep it neat. |
Do a search here on agon for "superchunks" and you'll find all kinds of information, suggestions, & resources. |
What if I open up the holes wider..maybe to a inch or two..I need something to keep the aurelex in place,that's why I'm using the pegboard.I thought it would look alot nicer with the aurelex on top then some ugly burlap on top.Plus the aurelex has some acoustic properties.. |
