Acoustic Treatment


I'm in need of some acoustic treatment for my room. I've looked at everything from RPG's line, Auralex, Silentsource's stock, ASC, room lenses, etc. and nothing is what I'm looking for (it would be nice if three room lenses would do the job, but I'm a little skeptical). The idea of foaming 60%+ of the room isn't appealing. The RPG studio line is more in the ballpark (I like the looks), but expensive. Does anyone have any experience with DIY diffuser/resonaters similar to the ones on decware's website (similar to the RPG studio line), if not those exact ones? I'm needing a full room treatment, but really don't want to spend thousands, nor do I really want to cover the whole room. But I'll do what I have too to get right sooner or later. I haven't given any specifics on my room, only because I'm moving in three months (which means the wisest thing to do is probably endure 'til then). Nonetheless, I'm guessing that there is still a certain level of universality in acoustic treatment that is applicable in all rooms. The only reason I'm obsessing over this all is that the room is holding back the performance of the system greatly. The loudspeakers and associated electronics are wonderfully engineered and I really feel that there is a whole new layer I'm missing out on. I was getting better soundstaging with the little Thiel's I owned a while back (of course that was the only thing they were doing better). However, my new speakers may not be soundstaging as well simply because thier off-axis output is "higher" and I'm getting a greater intensity of reflected energy. I did cover 70%+ of the room with acoustic fabric several months ago and that made a noticeable improvement, but I believe there is a better solution. Any advice would be appreciated.
ezmeralda114405
ASC 16 inch (or larger) full rounds in the corners behind the speakers, and their 15" x 8" x 5 foot rectangular traps at ALL first reflection points. That's about .05% of the room's volume, if that...not exactly 60%.
I have 8 single-spaced pages on how to build three RPG-type diffusors. I use Styrofoam, which is lighter (by far) than wood or medite, say, and easy to mount, and even looks nice. You need a table waw to make it, though. You could get a millwork place to cut pieces for you, possibly. Glueing together and painting is slowish but easy. Email me if you're seriously interested: nicetom@sonic.net. (You may need bass treatment too: RPG diffusors are for about 300Hz up. Look at F. Alton Everest, "Sound Studio Construction on a Budget". At perforated panel resonators, in particular.
check out the audioasylum.com tweakers asylum for some good recipies on DIY tube traps, wall panels and room lenses. Most of the designs are by John Risch and have gotten favorable reviews. The tube traps and panels were reviewed against decware panels and came out way ahead
Go for the room lens even if you have to fabricate one! its great! it works and its not ugly! I cant believe what this thing did to my system! Soundstage was defininitely more concrete, solid, layering is very very precise, separation of instruments are very clear, midrange is a little bit now forward, decay of instruments is more pronounce, and my bass boominess improved a little (to medium). Overall, super stuff!