Low Cost Accoustic Diffusor and Treatments


I just finished setting up my listening room in a home we moved into a couple of months ago. And in the process a local audio installer noticed that my wife had a wooden type drawer and mentioned these work perfectly as diffusors.

You can find these online for $30 per, as compared to $600 per for similar looking panels custom built for the purpose.

I ordered a few on ebay, hung 3 on the back wall, and voila, better imaging and sound staging at a small fraction of the cost.

And the best part about it, was my wife, (a graphic designer) hung them for me she thought it was such a great idea.

Any other low cost, and attractive acoustic treatments you've used to tame your listening room?
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I use acoustic panels manufactured by a company called Prime acoustic. They make panels, sound baffles, diffusers and many other products all related to acoustic treatment whether it be a theatre, public meeting rooms, restaurants etc etc. My listening room has had its challenges one being the hard concrete plaster wall that is behind my speakers. Having eliminating my audio equipment between the speakers I thought I would have the perfect set up. But much to my chagrin, although imaging was improved I got an almost harsh echo kind of sound. In simpler terms, an overabundance of reflection. To make along story short I purchased qty 4 - 12" x 48" acoustic Broadway Panels. I placed them between my speakers on the wall which is a space of about 6' to 7' with about 6" between the panels. Initially I placed them even closer together but found that the sound had a very closed in sound proof room feel with no reflection at all but eventually moved them to the spacing that I just mentioned to achieve the results that suited me.

Here is the LINK www.primacoustic.com. Hope this helps. I highly recommend them!!!!
I can only comment from my years of trial and error. But here are some ideas in no particular order:
* DIY is always less expensive (save for your time) and allows you to engineer it just right for your room and it's unique constraints.
* polyfusers (hemi cylindrical) stained in a rich color can look like architectural columns and will diffuse mods and high frequencies while absorbing low frequencies. These can e made by bending thin plywood or as I did (see my system for pics) use a Sonotube and cut it in half lengthwise to create a 180 degree arc, sand off the wax and then glue on a wooden veneer and stain.
* of course other geometrical shapes work too
* put wooden boards on piano hinges attached to a wall that allow you to open or close them to any angle so as to reflect reflections up and away or out to the side walls (see my system pic again).
* my artistic oriented friends think a Skyline diffuser looks like a really cool art project yet diffuses in two dimensions.

I can send you instructions on any of these DIY projects if you want. Hope this gets the creative juices flowing . . .
I use wood and metal Wind Chimes they work very well with other acoustic diffusor treatment. Click on my system link.
I like chimes, too. I also like those little Feng Shui fountains and Feng Shui one inch diameter clear crystal ball suspended from the ceiling by its red string.
Nice Geoffkait. Do tell us whether those Feng Shui fountains and crystal balls suspended by red string are absorbers or diffusors....