[EdRo]

I'm drawing up plans for a skyline diffuser for my H/T back wall. The room is smaller, (only 10' w x 24' d x 7'h) so I've settled on a 2'hx6'w diffuser size. I'm using Lowes rigid 2" thick foam sheeting. I saw on another forum somewhere that someone had taken a picture, cut it up into 2" squares, and put it on the flat facing surfaces of the  skyline. It looked great, with the effect from the skyline making the picture look almost 3-D. I've also read that putting thin hardboard or mdf (1/4"?) on the diffuser faces might improve the reflective performance of a foam skyline. That makes sense to me.  I think putting a picture on 2"x2" hardboard squares (and then gluing the squares to the foam skyline) would be easier than trying to glue picture pieces on just the foam ends. I just can't mix the hardboard pieces up after the picture is cut up and glued to them!!!  Anyone have any thoughts?

[Vapor Audio]

Don't you have enough 'real' work to do? 

I wouldn't use hardboard as a backer, it'll warp heavily over time.  Good ply is probably least likely to warp, but any thin board will somewhat.  But why do you want more 'reflective performance'?  I'd say just use foam as the backer to keep it light, plus it won't bow over time.  Prime the whole thing with Kilz when it's done, then spray on latex paint to match your wall. 

A QRD that size would be just as effective if not more-so, and would be easier to build I think.  Gearslutz has tons and tons of diffuser plans.

[EdRo]

   I have too much "real work" to do, but when the wife gives an order like "We have to finish the H/T room", well, then its ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!!! 
   Allamerica Plywood has this 1/4" hardboard product that's amazing stuff. I was going to try to bend it for speaker walls, but its too rigid. I thought that the thing about diffusers was reflective ability, right? That's why wood works better than foam. The harder the surface, the better it works? No?   

[Vapor Audio]

Well, the foam is closed cell so it's fairly reflective.  But if it weren't, and the flat backer board was doing the reflecting, that wouldn't be a diffuser at all would it? 

[EdRo]

Flat backer board? OH!! The 2"x2"hardboard pieces go on the ends of the diffusers various lengths facing the room. Putting a picture on the backer board, then covering it up with the foam lengths, sure would make the picture hard to see! I guess I didn't explain my idea very well. 

[EdRo]

   I wanted it to end up looking something like this!

     http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attachments/bass-traps-acoustic-panels-foam-etc/269806d1325521945t-rpg-skyline-diffuser-art-panel-idea-104_5436.jpg

This looks killer to me!

[EdRo]

Does anyone think if I added .25" of hardboard to the faces of the 2"x2"squares I'll increase effective reflection of my skyline?

[gregfisk]

Does anyone think if I added .25" of hardboard to the faces of the 2"x2"squares I'll increase effective reflection of my skyline?

I would be interested in what people think as well, I would think a harder surface would reflect better and I like the idea of foam so it's not so heavy. Seems like the best of both worlds to me, but what do I know

[JLM]

Is this the link I printed out years ago that used wooden blocks of varying (quadratic) depths stacked against each other?  Only useful down to roughly 1,500 Hz and a diffuser that size would have been quite heavy.  I was going to paint the blocks in different colors (matching the same color for equal depth blocks).  But foam is more absorptive than reflective so I'm doubtful foam would be effective.

[EdRo]

I've seen several discussions about foam vs. wood skyline diffusors. I also know many commercial foam diffusors are sold. I can only hope that they work; why else would anyone buy them? I hoped that adding .25" thick hardboard to the surfaces of my 2"x 2" foam "blocks" would help reflection, and aid my application of art to the diffusors surface. Nothing like building it to see if it works then, eh? 

[bpape]

As long as it's dense enough to reflect the frequency range that the diffuser is designed to function, the EPS will be fine.