Acoustic Room Treatment

JohnR · « **Reply #120 on:** 11 Mar 2003, 08:26 pm »

Cool

Xi-trum, you can upload pics to the Gallery - ? Looks like you already have an album there.

You can then either paste the link of the album into a post, or use the Img button on the posting form. When you view each picture, there is a URL at the bottom that is what you want to paste between the Img and /Img codes. HTH?

MaxCast · « **Reply #121 on:** 11 Mar 2003, 09:59 pm »

To my surprise my wife said the same thing...."why didn't you cover the whole wall?" and I was, like

I guess I should have told her what I was going to do before I ordered....I would have ordered more

jcoat007 · « **Reply #122 on:** 11 Mar 2003, 10:24 pm »

What product did you use from foambymail?

Bwanagreg · « **Reply #123 on:** 11 Mar 2003, 11:04 pm »

I'm definitely coming late to this party...

I bought some Alphamax 8" thick foam:

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/foams/anechoic_wedge.asp

and placed it right next to my bookshelf-mounted monitor speakers (Omega TS-1) . Wow. This stuff really cleans up the imaging and eliminates (as far as I can tell) any problems due to having the speakers on a bookshelf (they are front-ported so that helps). I also heavily damped the rear plywood panel of the bookcase using a sandwich of stuff designed to dampen car door panels and fiberglass panels. That prevents the plywood from singing along with the tunes.

One fine point that made a big difference: I placed the wedge foam to have a vertical orientation, so the speaker "sees" the blades at a right angle. Here is a cheesy picture.

O ||| ||| O
L spkr - foam foam - R spkr

The setup is a little more complicated, but you get the idea. Compared to the other way (a horizontal orientation), the imaging is way better. I've also angled the foam to face the closest speaker a bit and extend an inch or so beyond the front of the speaker. That also helps a lot.

I didn't need a lot of this foam to make a big improvement. The fact that the foam is very thick (it absorbs eveything that hits it) and very close to the speaker seems to make the speaker "think" it is in a much larger space, with no reflections coming from the wall in the middle. And, it actually looks pretty cool (although I have a very tolerent spousal unit...)

Next up, side wall and ceiling treatment.

Does anyone else have a sound system in a low ceiling (7 foot) room? I think that is causing some nasties but I can't be sure.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #124 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 02:49 am »

Here're some pics showing the room with the foam treatment:

Front view

Front left

Front right

Marbles · « **Reply #125 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 02:56 am »

WOW!! Very cool and much better looking than I had imagined!

Why the nOrh speaker in the middle? Do you have a screen that comes down for HT? A Trinaural maybe?

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #126 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 03:00 am »

Quote from: jcoat007

What product did you use from foambymail?

I got the 2" wall tiles. The colors are burgundy and purple.

http://www.foambymail.com/WallTile.html

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #127 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 03:02 am »

Quote from: MaxCast

To my surprise my wife said the same thing...."why didn't you cover the whole wall?" and I was, like I guess I should have told her what I was going to do before I ordered....I would have ordered more

Hehehe... I kicked myself when I heard that from my wife.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #128 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 03:11 am »

Quote from: Marbles

Why the nOrh speaker in the middle? Do you have a screen that comes down for HT? A Trinaural maybe?

Well, that nOrh 9.0 used to have another pair of 9.0 as companions. The others got kicked out by the rm40.

I've been planning a HT setup. It hasn't gotten anywhere though. But at this time, the 9.0 is a shoe-in for center duty. I'll get the ball rolling on the HT setup as soon as I decide on a TV. Since the wife is giving me just one chance to get a TV, I've gotten a serious case of "paralysis by analysis" trying to decide on one.

mgalusha · « **Reply #129 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 04:23 am »

Very very nice! My foambymail order showed up yesterday and today and isn't nearly as nice looking. All my foam is dark charcoal, not exactly stylish but OK since it's going to be mounted around the screen in my theater.

Again, great job!

Mike

nathanm · « **Reply #130 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 06:06 am »

Wow, that looks really fantastic! Not bad for a Smurf!

Dan Banquer · « **Reply #131 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 01:37 pm »

Nice job Xi- Trum. If I may I would like to make a couple of suggestions. I noticed from your photo's that the corners where the wall behind your speakers meets the side wall have been pretty much left open. Sound has this marvelous way of gathering in corners and bouncing. I would like to suggest that the next time resources and time allow, cover the corners with the acoustic foam that you are using on the back wall.

JoshK · « **Reply #132 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 03:05 pm »

Xi-Trum,

Thanks for the pics....that is precisely what I needed to talk my wife into letting me go crazy with foam. My listening room is the main living room as I am a city dweller (no space) and she isn't so keen on tons of ungodly stuff in her nicely decorated living room. I can tell her that she can pick the colors.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #133 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 03:35 pm »

Quote from: Dan Banquer

I noticed from your photo's that the corners where the wall behind your speakers meets the side wall have been pretty much left open. Sound has this marvelous way of gathering in corners and bouncing. I would like to suggest that the next time resources and time allow, cover the corners with the acoustic foam that you are using on the back wall.

Absolutely. I realize that the corners are still problematic. And I'm still scheming how to best deal with them. I'll give an update once I figure it out.

Quote from: JoshK

I can tell her that she can pick the colors.

Well, that's a good strategy.

Jay S · « **Reply #134 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 03:41 pm »

Dan,

Thanks too for the tip - I didn't realize that corners could be so problematic. I've covered the corners where 2 walls meet the ceiling, but not where the 2 walls meet, or the junction of wall & ceiling above my speakers. I wish I could find some white acoustic foam that has been cut to fit diagonally across the intersection of 2 walls!

nathanm · « **Reply #135 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 03:55 pm »

There's this stuff that goes along ceiling\wall intersections:
Versa Tile Unfortunately, no white. Beige is as close as you'll get.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #136 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 03:57 pm »

Jay, are these what you're looking for?

http://www.foambymail.com/CornerSolutions.html

Jay S · « **Reply #137 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 04:16 pm »

Nathan and Dan,

Thanks for your help! I'm looking through these sites now. I'd like to find something to fit in the corner that would only stick out a max of 4" (for aesthetic/WAF not sonic reasons). Beige actually works out well as my Echobuster panels are beige too!

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #138 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 05:01 pm »

Jay, foambymail has the 4"x4"x24" blocks. They would be perfect for your requirements. Plus, they come in 12 colors and beige is one of them.

JohnR · « **Reply #139 on:** 12 Mar 2003, 07:00 pm »

Now, what about treatment for the bass area? Has anyone tried bass traps?

Here's a link for constructing bass traps. Scroll down to the "super qucik and dirty" version..!

http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/a2.htm

JohnR