[Chops]

I have never dealt with room treatments before. I know the basic concept of how they work and why you use them for the most part. However, I'm not exactly sure what products do what, but I'm sure a simple Google search can answer those questions.

I'm not sure if I'll do any room treatments in the apartment we're in at the moment. We have a 14 month lease (7 months into it so far) and are planning on hopefully renting a house after this. I'm tired of apartment living, not being able to play my system the way I want, random noise from neighbors on two sides and below us, crappy parking... You get the idea.

When we do move into a house, I plan on taking things to the next level and have my try at room treatments. I have hybrid open baffle speakers, hybrid as the bass section is in a sealed enclosure, but the two mids and tweeter are on the OB. I plan on upgrading the crossover components in them as well as adding some No-Rez to the enclosures, and maybe, possibly upgrading the midrange drivers which would ultimately mean a rework on the crossovers.

Anywho, with that said, we also have 6 (yes, SIX) cats, all of which come complete with their little sharp "fish hooks". I want to be able to do room treatments but know darn well the kitties will see the bass traps and what have you as fun and new scratching posts. Of course, the other option would be getting the mews de-clawed, but that would probably cost more than all the room treatments twice over! 


So my question is, can bass traps be suspended from the ceiling or mounted midway up the walls and still be functional?

They would have to be around 36" above the floor so they are out of reach.

Again, it'll probably be another 7 months or so before I actually do any of this. I just happen to click on "The Acoustics Circle" forum and started reading this morning, hence why I started thinking about it some.

Many thanks in advance. 

[Ethan Winer]

the other option would be getting the mews de-clawed

Please don't do that. It's not only expensive, it's very unfair to the kitties.

can bass traps be suspended from the ceiling or mounted midway up the walls and still be functional?

Yes! Rectangle rooms have 12 corners, not just four where walls meet other walls. So they can go in wall-ceiling corners, and wall-wall corners starting higher up the wall as shown in the photos below. This short article is mainly about home recording, but all the same principles apply to hi-fi and home theater too:

Acoustic Basics

--Ethan

[srb]

Of course, the other option would be getting the mews de-clawed, but that would probably cost more than all the room treatments twice over! 

I know you're just kidding and I don't mean to derail, but you gave me a serious chill.  In case anyone is actually considering it - DONT!

Declawing traditionally involves the amputation of the last bone of each toe. If performed on a human being, it would be like cutting off each finger at the last knuckle.  The after effects can be many and it is discouraged by the Humane Society as they consider it, well, inhumane.

Sorry, back to the discussion on mounting bass traps.

Steve

[Chops]

WRT declawing, my parents did that for years and still do. My father just had it done recently to the last kitty as well, an Egyptian Mau via Laser. Never had any issues, and we've had a bunch of kitties over the years. With that said, we don't ever plan to do that with our cats.


Back on topic...

I know that bass gathers and gets reinforced at both floor and ceiling boundaries, and I've seen many panels mounted midway up the wall and on the ceiling. I just wasn't sure if bass traps were an exception to the rule for mounting them up off the floor a good amount or not.


And one other question...

The one house that we hope to get into (known the owner/landlord for years) is an older house with a crawl space under it. Most likely, it has a wood floor, probably bare, and probably flexes and vibrates a bit. Is that a concern and if so, is it treatable? Obviously, no permanent alterations are possible, unless we really like the house and can possibly rent to own. That would be nice as it's in a nice, quiet part of town. 

[Ethan Winer]

A wood floor on joists in not a problem unless it's so incredibly "loose" that it vibrates and creaks etc. Even then, the problem is noise more than acoustical resonance. So you should be okay.

--Ethan