George,
> Can you talk a little bit about the effectiveness of this product vs. the MiniTraps or MondoTraps? <
Sure, thanks, and comparative data is also shown on the
Product Data page at our site.
Unlike all of our other traps which are true broadband absorbers and can serve as a complete solution, SoffitTraps are bass traps only. They're very effective up to around 400 Hz, with most of the absorption centered in the "fullness" range below 200 Hz. Most home settings already have a fair amount of mid/high frequency absorption from carpet and soft couches etc. So in that case SoffitTraps may be all that's needed. But in a live sounding room with hardwood floors and large areas of bare wall and ceiling, you'd probably need at least a few mid/high absorber panels to reduce ambience and avoid obvious echoes. And of course all rooms benefit from mid/high absorption at the first reflection points.
> Also, how do you figure out how many feet of SoffitTraps are needed for a given room? <
As with all bass trapping, the more you add the flatter and tighter the low end becomes. It really is as simple as that. Covering the wall-ceiling junction at the top of the front and rear walls will help a lot, and treating the side walls too will help even more. But even a few traps stood up vertically in the regular wall-wall corners will make a noticeable improvement. One big appeal of using SoffitTraps that way is there's nothing to install. You just stand them up and they'll do their thing.
There's also a drawing showing how to determine the exact lengths needed at the bottom of the
Installing SoffitTraps page.
--Ethan
