[Carlman]

I have a choice to make... I have a small sound room, 11x13 and I sit at the back of the long end.  It's not bad acoustically but it's not 'good' either.  I'm doing a few things to improve it and the most recent approval was to do a dead-end wall.  The front wall is bay windows.  I'll be getting some kind of thick curtains over the blinds for that soon... but I've got a big wall behind my head I could treat with:

- A solid wall of 4" foam (does it matter if it's wedges?) attached to panels that could be mounted to the wall. (cannot affix directly to walls)  I don't know what I'd use as a backing board that isn't resonant and also hang-able... and is of course, inexpensive.

- Black burlap covering frames with fiberglass inside

- Something else? Suggestions?

I have room for a couple of bass traps also.. but I haven't learned enough about bass traps to implement them properly.  I'd like to make them myself to learn more but that may be for later... we'll see.

My goal with this is to get the room more quiet.... absorb more sound.  I like being immersed in the music with a great sound stage.

I'm installing french doors so the room can be completely closed from the house.. it'll have some curtains on the inside as well... and I'll be mounting curtains just like what's on the french doors on the opposite wall (that has no doors) to have symmetry.

Anyway, any thoughts are appreciated... I'm demo'ing some TacT gear and I will be a TacT owner before too long so, the room correction software will certainly help but I'd like to do what I can to get it even better... and fix what even the TacT can't...

Thanks,
Carl

[zybar]

Carl,

I can't suggest strong enough contacting Ethan at Realtraps and working with him.

I have his products and not only can I hear that they work, but you can measure it with the TacT preamp.

Skip the foam.

George

[woodsyi]

Carlman,

Did you flip your layout since February photo?

[Carlman]

Yes, it's flipped now... the stereo rack is in the bay window and the couch is against the wall.  I need to draw a new room layout diagram and a future one.

I have a hump in the 800-1.2KHz range that I thought the foam would help with... and just make the room quieter in general.  However I have a huge hump in the 39Hz range.... and the TacT really helps (cures?) both of these ranges.  

I may give Ethan a call... I just don't have a ton of money after some other commited expenditures.  

My biggest annoyances are the sounds coming in from the rest of the house... which I hope to fix with the doors.  I'm not sure which way they should swing yet.. into or out of the room... I'm thinking into...

-C

[woodsyi]

Carlman,

So you are talking about room modes and not so much reflections and diffractions, etc.  I second George's recommendation to call Ethan.  Foam would work with 1k Hz but I would think behind the speaker would be more effective than behind your ears.  Then there is that space behind your wall.  I keep thinking there is something you can do with that hollow space to build bass trap if redo the wall with something else.....

[ScottMayo]

I have a small sound room, 11x13 and I sit at the back of the long end. but I've got a big wall behind my head I could treat with:

- A solid wall of 4" foam ...Black burlap covering frames with fiberglass inside...- Something else? Suggestions?

I have room for a couple of bass traps also.. but I haven't learned enough about bass traps to implement them properly. I'd like to make them myself to learn more but that may be for later... we'll see.

I'm installing french doors so the room can be completely closed from the house.. it'll have some curtains on the inside as well... and I'll be mounting curtains just like what's on the french doors on the opposite wall (that has no doors) to have symmetry.

Fixing room acoustics is better than electronic correction. That said, doing both is great. And your room dimensions aren't too bad. If you have a standard 8' ceiling, you've got a hump in the upper bass and a few lumps lower down. You will want to look into bass trapping first and foremost, unless you're really lucky and your furniture is already doing what you need.

Having built bass traps by hand, I recommend you buy some, unless you're handy and really, really like the feel of fiberglass. Either way, that's where you start. A floor to ceiling 1' tube in the corners will help. Making big flat traps with a 2" layer of OC 703, an an air space behind that, put up against the wall in back, near the corners, will help. Buying stuff from Ethan will help.

After you get the bass hump tamed a little, go after imaging: smaller flat traps with an 1" of OC 703 and some air space on the first reflection points (side walls, front wall if you can, and rear wall) make a significant difference. Building them isn't too bad, but buying is a whole lot more convenient.

Your bay window is going to be a nightmare. Windows allow extraneous sound in, allow sound to leak out, and resonate at low frequencies. And reflections off of glass always sound harsh to me, somehow more objectionable than a reflection off of plaster. Use *thick* curtains, the thicker the better. If it's feasible, get a 2" sheet of OC 703, wrap it in burlap so it's easy to handle, and tuck them in the window wells behind the curtains, for serious listening. It's a cheap solution to an annoying problem. Inelegant, but effective.

French doors are gorgeous, but sound goes straight through them, and over time, the panes rattle. If that's going to a problem, consider solid wooden doors. On the other hand, experiment with leaving the door open when you play music - yes, it amounts to an asymmetric vent for the room, but sometimes that helps.

Foam is next to useless. I've played with it and unless you use it by the truckload, it's pointless.

Whereas OC 703 makes a real and dramatic difference. Don't be shy about using it. Start here: http://www.spi-co.com/ and use the phone number to find a distributor in your area. Mansfield works as well as Owens Corning, but I found the Owens Corning stuff was easier on the fingers.

[Carlman]

OK.. so bass traps are important... and I'll look into that a bit more.  I know you've been through a ton of this stuff, Scott, so I take your advice seriously.

So you know.. the doorway is completely open to an 18'+ foyer and across the hall, a dining room... with glass and metal table/chairs.  I have created a little divider I  use that really helps imaging and keeps some reflections out of the room.  That divider covers about 70% of the opening... and I'm sure lets in more sound than a pair of doors.  Solid doors are not an option due to aesthetics, resale, happy wife, etc.

So, as I'm sitting on my couch, the right side has either the divider (or nothing) and the left side is an exterior wall.  I face the windows... which I like.  I've thought about covering each blind with strips of dynamat to create a little better dampening.. but that's a lot of work because I'd also have to repaint them all... But I like this idea.... just don't know if it's worth the work.

Back to the traps... I've thought about it.. and I like the idea of Ethan's products but I can't afford it at this time.  Ideally, I'd want the mondo room kit... at only 2300 plus shipping, I'm sure it's awesome.  Even 2 mondo traps would likely help... but at 600 +shipping, that's just not in my budget right now.  So, DIY would be the only way I could do this...

Thanks for the advice...

[PeteG]

Scott,
Thanks for the link, those ceiling panels look nice.
Has anyone ever tried them, I wonder if it would rise the image up.

Pete

[Brian71]

Here are some pics of some panels I'm working on. I was going to go with Ethan's but with a baby on the way, I decided to save some money and go DIY.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brian.corr@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=42f6&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

I've made a couple 1" panels using 3lb density fiberglass (like the OC 703) and the bass trap panels are 4" thick and will use 6lb density fiberglass panels (OC 705).

I only have 1 absolute corner in my room (the others are either doorways or hallways) so it will get a bass trap then I'm going to try the others in the wall to ceiling intersections and then proceed from there.

I'm planning on using some type of Z-clip to attach them to the walls.   Less permanent and it will allow for quick removal if I want to give a demo to someone.

[michaelv]

Carlman,
  I have similar room size as yours. Mine is 12x14.  Let me share with you my experience: forget foam.  I had foam, but i replaced them all with OC 703 2" for 1st reflection point. I will build a spacer to leave 1" from the flat wall to the back of acoustic panel as others suggested . This will increase the absorbtion of low freq. a bit more.

  Then, i also built 2 bass traps (4" thick by doubling 2 of OC 703 2") and i place it in 2 corner behind my back. I must say that the bass is tigher and less boomy.

 I am satisfied, but I will build 2 more bass traps for the two corners behind speakers, and two more acoustic panels placed on the wall behind speaker too.  I may treat the celing, but for now i think it's ok.

I'm not a handy man, so building acoustic panel and bass trap took me nearly two weeks.  I  think i can speed up a bit more next time.

good luck

[PhilNYC]

I have a choice to make... I have a small sound room, 11x13 and I sit at the back of the long end.  It's not bad acoustically but it's not 'good' either.  ...

My listening room also requires sitting at the back of the room (against the back wall).  What worked best for me in this situation was putting up an 8th Nerve Adapt Triangle in the intersection directly above/behind the listening seat.  This had a bigger effect than all of the other room treatments in my room.  

Disclaimer: I'm an 8th Nerve dealer.  But I guess the point is to treat that area to reduce distortion and slap echo, especially if you are seated right under it.  I would guess a RealTrap would suffice there as well...

[Carlman]

Scott Mayo has been helping me at a professional level with this room... He's been excellent to work with so far.. And since I needed to take photos for him, I thought I'd update my gallery here also.  So, click on the Gallery link in my sig if you want to see what's happening in the sound room today.

Shane took back his remaining TacT equipment and cables last night so there's not much gear in the room...

Enjoy!

[Euterpe]

Hi there,

First post ...
I would like to share my experience about acoustic treatment on small room 193" X 139" X 72", for a great improvement, the performance enhancement is incredible.











Regards, @+++