[satfrat]

People tried the Cathedral Sound Room Dampening Panels that are discussed on Ethan's website; this product was even "highly recommended" in Positive Feedback!

Here i thought i had said all I wanted to say in this thread until I read this statement and low n' behold what arrives at my doorstep tonite was a pair of offwhite Cathedral Sound Room Dampening Panels that I had ordered a while back from Decibel Garden and had forgot all about. To be truthful, the only reason I ordered these, other than the fact that they're suppose to affect only frequencies 200hz and below, is the fact that I had 2 small openings on my back wall on each side of my 8th Nerve Adapt Rectangle and these 11" x 16" panels were the only things small enough to fit there. So before hanging them up,I played a tune I always pull out when i want to impress someone with my systems dynamic & spacious soundstage, that being Coplan's "Fanfare of The Common Man" with those killer snare drums. Sure enough, some paintings on the walls vibrated and the rumbling was just that, rumbling. Well I hung these 2 panels3"from the side walls and 6" down from the ceiling, then I played the piece again. Whoo now, I wasn't expecting this!  That rumbling from the snare drum was replaced by the snare drum, clear as a bell, well a bass bell , and the painting even stopped vibrating. First thing I did was start the piece up again and cranked the volume,,,,, same result. I have never heard deep bass this clear in my room ever. All because of 2 panels? I doubt that as I'm sure all my other room treatements played a part but these 2 tuning panels were evidently a missing piece. I've been listening to music all night and it's now 7:30am, I really need to get to bed, but I'm noticing a not so much tighter but definitely a cleaner bass that has tone. These panels have to be the simplest thing out there to make, hell even I could make these things. All they are is 2 pieces of hanging particle board that anyone would use in a toolroom or garage to hang their tools up on hooks, the boards being separated by around 1.5". There is absolutely nothing to these things yet they work so incredibly good. 4 of these panels are recommended but to have 8 of them or 2 for each corner wall, not taking up any space at all and for a little over $700? Why hasn't there been more press on these room treatment panels? 

Cheers,
Robin

[Big Red Machine]

Anything sandwiched between the panels Robin?  Just stand-offs separating them and you suspend them from wire?

[satfrat]

Anything sandwiched between the panels Robin?  Just stand-offs separating them and you suspend them from wire?

Here, a pictures worth a thousand words. These are the early models before cloth covered the pegholed particle boards. Very simple design, 4 boards, say 1.5 wide, with 2 pegholed particle boards, 11" x 16" x .25" glued onto the frame so the total width is 1,75" wide. Now the spacing between the boards are closer than that as the back pegboard isn't flush but inset about .25" but you get the idea. it's just simple pegboard that you'd use in a toolroom with metal hooks for the holes so you can hang your tools up. Incredibly simple, yet very effective. I pan on getting 2 more for the front side walls as I have no room in the front walls were they belong. But to have 2 sets in each corner wall, well that's what's really needed if you have the room.




Cheers,
Robin

[bpape]

If it's what it appears to be, it's a simple Helmholz resonator.  Those can be very effective though they're tuned to a very narrow frequency range - like 1 octave.  If your application happens to need absorbtion at that frequency, they'd be great.

If you want something more broadband in the bottom end but nothing on top, a sealed membrane of plywood over a sealed cavity with 1" 703 inside spaced just off the membrane will be good for 2-3 octaves.  Tuning would depend on the depth of the cavity and the mass of the front membrane.

Bryan

[Ethan Winer]

If it's what it appears to be, it's a simple Helmholz resonator.

I don't think they're Helmholtz, and if you ask the guys who sell them they'll even acknowledge they don't work via absorption or any other principle "known to acousticians." I tested four of those panels in the RealTraps lab room and they had no effect at all at any frequency. Not even a little. I can post the text results here if anyone cares. The only explanation I can imagine for Robin's success is maybe their weight stopped an existing wall vibration? In that case a dollar's worth of putty would do the same. But hey, if someone is happy with them, who am I to object?

--Ethan