Enter to Win: A7-700 Subwoofer from Elemental Designs!

[septim]

No I don't use room treatments, the reason is because I'm dubious of their effects, the high prices, and the aesthetics.

 

[pwnd]

I currently have 10 DIY absorbers around the room made out of 4" Rock Wool and 1"x2"s. It makes a world of difference in my hard walled concrete basement. Not perfect but a big improvement. Easy to make and inexpensive compared to commercial treatment. I also have thick rugs on may hardwood floor and heavy room darkening curtains.

I would like to see much thinner materials with similar acoustic properties as the current 4" alternative because my absorbers stick out 5 1/2" from the wall. It would also be nice to have affordable scenic prints for fabric coverings. I found some but they were uber expensive (approx. $100 a piece) and extremely cost prohibitive.

As far as additional improvements go, I could certainly use some ceiling treatment but my current DIY design would hang too low. I guess some diffusers in the back of the room would be nice also.

Great idea for a contest. I currently own one of eD's new A7-450's and it shakes the house really well. Good luck to all!!!

 

[sjuhlin]

I currently don't use room treatments.

I have movie posters up in home theater room. I would want the option to have large movie poster (or possibly art) on the treatment panels.

 

[bigspur1984]

I just found out about acoustic treatments within the last year, so I do not currently have any. I am looking for a good bass trap that would be easy to install in the corners and along the top of the ceiling.

 

[hyfynut]

Acoustic Treatments ,mandatory in narrow rooms,optional in wide/large rooms

You cannot achieve accurate or even enjoyable sound from music ( at loud volume ) without room treatments in narrow rooms with low ceilings ( under 8'). I'd say less than 12' wide.The depth of the room is meaningful in the overall equation but it's those first reflections from the side walls that give the sound a searing, aggressive, hard, and dry quality. Especially punishing in two channel at loud volume. Once you move the speakers to a room that has side walls that are further apart,and if your lucky a taller ceiling , or add enough quality acoustic treatment to quell those first reflections the sound "opens up" and gets sweeter and more enjoyable and open. With rooms that have a greater distance between the walls that flank the speakers the first reflection is much less objectionable due to the timing differences. I use 1" Owens Corning from Ready Acoustics. I should have used 2" for the side walls but I was trying to save money and space in my narrow (11'3") Listening room/Theater. Now I will have to retool the absorbers on the side walls to increase there thickness to 2". Oh well you don't really know if your money saving ideas will work unless you try. I am currently using Auralex Metrofussers( 3 ) for the back wall. These will be replaced by a full wall cover of my own design to accomplish broader and more attractive diffusion. I also have 8" of the O.C.703 in the front corners for bass trap duties. Pretty successful there though I'll be increasing the thickness a few more inches to clean up the bass a little lower down the frequency scale and to increase the overall absorption. BTW Ready Acoustics ROCKS!! Since I am doing this all myself I am only limited to my own imagination as far as construction and overall appearance goes. I guess my only request would be for an affordable acoustical faux suede in dark colors and a selection asian themed fabrics with subtle kanji prints in the widths we need to build our own Large panels.

 

[Exterous]

I do not use any acoustic treatments as of yet. At present they would not fit in with our decor in the family room which means the Wife Acceptance Factor is low. However I do plan on using them when I finish the basement. To be honest I am not sure what I am looking for as I don't know a lot about them (since it will be at least 1 year before we start on the basement I haven't really started researching them)

 

[jmilton7043]

Contest

Yes, I have DIY panels made from acoustic foam I bought on E-bay and have a large tapestry behind my seating position.

 

[HT_pro]

I don't currently have any treatments as I move too often in my life right now.

If I were to get something I'd like it to be of the DIY category. Maybe something like the kits that Parts Express has for subwoofers. That would be nice.

 

[tomd51]

My treaments, suggestions for others with and without....

I’m fortunate enough to have a dedicated room for my home theater setup. I have mulitple DIY acoustic panels on the back wall behind my subwoofer and front soundstage, covering approximately 2/3s of the wall. In addition to this, I have a couple of DIY acoustic panels on the left wall facing the front while the right front side is partially open to the other half of a finished basement.

Some options I would like to be able to incorporate would be bass traps for the corners of my room, however all of the non-DIY available options are priced out of my reach at this point in time. I'd also like to see someone offer an acoustic treatment panel that can be swapped out for existing drop ceiling panels (2x2 and 2x4). Most of the 2x2 or 2x4 panels on the market at this time are far to sizable and heavy to use in this scenario.

I can honestly say the treatments I’m using provide a substantially positive impact on the acoustics of the room. While the listening area wasn’t terribly harsh to begin with, the accuracy and placement of instruments for musical listening was noticably improved as well as the accuracy of dialogue for movies, even with lower listening levels or quiet dialogue.

For those that question the validity of acoustic treatments, I strongly urge you to try and incorporate acoustic panels or at the very least, simple room treatments that can soften the room with a tapestry or two. Even the introduction of decent carpeting and plush furniture can help with secondary reflection points to help “clean up” the soundstage on the whole.

These last few suggestions are good options for those that aren’t able to incorporate dedicated acoustic treatments due to room size, aesthetics, WAF, etc. Any objects in the path of the listening area as well as the room construction and design can significantly impact the sonic signature. If you’re fortunate enough to have a room that provides very little in the way of secondary reflections, consider yourself lucky as you’re likely in the minority. If you’re not sure, try some of these suggestions to see if it helps. Remember, just because it works for someone else, it doesn’t mean it will necessarily work for you, so experiment and see what works best for you... -TD

 

[strube]

I don't currently use room treatments, but it is only due to my current living situation. As soon as I own my own house I will probably be making my own to compliment a dedicated HT. My biggest problem with most of the treatments available on the market is that they cost too much compared to the actual cost of material used, hence the desire to go DIY.

 

[tomd51]

If I didn't want/couldn't build my own, I would serious consider GIK Acoustics for some of their 242 panels. Considering the cost of materials, time and effort and that you can get the 242s for $55/ea., these are an excellent option... -TD

 

[cypherus]

Contest Question: Do you currently use acoustic room treatments in your home theater? If yes, what do you use and what would you like to see improved over you current acoustic treatments? If no, is there something in particular that you are looking for in a product that would make you choose to move forward with acoustic room treatments?

I do NOT currently use acoustic room treatments in my home theater. I'm looking for a stack of cash to fall from the sky! I would definitely set my home theater up properly if I had the money to do it, unfortunately I do not. I did check out some panels on GIK after reading other what other users had to say in the forum and would be interested in using them.

 

[upyourkilt]

subwoofer contest

No I don't have acoustic treatments at this time. I plan on purchasing wall art from auralex to keep the wife happy. I don't have a dedicated theatre room so esthetically, complete room treatment would not be pratical. Also the pricing of treatments can be quite costly. I am looking into DIY treatments.

 

[Soundbroker]

I used 2" Linacoustic attached to the walls between furring strips up to the listening height along the sides and back of the room. On the sides in the first reflective points, we have strips of them attached to the ceiling at intervals to break up the reflection. Acoustic fabric is stretched over the entire wall with millwork to create dimension. Behind the screen wall, there is Linacoustic over the entire wall. Ceiling has a layer of acoustic board. There are 8" thick bass traps in each corner. On the rear wall, I am planning on some diffusors.

 

[tlmaclennan]

At the time I do not have any room treatments, though I want to in the future. At the time I have a very basic setup and I fon't feel like I would use room treatments unless I had a dedicate home theater room. When I do get one though, I plan to have bass traps in all the corners, double up the drywall with Green Glue in the middle, possibly a room in a room to isolate the sound, and Linacoustic behind the screen. Definitley on my wish list is a star ceiling with foam underneath at the reflection points. Also foam at the reflection points on the side walls covered with fabric.

 

[RainWind]

I don't currently use any sort of room/wall treatment.

I would consider it if they were less noticable. The problem I've found when looking into it in the past is that it doesn't really work well with a living room. I can't convince my wife to let me do it to the living room. I'd be interested in it if I could find a wife friendly option.

 

[ctwed]

I currently do not use acoustic treatments. I am in the process of moving, slowed down by the general housing market, and will not consider the subject until I am resettled in the new place. At that point situational realities will be considered r.e acoustic treatments.

 

[imnotkevin]

Contest Question: Do you currently use acoustic room treatments in your home theater? If yes, what do you use and what would you like to see improved over you current acoustic treatments? If no, is there something in particular that you are looking for in a product that would make you choose to move forward with acoustic room treatments?

I made room treatments from Rockwool, 703, and material. I also have some cheap knockoff foam bass traps for the corner. I wish current pre-made acoustic treatments were cheaper as they seem overly pricey for a "foam" product....

 

[NicolasKL]

I use acoustic treatments, if you count an area rug on my hardwood floors. Actually I'm just waiting until I move to a house that's more permanent with a dedicated theater room (rather than just a living room) and I'll probably drop 1000-1500 or treatments if need be, haven't really done the research yet.

Did i win?

 

[Driver_King]

Currently, I do not have acoustic treatments in my room. I would like to find something appealing to look at (like acoustic art for example).