Auralex Sonosuede Room Acoustics System

[admin]

Many people think that the secret to a great home theater is great gear. And when you ask them what that gear consists of, it will usually be a display, speakers, components, and cables. But the ingredient that can often make or break a home theater is the room itself. My room is an excellent case in point, which is why I chose to bring in the good folks at Auralex.

Discuss "Auralex Sonosuede Room Acoustics System" here. Read the article.

 

[Coheednme13]

Cats

Great review J, it seems like it is pretty easy to hang all the treatments. So is the bass response just less boomy or is it more accurate and linear? I would really like to have a kit like that but I think that my cats might DESTROY it!! J/K it's Matt from Elgin SC and my cats are still scared every time I mention your name. Well I'm glad that the kits worked for you. This is personal question and you don't have to answer it if you don't want, but did you buy the kits or did they give it to you to review and then to return?

 

[j_garcia]

When I picked up my MoPads I noticed they had some info about this stuff too. I've been thinking about doing some panels for my room now that it is painted. Looks like a great product.

 

[MDS]

Sorry to hijack but how tall are the MoPads? The Auralex site gives their width as 4 inches and length as 12 inches but no indication of how tall they are. I'm trying to find out if those and a speaker on top of them will fit in the space I have for my center channel.

 

[j_garcia]

I can measure them tonight, but they are roughly 1-1/2" to 2" tall at their highest point. They probably don't give the dimension because of the taper. Though it is only 4 degrees, it gives a pretty good angle and it gave me pretty much exactly what I was after; dialouge is MUCH clearer. Note too that the set includes some "offset" pieces that you can use instead that are maybe 1/2" thick at their tallest. These are the pieces that fill the void if you want to make the pads level or flip over to create an 8 degree slope. It is hard to tell from their pics. I am very pleased with these things though.

 

[Audioholics]

Did you buy the kits or did they give it to you to review and then to return?

Typically what happens is that we get a product to review, we review it and then send it back. 99% of the stuff goes back (Honestly, we don't have "weekly AV garage sale" in our business plan... lol.)

If, on occasion, we fall in love with a product and really like it we are usually able to buy it at accommodation pricing. That's what we did here. J, however, didn't pay a dime - we gave it to him and picked up the accommodation tab ourselves. J's a good guy and that's how we roll.

 

[Coheednme13]

Thanks for clearing that up Clint. I need to roll with you guys then. J/K. I am really glad to see that you can get acoustical treatments with this level of performance for that price. It makes having a devoted theatre room seem that much more attainable. Thanks for the great reviews guys. Without Audioholics the world would be a darker place.


Huh, I sound like a girl

 

[j_garcia]

Sorry MDS, was really busy last night. I have time tonight so I will get those measurements.

 

[jaseman]

I don't doubt that room treatments help with the sound... to a certain degree... but the cost is nearly as much as some top quality speakers, etc, etc.

I find it really hard to justify the cost for what amounts to some foam rubber glued to the walls.

 

[avaserfi]

I don't doubt that room treatments help with the sound... to a certain degree... but the cost is nearly as much as some top quality speakers, etc, etc.

I find it really hard to justify the cost for what amounts to some foam rubber glued to the walls.

Do a little reading on room acoustics. Speakers and the room they are in probably make up 90-95 percent of all the sound quality you will hear. That is worth the cost. You can have the best speakers in the world but you put them in a room too small and they will sound like crap.

 

[j_garcia]

Or in a highly active or poorly shaped room that you don't have control over (L-shape, etc..). Room is the last thing most people consider yet it is a big part of the way your system sounds in the end.

 

[Audioholics]

You can always do this stuff yourself - but remember you can build a subwoofer or an amplifier as well...

 

[j_garcia]

Yeah, a friend of mine bought some panels and looking at their construction, they appear to be rather simple.

MDS - the full one is 1.75" tall at its highest and the smaller one is .875".

 

[MDS]

Thanks J. I will have 12" (high) space for the center channel and was thinking of using the MoPads to angle the center down toward the listening position. If I end up going with the SVS MTS-01 it will be a tight fit as that center is 10" tall but it would still work.

My current JBL center will fit no problem because it is tiny in comparison.

 

[89 VT HOKIES]

I was very suspicious of room treatments until I spent the money on 12 2' x 4' 2 inches thick treatments and placed them at the first reflection points as well as the 2nd and it made a huge difference in sound quality. I then used my Denon 5805ci's auto set up and as Emeril would say "BAM". Huge difference.

 

[pearsall001]

I don't doubt that room treatments help with the sound... to a certain degree... but the cost is nearly as much as some top quality speakers, etc, etc.

I find it really hard to justify the cost for what amounts to some foam rubber glued to the walls.

Room treatments are the best way to spend your money. Speakers & electronics are simply prisoners in their surrounding room. Unless your room is properly treated, you have no clue as to how good your present rig can sound. Start doing some research. I find it comical that folks will drop thousands on gear & speakers & never bother to factor in the room as the biggest contributer to sound quality.

 

[Warpdrv]

Nice review on the Aurelex stuff...

I bought the Sonosuede Panels, and the are great. They deffinately helped with my room acoustics and I as well as all of my friends think they look spectacular.
I also got fantastically built products ATS Acoustics. They are also beautiful looking and helped in my very live room. I know I need more room treatment but it has made a huge difference for me.

I also love the look of the Ready Acoustics stuff, Chameleon Acoustic Frames are a fantasic idea, and look great. With all the WAF problems around, its nice to see some companies stepping up to the plate to offer great ideas.

Thought you'd like a pic...