room treatments

[xboxweasel]

I finally used my Rives Test CD to measure my room. Lets just say it is not very flat.

When making your own absorption panels how high up the wall do you go? All the way to the ceiling? As high as your floorstanding speakers are tall?

I've seen pictures of other DIY projects where the panels are only 3 to 4 feet high.

I guess ideally I should cover ever square inch on the walls, ceiling, and floor.

 

[Sheep]

I finally used my Rives Test CD to measure my room. Lets just say it is not very flat.

When making your own absorption panels how high up the wall do you go? All the way to the ceiling? As high as your floorstanding speakers are tall?

I've seen pictures of other DIY projects where the panels are only 3 to 4 feet high.

I guess ideally I should cover ever square inch on the walls, ceiling, and floor.

Not really. That would turn your listening room into an anechoic chamber. IE, it would sound far to dead.

I would put the middle of the panel at the tweeter hight. If not that, then half way.

I think I will start making my panels soon, I just need somewhere to hang them...

SheepStar

 

[mtrycrafts]

I've seen pictures of other DIY projects where the panels are only 3 to 4 feet high.
.

This is a good guide to strive for. However, if you need panels for the low frequency, you will need something different.
You may want to have someone carry a mirror around the front walls, big enough to see the speaker's reflection from the listening position. Where you can see it, you should consider some absorbers. If you can do the ceiling, there too.

 

[highfihoney]

im sure guys who play guitar & frequent the "guitar center" stores will allready be aware of this but for those who dont know you can buy room tune packs of various sizes,shapes & colors for any size room very cheaply,not audiophile prices.

 

[Sheep]

im sure guys who play guitar & frequent the "guitar center" stores will allready be aware of this but for those who dont know you can buy room tune packs of various sizes,shapes & colors for any size room very cheaply,not audiophile prices.

links links links links!

SheepStar

 

[highfihoney]

links links links links!

SheepStar

here is a link to guitar center but i dont see the room treatments that i bought there listed on their site & for the life of me i cant remember the name of the manufacturer,i will look through my reciepts for the name of the manufacturer & what my total cost was.

im pretty sure i paid under $300 for enough panels to do my entire listening room.

when i find the manufacturer i will post a link.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/

 

[Buckle-meister]

I finally used my Rives Test CD to measure my room. Lets just say it is not very flat.

No doubt. And if you measure it with something far more accurate, you'll see just how bad it really is.

When making your own absorption panels how high up the wall do you go? All the way to the ceiling? As high as your floorstanding speakers are tall?

Note that I never made my own panels, I bought commercial absorption, but that's neither here nor there. You can broadly split absorptive panels into two types; those for higher frequencies, and those for the lower bass frequencies (aka Bass Traps). In an ideal world you'll have both.

The panels for the high frequencies should be placed at the first reflection points, which are the positions on the walls, floor and ceiling that you'd see a reflection of the speakers from your listening position were the walls mirrors. Panels need only be about 3 or 4 feet high by about 2 feet wide, and should be centred on the horizontal plane of the tweeter. Clearly you can't just lay some panel down on the floor at the floor's first reflection position, so a rug does the job nicely.

As for bass traps, you want to place these straddling the corners of your room as this is where the maximum sound pressure is to be found as well as where the sound bouncing around the room will tend to end up. Bass traps should be as thick as you can possibly make them according to your budget. They need to be thick to have any degree of effectiveness at absorbing such low frequencies (i.e. below around 200Hz).

I guess ideally I should cover ever square inch on the walls, ceiling, and floor.

No, Sheep was spot on when he noted that that would make your room sound far too dead. If you're interested, read this review I wrote about my own absorption. There's also some photos which you might find helpfull. Ethan Winer's website is also a great source of information, though quite a long read!

If you've any specific questions, feel free to either PM me, or for the best response, post in the Room Acoustics, System Layout & Setup forum. Hope this helps.

 

[xboxweasel]

awsome. thanks.

This is great so far. I'll do some more research. One side is going to be pretty easy. Curtains for a 6'x7' windows. That should take care of that entire side. I have carpet already. I think the ceiling will look funny with high frequency absorption material. I might skip that for now. After all, it is still a living/dining room. That leaves one side to treat. I'll most probably buy something if it's not too expensive. I'll look into what Highfihoney mentioned.

 

[wilkenboy]

Worth the time it will take to read:

http://www.realtraps.com/art_vibes.htm

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html


Enjoy!

~Josh

 

[ScottMayo]

This is great so far. I'll do some more research. One side is going to be pretty easy. Curtains for a 6'x7' windows. That should take care of that entire side. I have carpet already. I think the ceiling will look funny with high frequency absorption material. I might skip that for now. After all, it is still a living/dining room. That leaves one side to treat. I'll most probably buy something if it's not too expensive. I'll look into what Highfihoney mentioned.

Curtains don't do a whole lot. THey will help some if you have a problem with way up high frequencies, but you probably don't. Like it or not, treating a room's requency response requires specialized materials.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Curtains don't do a whole lot. .

Especially ordinary home curtains. Maybe theater types would help a bit more, but...

 

[Buckle-meister]

Xboxweasel,

I forgot to include this which comes from this. If you're pursuing DIY treatment, it's a good read.

I'll do some more research.

Don't forget that Audioholics has its own series of articles on acoustics.

One side is going to be pretty easy. Curtains for a 6'x7' windows. That should take care of that entire side.

As has been noted, curtains wont do much for absorption of anything but high frequencies. Drapes would be better, but the degree of absorption is dependant on the likes of degree of folds, material weight and distance from walls. Besides, I gather that drapes are usually quite expensive.

I have carpet already.

Your carpet covering the entire floor will be soaking up a fair bit of high frequency sound.

I'll most probably buy something if it's not too expensive.

Given that your room is carpeted, I'd put all your effort into bass traps, since nothing you have in your room at present is likely making any impact on such low frequencies.