first time room acoustics

[hardcore_gamer99]

ok i have dali opticon 2 mk2 front pair. I am buying absorption panel for first time. My question is rockwool density 40kg/m3 is enough for 5 inches thick panel and 20x40 feet length and width. will it absorb low end peaks nulls?

 

[Eppie]

ok i have dali opticon 2 mk2 front pair. I am buying absorption panel for first time. My question is rockwool density 40kg/m3 is enough for 5 inches thick panel and 20x40 feet length and width. will it absorb low end peaks nulls?

If buying panels, they should have specifications stating what they are designed to absorb. If building your own, did you mean 20x40 inches? "Low end" is a rather general term. Panels are usually designed to absorb mids and highs. You typically need 4 or 5 inches of material to also absorb some of the lower end but panels do not make good bass traps. It takes a different kind of material to absorb the really low frequencies because of the amount of energy that needs to be absorbed. If you have peaks and nulls from your subwoofer, panels will likely make little difference and you need to play with subwoofer placement and phase instead. If you are running one subwoofer, a second identical subwoofer can help even the response throughout the room but you need to take the room dimensions into account. A square room, for example, will have an uneven response and no amount of panels will fix that.

 

[hardcore_gamer99]

If buying panels, they should have specifications stating what they are designed to absorb. If building your own, did you mean 20x40 inches? "Low end" is a rather general term. Panels are usually designed to absorb mids and highs. You typically need 4 or 5 inches of material to also absorb some of the lower end but panels do not make good bass traps. It takes a different kind of material to absorb the really low frequencies because of the amount of energy that needs to be absorbed. If you have peaks and nulls from your subwoofer, panels will likely make little difference and you need to play with subwoofer placement and phase instead. If you are running one subwoofer, a second identical subwoofer can help even the response throughout the room but you need to take the room dimensions into account. A square room, for example, will have an uneven response and no amount of panels will fix that.

i will be setting subwoofer crossover at 80later. So for speakers 80hz to 500hz 5 inch thick and 2 feetx4feet panel on front wall enough? It may have rockwool 4 inches thick i guess

 

[Eppie]

How did you determine that panels are needed? Do you have a measurement microphone and REW software to show that there is an issue? Does the room have a lot of hard surfaces? The typical room with carpeting and furniture can absorb enough energy without panels.

Having speakers close to the back wall can add more bass due to boundary reinforcement. Sometimes speakers are designed to take that into account. If the mid bass is boomy and you can not move the speakers out into the room then panels may help but if you are considering panels then you should have specific issues that you are trying to address.

 

[hardcore_gamer99]

How did you determine that panels are needed? Do you have a measurement microphone and REW software to show that there is an issue? Does the room have a lot of hard surfaces? The typical room with carpeting and furniture can absorb enough energy without panels.

Having speakers close to the back wall can add more bass due to boundary reinforcement. Sometimes speakers are designed to take that into account. If the mid bass is boomy and you can not move the speakers out into the room then panels may help but if you are considering panels then you should have specific issues that you are trying to address.

i have dirac live with art. Yes i have umik1 with rew. All surfaces are hard walls. also room is square 13x11 that the issue

 

[Eppie]

i have dirac live with art. Yes i have umik1 with rew. All surfaces are hard walls. also room is square 13x11 that the issue

I just wanted to caution against placing panels higglety pigglety. Some people see photos and think automatically that they need panels without understanding room acoustics. You can do a simply clap test to see what the sound decay is roughly like. If you get a lot of echo that can indicate that the room is too "lively" and panels may help. If you are dealing with bass issues in a fairly square room that can be more of a challenge to deal with. The measurement mic can help show what frequencies you need to deal with. Subwoofer placement is always the first place to start though.

 

[hardcore_gamer99]

I just wanted to caution against placing panels higglety pigglety. Some people see photos and think automatically that they need panels without understanding room acoustics. You can do a simply clap test to see what the sound decay is roughly like. If you get a lot of echo that can indicate that the room is too "lively" and panels may help. If you are dealing with bass issues in a fairly square room that can be more of a challenge to deal with. The measurement mic can help show what frequencies you need to deal with. Subwoofer placement is always the first place to start though.

do u Find his good? for 80hz

 

[Eppie]

My understanding is that fibreglass panels will absorb upper mid bass but are not as effective below 100Hz unless they are 4 or 5 inches thick. Commercial bass traps for below 100Hz frequencies use different materials like rubber membranes which are better at absorbing energy at very low frequencies, which is why they are expensive to purchase. For cheaper DIY solutions, a common material appears to be Owens Corning 703 which comes in 2" bats and can be doubled up to 4". For Rockwool their Safe and Sound product is designed for sound absorption. R13 denim insulation can be a lower cost alternative. Bass traps are usually placed in the corners of the room from floor to ceiling and you can use either a triangular panel or a rectangular one (with the corner empty). It is not so much the shape that is important but the amount of absorbing material. Some websites say that 4" of fibreglass can absorb down to 50 - 100Hz.

 

[rajsingh]

40kg/m³ Rockwool at 5" thick is a solid starting point for broadband absorption and will definitely help with midbass and some lower-frequency control. Just keep expectations realistic — it won’t fully eliminate deep bass nulls/peaks on its own, especially in a larger room, because those are heavily tied to speaker/listening position and room dimensions. If possible, leave an air gap behind the panels; that helps low-frequency absorption more than increasing density alone.

 

[highfigh]

ok i have dali opticon 2 mk2 front pair. I am buying absorption panel for first time. My question is rockwool density 40kg/m3 is enough for 5 inches thick panel and 20x40 feet length and width. will it absorb low end peaks nulls?

Acoustic panels shouldn't be chosen without knowing the in-room response. 5" is a lot of thickness without knowing- 1" can do a lot, especially if there's some space between the back and the wall.

You're not working with an interrogation room, this is for music, which needs reflection, absorption and diffusion, each in a moderate amount.

 

[hardcore_gamer99]

40kg/m³ Rockwool at 5" thick is a solid starting point for broadband absorption and will definitely help with midbass and some lower-frequency control. Just keep expectations realistic — it won’t fully eliminate deep bass nulls/peaks on its own, especially in a larger room, because those are heavily tied to speaker/listening position and room dimensions. If possible, leave an air gap behind the panels; that helps low-frequency absorption more than increasing density alone.

room is only 13x11 feet and i sit only 36 inches from rear so bought 6 inches thick rockwool with 1.5 inch inbuilt gap

 

[hardcore_gamer99]

Acuostic panels shouldn't be chosen without knowing the in-room response. 5" is a lot of thickness without knowing- 1" can do a lot, especially if there's some space between the back and the wall.

You're not working with an interrogation room, this is for music, which needs reflection, absorption and diffusion, each in a moderate amount.

i sit only 36 inches from rear and room is only 13x11feet so friend suggested this

 

[highfigh]

i sit only 36 inches from rear and room is only 13x11feet so friend suggested this

As I posted, 5" is too thick, but some spots can use more than others. Have you identified acoustical problems? I would place something at the side walls where the sound reflects first- that alone can help a lot. Do you hear problems with uneven bass response? Put something in the front corners (chairs work well) and if you haven't used RoomEQ Wizard, I would recommend using it, or even an app on a smart phone can help- it lets you see the existing response and changes that occur when you move something to the spots where the sound reflects. A small mirror can be used to find these- have someone move it on the side wall while you sit in the main listening positions and when you can see the speakers from where you sit, place painter's tape on the wall so you'll know where the treatment needs to be placed.