Is gypsum board good for acoustics?

[Luisd]

Hello to everyone, i am new at this and i Will apreciate if you guys help me with some questions That i have about acoustics. The thing is that im planning to build a home theater and the dimensión issues are very clear to
me but when it comes to acoustics i feel stuck inside an ugly room.

I have read some articles about acoustics, bass traps, reflectors, absorber etc. But it seems to me like i have to place those things all over the room and i dont think my wife is not going to like that decoration...

Can i use gypsum board to build a bass trap, filled with rigid fiberglass or foam? Can i cover a concrete wall with rigid fiberglass and then cover it with gypsum board to make a home theater room?

Thanks for your upcoming help and pardon my english, is just spanish accent in writing

Luis

 

[highfigh]

Hello to everyone, i am new at this and i Will apreciate if you guys help me with some questions That i have about acoustics. The thing is that im planning to build a home theater and the dimensión issues are very clear to
me but when it comes to acoustics i feel stuck inside an ugly room.

I have read some articles about acoustics, bass traps, reflectors, absorber etc. But it seems to me like i have to place those things all over the room and i dont think my wife is not going to like that decoration...

Can i use gypsum board to build a bass trap, filled with rigid fiberglass or foam? Can i cover a concrete wall with rigid fiberglass and then cover it with gypsum board to make a home theater room?

Thanks for your upcoming help and pardon my english, is just spanish accent in writing

Luis

Drywall is great if you want the sound to bounce around the room. It doesn't absorb much, if anything, that we would want it to, though. Porous materials do a much better job, but the panels don't need to look bad- they can be covered with many kinds of cloth and as long as you can breathe through the cloth, it will pass sound to the panel so it can be absorbed. If you go into a conference room at a hotel, you can bet that it was treated if it has cloth covering the walls. You can make geometric forms, complete walls covered with fabric but only absorptive where that's needed, you can use columns with soft covers in corners to act as bass traps, etc. If you use rigid fiberglass (or Roxul mineral wool panels), you would cover that with fabric, to look good in that room. You can make a wooden frame with a decorative profile, if you want. At least one person here works for a company that makes acoustic treatments, so continue to look for information.

Your English is better than some that use it as their first language.

 

[son-yah-tive]

If you are covering it with foam or wool, it may work well. You must have some laying around, or can get it real cheap. Depending on how you hang it, it can be delicate and BREAK fairly easy. But it is easy to cut and shape.

 

[Luisd]

Drywall is great if you want the sound to bounce around the room. It doesn't absorb much, if anything, that we would want it to, though. Porous materials do a much better job, but the panels don't need to look bad- they can be covered with many kinds of cloth and as long as you can breathe through the cloth, it will pass sound to the panel so it can be absorbed. If you go into a conference room at a hotel, you can bet that it was treated if it has cloth covering the walls. You can make geometric forms, complete walls covered with fabric but only absorptive where that's needed, you can use columns with soft covers in corners to act as bass traps, etc. If you use rigid fiberglass (or Roxul mineral wool panels), you would cover that with fabric, to look good in that room. You can make a wooden frame with a decorative profile, if you want. At least one person here works for a company that makes acoustic treatments, so continue to look for information.

Your English is better than some that use it as their first language.

Thanks for your advice, then i just have to keep looking around and see some photos until i find something that looks good but affordable. Im the kind of person that have to see something done to aprove it, not the kind of picturing in my mind.

If you have some links that you could share about proyects already done i will be thankful.

Thanks again and will keep improving my english.

 

[highfigh]

Thanks for your advice, then i just have to keep looking around and see some photos until i find something that looks good but affordable. Im the kind of person that have to see something done to aprove it, not the kind of picturing in my mind.

If you have some links that you could share about proyects already done i will be thankful.

Thanks again and will keep improving my english.

I'll post some links to sites that have info, examples and materials:
http://www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustic-Panel-24x24x2--1000.html
http://www.acoustimac.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=14&Itemid=17
http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/diffusers/alphadiffusers.asp
http://www.auralex.com/
http://www.22ndc.com/index.php?cPath=1
http://www.gikacoustics.com/index.html

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks for your upcoming help and pardon my english, is just spanish accent in writing

I know in some languages like French, the below works properly, but in English it is considered as a "double negative" (thus making a "positive", which is not what you intended). Just FYI, you're doing just fine . . .

i dont think my wife is not going to like that decoration...

Thanks for your advice, then i just have to keep looking around and see some photos until i find something that looks good but affordable. Im the kind of person that have to see something done to aprove it, not the kind of picturing in my mind.

If only so that bpape may read your queries, I would repost, or at least PM him to read your threads. In the future, the acoustic subforum might be better:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=10

I like GIKs art panels:

Here is a fancy looking diffusor, but surely very expensive:
http://www.thomas-labusga.com/

Which leads me to ask: how much are you willing to spend? What you need is out there, but it just might cost a lot. I just saw this photo yesterday:

Real Traps has Mega traps, that when stacked, are said to be invisible:

They also even have a planter-trap!!!

Back to GIK:

Table!

Pillar:

 

[Alex2507]

... great, now I have absorber lust.

 

[Halon451]

They also even have a planter-trap!!!

Really? Wow... that's very interesting, I've never seen anything like that. If they work, talk about an extremely high WAF.

 

[davidtwotrees]

DIY panels.

If you look behind my former set up, I sound treated the wall behind my large silver speakers. (mainly for my two channel listening). They were built using 2'x4' rigid wool insulation panels that were set into inexpensive frames that I made using 1"x2" lumber, and then covered in a speaker fabric that was pleasing to my eye and matched my color palette in that room. Once the panels were made, I screwed a series of furring strips to the walls, and screwed the panels directly to that framework. It was easy and simple, basic carpentry and upholstering. I did this very quickly, over a weekend. If I had taken more time I could have gotten an even better level of fit and finish. I could easily see covering a whole room's walls with these panels.

 

[highfigh]

If you look behind my former set up, I sound treated the wall behind my large silver speakers. (mainly for my two channel listening). They were built using 2'x4' rigid wool insulation panels that were set into inexpensive frames that I made using 1"x2" lumber, and then covered in a speaker fabric that was pleasing to my eye and matched my color palette in that room. Once the panels were made, I screwed a series of furring strips to the walls, and screwed the panels directly to that framework. It was easy and simple, basic carpentry and upholstering. I did this very quickly, over a weekend. If I had taken more time I could have gotten an even better level of fit and finish. I could easily see covering a whole room's walls with these panels.

Did you treat the side walls, or was that not practical/approved of? It looks good in the photo- a lot better than just rectangles and squares.

 

[davidtwotrees]

Did you treat the side walls, or was that not practical/approved of? It looks good in the photo- a lot better than just rectangles and squares.

I did treat the back wall behind my listening seat in the same fashion. The side wall was a glass door and a fireplace with a glass door, the other side wall was open to the kitchen dining area. I never took measurements but I did feel the bass was less boomy after the rx.
I have pretty good carpentry skills, and a good decorating sense ( I own TwoTrees Decorating and Remodeling). It was the classic weekend project that gets done in a weekend. With more time I could have improved everything just a tad. It would have been nice to have help stretching the fabric. I didn't hide the fasteners- I used brass plated screws with a grommet type washer and they looked just fine, imho.
I have hung fabric wallpaper for a decorator in a wealthy home. I wondered how that affected the sound. It had to be better than just painted drywall, I would imagine. From a decoarting standpoint it looked hot. I also think I could stretch fabric the length of the wall, for less seams you see, and still have the panel grid behind it. Perhaps a seam down the center of the wall at four feet, horizontally.

 

[jostenmeat]

Really? Wow... that's very interesting, I've never seen anything like that. If they work, talk about an extremely high WAF.

I would never say that it's the best bang for buck with your money. I'll attach a couple of graphs, but know that it is one specific room (who knows how small or big) and it's not with one, but four planters. Obviously, one compromises some performance and value with a diminutive stealth item. That said the 4 planters reduced the span between peaks and nulls by up to 9db at some frequencies.

 

[highfigh]

I did treat the back wall behind my listening seat in the same fashion. The side wall was a glass door and a fireplace with a glass door, the other side wall was open to the kitchen dining area. I never took measurements but I did feel the bass was less boomy after the rx.
I have pretty good carpentry skills, and a good decorating sense ( I own TwoTrees Decorating and Remodeling). It was the classic weekend project that gets done in a weekend. With more time I could have improved everything just a tad. It would have been nice to have help stretching the fabric. I didn't hide the fasteners- I used brass plated screws with a grommet type washer and they looked just fine, imho.
I have hung fabric wallpaper for a decorator in a wealthy home. I wondered how that affected the sound. It had to be better than just painted drywall, I would imagine. From a decoarting standpoint it looked hot. I also think I could stretch fabric the length of the wall, for less seams you see, and still have the panel grid behind it. Perhaps a seam down the center of the wall at four feet, horizontally.

You could probably use snap-in edging, like the kind used with laminate flooring. Wrap & attach the material around the edge of a piece that has the same cut that fits the aluminum strip and it will be completely hidden. A strip that's shop-made will work, too. Or, cut a piece of poplar with two kerf cuts that are adjacent and slightly angled toward each other and wrap the fabric around a strip of hardboard (or similar), then slide it into the kerf. The angle will hide the joint but still allow the second strip to be pressed into place.

 

[Luisd]

I know in some languages like French, the below works properly, but in English it is considered as a "double negative" (thus making a "positive", which is not what you intended). Just FYI, you're doing just fine . . .






If only so that bpape may read your queries, I would repost, or at least PM him to read your threads. In the future, the acoustic subforum might be better.

Here is a fancy looking diffusor, but surely very expensive:

Which leads me to ask: how much are you willing to spend? What you need is out there, but it just might cost a lot. I just saw this photo yesterday:

Real Traps has Mega traps, that when stacked, are said to be invisible:


They also even have a planter-trap!!!



Thanks for the photos, thats the kind of ideas i was looking for, i just want my theater to be one of a kind, im building it instead of a pool and a "gazebo?" and is going to be 10'x17'x26' and is going to have a minibar on the back. Im thinking of it like the most important part of the house. The thing is im from Puerto Rico and i dont think there aré many people who work whith this kind of acoustics and the few... they aré going to ask for both of my eyes to do it. So i preffer to buy it on the internet if i can, and do the rest by myself.

Thanks again, you were very helpful.

 

[Luisd]

I know in some languages like French, the below works properly, but in English it is considered as a "double negative" (thus making a "positive", which is not what you intended). Just FYI, you're doing just fine . . .






If only so that bpape may read your queries, I would repost, or at least PM him to read your threads. In the future, the acoustic subforum might be better.

Here is a fancy looking diffusor, but surely very expensive:

Which leads me to ask: how much are you willing to spend? What you need is out there, but it just might cost a lot. I just saw this photo yesterday:

Real Traps has Mega traps, that when stacked, are said to be invisible:


They also even have a planter-trap!!!



Thanks for the photos, thats the kind of ideas i was looking for, i just want my theater to be one of a kind, im building it instead of a pool and a "gazebo?" and is going to be 10'x17'x26' and is going to have a minibar on the back. Im thinking of it like the most important part of the house. The thing is im from Puerto Rico and i dont think there aré many people who work whith this kind of acoustics and the few... they aré going to ask for both of my eyes to do it. So i preffer to buy it on the internet if i can, and do the rest by myself.

Thanks again, you were very helpful.

That quote thing went all wrong...

 

[3db]

... great, now I have absorber lust.

I'm sure that can be cured by a long legged therapist charging $180/hr.

 

[Alex2507]

I'm sure that can be cured by a long legged therapist charging $180/hr.

... at my age it just might take an hour.

 

[3db]

... at my age it just might take an hour.

I see your working hard to make a good impression!!!