Acoustic Dampening?

[G9logitech]

Hey Guys -

I just got done building myself a HT room to watch blu rays in; as well as listening to music in.

Question is: Is there something I should place on the walls, such as acoustic sound dampening so the music/sound doesnt bounce around? Since I built this room somewhat small, and the walls are hollow with only cheap wood peices that come pre fabricated to fit into grooves of one another.

Something thats not overwhelming huge, like someone saying, what the heck is on your walls (like those big pyramid cones or what not)

Thanks guys

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by G9logitech

Hey Guys -

I just got done building myself a HT room to watch blu rays in; as well as listening to music in.

Question is: Is there something I should place on the walls, such as acoustic sound dampening so the music/sound doesnt bounce around? Since I built this room somewhat small, and the walls are hollow with only cheap wood peices that come pre fabricated to fit into grooves of one another.

Something thats not overwhelming huge, like someone saying, what the heck is on your walls (like those big pyramid cones or what not)

Thanks guys

You could try The Foam Factory...although they may have the look you described above and may not be aesthetically pleasing enough to the eye for you.....

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

You could try The Foam Factory...although they may have the look you described above and may not be aesthetically pleasing enough to the eye for you.....

Good suggestion from Fors! And they have very good pricing!

John

[richteer]

Originally Posted by G9logitech

Something thats not overwhelming huge, like someone saying, what the heck is on your walls (like those big pyramid cones or what not)

Thanks guys

Check out Real Traps' RFZ Panels. They have nice aesthetics and according to the measurements, their accompanying products do a much better job of absorbtion than the stuff you get from places like Foam By Mail. They're not exactly a budget item, but as nearly always, you get what you pays for...

[Uniquely]

There was a fellow who posted in these forums that he covered his walls in 6lb carpet underlay, and then covered that in fabric.... but he never posted pics of the final product. That could be interesting to do in key areas, but I'd love to see how it came out.

[D1-2005]

And one of our members Aerodude73 bought some panels and then covered them with fabric so it was more astheticly pleasing.

[BASISON]

When I was finishing my basement last year, I had the choice of doing the walls with sheet rock, but then decided to go with Owens Corning Basement Finishing system. Even though the price was very expensive, the results are well worth it. Not only does it insulate great, it makes the room virtually soundproof. This is great for movies, games, karoake, or just relaxing.

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by D1-2005

And one of our members Aerodude73 bought some panels and then covered them with fabric so it was more astheticly pleasing.

Yes I did! Lol - pics in some of my galleries. I used The Foam Factory - Great prices! - & went to a Fabric store to cover the 24x24x1" foam squares, as the blah Gray/black color looks kinda fugly IMO. They have 1", 2", 3", colors, etc. Very Affordable.

[mattym]

I would avoid the foam tbh, make your own, its cheaper than Real Traps, and not a million miles from what they are anyway...

[Big Daddy]

Please read the Acoustic Treatment Research Material and DIY Room Treatment Projects. The subject of room treatment has been discussed repeatedly in the above threads.

These diagrams may help.

Reflections.jpg

Absorption.jpg

Diffusion.jpg

Echo.jpg

Treatment.jpg

[Yautja]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

You could try The Foam Factory...although they may have the look you described above and may not be aesthetically pleasing enough to the eye for you.....

Yeah that's right not very appealing, my wife would kill me if I tried to put up stuff around the walls

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by SSLAYERR

Yeah that's right not very appealing, my wife would kill me if I tried to put up stuff around the walls

One possible solution - check out my gallery - not the Design or style of what I have, but what I did with the "Blah" look of most foam. You can find a FABRIC Store in your area & they'll prob. have Many different colors, styles, designs, etc., that you could Cover the foam with. Basic 3M adhesive spray works Great to keep it in place around the foam. Just an idea.

[igotcabada]

I copied member bigred7078 for my acoustic panels.

Probably not the most effective panels you can use or create, but from an aesthetic standpoint, it was by far the best route for me. I only have 1 of 7 mounted up on the wall, but i've already noticed a sound difference with them leaning against the wall.

Originally Posted by bigred7078

These are all DIY panels. Me and my buddy went to Home Depot and Hobby lobby for all the supplies. The roxul material that is the actual panel came from ATS acoustics.

-Wood from Home Depot cost me around $30.
-A package of roxul 24"x 48" (6) from ATS cost me $49 w/ $15 shipping.
-Breathable cloth from Hobby Lobby cost about $30 (could of been less but we made a size mistake)
-Dry Wall screws $5
-Staples $5
-Wall hangers (picture frame style w/ heavier duty nails) $3
-Wood Glue (Judd already had some)

For a grand total of only about $135. That got me 4 full sized panels (24" x 48") and 4 half sized panels (24" x 24").

Overall its pretty damn easy work. Just screw the wood together. Then make corner braces and a middle brace then glue all edges together. Then you have your frame. We bought some standard cheapie white cloth to use as a backing and stapled that on. Since i was hanging mine on a wall we needed a "seat" for the roxul to sit on. So we bought some pine wood planks that were the perfect size.

You place your breathable cloth flat on the ground, put the roxul in the middle then place the panel on top of it facing down. Then you just take all the extra fabric fold it over, pull tight and staple on the backside for a nice clean look. Then take the picture hangers and nail them into the very top. I did alot of measuring, nailed in some dry wall anchors, and mounted.

Definately worth the time because i ended saving a TON of money than if i were to buy it from GIK or ATS directly already built.

P.S.- so far the panels have really balanced out the sound. Dialogue has really been cleaned up in my room, which was a big complaint of mine prior to the panels. I'm enjoying this investment thus far. Thanks for the compliments guys

[Grand Bob]

Although sound panel treatment is effective for absorbing image-blurring reflections, I would advise caution. I have known people who have extensively applied acoustic tiles, tube traps, wall carpets, etc., only to end up with a "dead room" that approximated an anechoic chamber. This also increases the demand on the amplifier. Not all reflections are bad. If you have a good audio store nearby, they may allow you to borrow sound treatment samples to experiment with before you buy.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

Although sound panel treatment is effective for absorbing image-blurring reflections, I would advise caution. I have known people who have extensively applied acoustic tiles, tube traps, wall carpets, etc., only to end up with a "dead room" that approximated an anechoic chamber. This also increases the demand on the amplifier. Not all reflections are bad. If you have a good audio store nearby, they may allow you to borrow sound treatment samples to experiment with before you buy.

That's a really good point and definately worth trying.

John

[mattym]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

Although sound panel treatment is effective for absorbing image-blurring reflections, I would advise caution. I have known people who have extensively applied acoustic tiles, tube traps, wall carpets, etc., only to end up with a "dead room" that approximated an anechoic chamber. This also increases the demand on the amplifier. Not all reflections are bad. If you have a good audio store nearby, they may allow you to borrow sound treatment samples to experiment with before you buy.

spot on, ive been trying to get this message across in many places for a long while. over use of absorbants is the biggest problem I find myself correcting in a treated room.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

Although sound panel treatment is effective for absorbing image-blurring reflections, I would advise caution. I have known people who have extensively applied acoustic tiles, tube traps, wall carpets, etc., only to end up with a "dead room" that approximated an anechoic chamber. This also increases the demand on the amplifier. Not all reflections are bad. If you have a good audio store nearby, they may allow you to borrow sound treatment samples to experiment with before you buy.

Originally Posted by John72953

That's a really good point and definately worth trying.

John

Originally Posted by mattym

spot on, ive been trying to get this message across in many places for a long while. over use of absorbants is the biggest problem I find myself correcting in a treated room.

Although I do not disagree with your comments, I do believe that overusing acoustic treatment is not a common problem. In most cases, the prices are so high that on the average, most people use a few corner traps or foams on their walls.

[Uniquely]

I have no idea how acoustically effective my homemade treatments are; primarily they are for looks. But they are pretty attractive and extremely cheap to make. I used acoustical hanging ceiling tiles and covered them in fabric. I'm sure that different grades of hanging tiles could probably provide different levels of performance. I don't imagine they would do much for diffusion, but I believe they help somewhat with absorption.

[mattym]

of the 5 correction jobs ive done this week 4 are directly due to overuse of treatment. CI installers with a lovely stretch fabric wall. They should know better. DIY tend not to overdo it as they are looking at the costs..