Tweakers' Asylum Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ.

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RE: Multiple, smaller tube traps...?

Posted by Jon Risch (B) on June 13, 2007 at 17:39:23

In Reply to: RE: Multiple, smaller tube traps...? posted by tvr2500m on June 12, 2007 at 22:28:25:

For the wall panels, if you are going to go the semi-rigid panel route (OC 700 series),consider one of two things:

Either use two 2" 703 grade panels for extra thickness, or use a 3"-4" total thickness 705 wrapped on the outside with polyester batting.

The 705 density tends to reflect the HF's at any angle but head on. The absorption data typically published do not really show this, but I have made my own measurements in an anechoic chamber. The 703 panels are not nearly as bad, and while they can also benefit from a layer of polyester batting, the difference is not nearly as much as the 705 grade.

If you try to use one 1" thick panel, it just won't absorb enough lower frequencies, and will tend to make the room sound dull and boomy if too many panels are used to compensate.

Keeping a nice thick set of first relfection panels, and some corner or behind the speaker panels will do the job without overdamping the room.

BTW, unless you use WAY too many thin panels, or merely too many thick panels (which is very hard to do), it is hard to 'overtreat' a room acoustically. See my DIY Acoustics note near the end
( http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/a1.htm )

I provide a quick list of the recomended treatments:
4 bass traps, one in each corner OR two in each front corner (depends on room and rest of treatment)
Wall Panels at the L & R 1st reflection point (mirror point)
Wall Panels behind each speaker on the front wall
Total of Wall Panels so far = 4 (Note that these are nominally a size of 30" by 48" by 4" min. depth), so two of the 24" by 48" would not be too much at each location)

and one wall panel each in the rear upper corners IF the bass traps are all up front. If you later decide that one (or more) bass trap in each corner works bestter, then these rear corner panels can be used elsewhere, such as the center of the rear and/or front walls (centered top to bottom, and side to side).

Diffusion usually works best on the center of the rear wall, BUT, you have to have a room large enough to do this properly.

The total amount of recommended acoustic treatment in that note WILL NOT overdamp a room, or be too much for 99% of systems. SOME systems are so dark and dull, that almost ANY acoustic treatment could remove too much of what little sparkle and life is left, and so, those cases can be a problem, but re-balancing the tonal balance of such a system after room treatment has been put in play will almost always end up with a HUGE overall improvement, because the IMAGING and SOUNDSTAGE are now more present and defined, and with less bass boom, more apparent bass (yes, ADDING bass absorption usually ends up providing more apparent, deeper and tighter bass), the increase in actual treble output from the system is now much more welcome.

Go for as much of the recommended treatments as you can, I think you will be amazed and pleased at the end results.

Jon Risch

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