Acoustics - The broad brush approach

[Pieter]

Let’s see if there’s any consensus about this.

For HT we want the front wall absorptive as low and high in frequency as possible. The rear wall diffusive and the side walls a mixed bag of diffusion and absorption. The ceiling mostly diffusive with a touch of absorption and the floor absorptive.

For 2-channel music the front portion of the room should be lively and diffusive, floor to walls to ceiling and the rear end of the room absorptive.

For multi-channel music the ….?

Bass traps applied mostly to corners and if you have the know-how, panel traps and Helmholtz resonators where appropriate in frequency and location.

I’m not stating, I’m asking. Wish for those who’ve actually put saw to wood and felt the itch of fiberglass in their boxers to respond.

[Patt]

Wish for those who’ve actually put saw to wood and felt the itch of fiberglass in their boxers to respond.

Hi Pieter,
I have the hands on in a general construction field but not in Home Theatre. Here are some dot com places I've run across in the past that I have bookmarked thinking it may help me.

Foambymail.
Acousticsfirst.
Realtraps.
Acousticalsolutionsinc.
Acousticsciencescorporation.
Questacousticalinteriors.
Auralex.

Good Luck with your project and if you have any specific remodeling questions I "may" be able to contribute.

[Pieter]

Patt, thanks for the response.

Trouble is due to visiting those sites. There's too much conflicting advice, whom am I to believe?

Why not ask the folks here what they've done or are doing? What do the results sound like?

See if there's consensus.

Hope we're not in for, "Red boxers are the only ones to prevent the itch. They'll ga right thru them fensie green uns." No, not that "itch"!

[Patt]

There is so much information out there it is hard to know where to start. I didn't mean to make it harder to figure out.....just thought you could find something of interest.

My only experience is with my two rooms with stereos in them. The room with the most heavily damped furniture drapery flooring walls and ceiling is the best. The one with hard walls and ceiling lots of glass and leather furniture isn't so great.

It really does make a difference if the surfaces are reflective or absorptive(sp?).

[Kingdaddy]

I've done a lot of research and it has lead me to believe that the Realtraps site has the better info. They promote broadband absorption for the whole room in stages (shown on mini traps install guide). Last thing to do is worry about diffusion, and maybe not at all.


I'm trying a DIY version of these, should know the results in a few weeks.

[ThomasW]

Pieter,

I've used DIY traps/panels for a decade or more. They're cheap to build and work well. I also have oriental rugs hung on some of the walls.

For the best multi-channel most of the time one wants a acoustically 'dead' room. Obviously that's not the case for 2 channel.

For most people a mix of traps and diffusers is the best bet.

[Azeke]

Good information gentlemen, I prefer the DIY method.

Thanks for the link Thomas.

Regards,

Azeke

[Pieter]

Mike, Realtraps is a very informative site. What I appreciate is Ethan’s sense of ethics. Even though Realtraps is a commercial endeavour, he is liberal to the extent of supplying plans to build your own traps. One of the first sites that made me aware of the acoustic anomalies inherent in rooms and ways of alleviating this.

Thomas, when I get to the stage of actually constructing acoustic treatment I’ll keep your link in mind. Thanks.

Thomas, your second statement is the one causing the trouble, and the reason I started this post.

Do you agree with the following, “With 2-channel we rely on the room to create a diffuse sound in order to recreate the sense of space and ambience of the recording.”

And, “The contribution of the room with multi-channel should be minimal in order for the speakers to create the sense of space and localization necessary.”

Just a wordy way of saying what you’ve said: “dead” for multi-channel and “not the case” for 2-channel.

So the two requisites are mutually exclusive?

And your third statement an attempt at compromise?

Good, so how do we do this? Do we make the front wall absorptive and a mixed bag for the sides and rear?

Time for me to return the favour and post a link: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=255432

Found this after starting this post; it’s pertinent, up to ‘on the nose’, and the discussion gets lively.