Sound Control for HT & Listening Rooms

[ThomasW]

Sorry for this but I suppose it's better late than never

First if a person can't afford to have a professional do the room then it a very wise investment to buy a copy of RPG Room Optimizer $100

http://www.rpginc.com/products/roomoptimizer/index.htm

If that's too expensive then here's a DOS freeware program with free data files available herehttp://www.mcs.net/~malcolm/

These are misc links to various sound control sites

http://www.owenscorning.com/around/sound/selectsound.html

http://home.att.net/~rcp-conseaco/links.htm

http://soundproofing.org/

http://www.headphone.com/EditorialHeadroom/RoomTubes.asp

http://users.t-three.com/ttriff/page46.html

http://members.nbci.com/Jon_Risch/a1.htm

http://members.nbci.com/Jon_Risch/basstrap.htm

theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio

[KennyG]

Ah yes, I have just completed a hush box for my projector. I have built some internal bracing to help with sound attenuation and cooling air redirection, got the sound down quite a bit, and dropped the projector's operating temp by 11 degrees! I have not lined the Hushbox yet, but my htpc is now as loud or louder that the projector...phase one is complete.
Phase two is to quite the htpc, today I called a company named "Fulton/Source", I have been told their 300 watt power supply is so quite you have to hold it up to your ear to hear it running...that should handle phase two.
Phase three will be figuring out what to line the hushbox with that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

[JonMarsh]

Kenny, isn't that name for the power supply company "Fortron/Source"? Or something like that? In fact, at one time I beleive they were operating out of Livermore; I actually bought AT cases from them and power supplies in the mid 80's, when I built my first AT compatible PC.

Good post, Tom. Tom built some very nice DIY sound control units, partly at my urging and recommendation, years ago to help tame his living room. He may have some more hints and suggestions to share with the DIY crowd for that endeavor. For those less inclined to build the actual sound control elements, note that RPG makes and sells all kinds of diffusors and absorbers; they are pro's in this area.

Last thing: the RPG software is absolutely top flight. It has a ton of flexibility for simulating many kinds of speaker configurations, and specific driver positioning and combinations, as well as listener position. It is an optimization package, in that you can specify a range of permissible speaker and listner positions, and it will develop positioning to optimize the flatness of inroom response based on the room modes and boundary conditions. For a multi-channel system, the smart ticket is to optimize the stere pair and center channel front, and to optimize the rears seperately; otherwise you might have one speaker filling in for a null or drop in another speaker.

I used both Dave Wilson's techniques for room/speaker voicing and the RPG software for positioning my X1's; they came up with essentially the same answer. The difference is the software investigation took 30 minutes; the other took much of a day. This software sold originally for $500, and even at that price, for anyone doing this work on a regular basis (i.e., installer) it's worth every penny. At $100, it was a steal. For anyone to spend $2K or more on their audio system and not have this software to aid in the setup, is, (how shall I put this delicately?) STUPID! IMHO, of course.

Experience is a hard teacher, but when a real gem comes along, you grab it. So sayeth Jon.




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[KennyG]

Yeah, that's it Fortron/ Source...however the htpc gurus over at avs have set me onto a different, supposedly quiter, better power supply, the company is Enermax, I have ordered their 350 watt silent unit...I wanted their bigger 450 watt unit, but it's not in stock, the 350 is plenty big I'm sure.
We'll see just how quite it is!

[JonMarsh]

Is it a standard ATX "footprint", Kenny? I'll be curious to "hear" what you think about it!

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[KennyG]

Yes it is a standard footprint, and I'll let you know what I hear (of don't) as soon as it arrives (should be this week)