New Acoustic Panel?

[David Meek]

Ran across this on RPG's website. The BAD (Binary Amplitude Diffsorber) diffusor/reflector/absorber all-in-one panel. Any thoughts, oh mighty acoustic poobahs?




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[Burke Strickland]

While we're waiting for the "mighty acoustic poobahs" to weigh in, here's my take on it. :>)

Use any sound treatment sparingly. From the referenced URL (with regard to "traditional" treatments):

Unfortunately, wide area application may lead to an acoustically "dead" environment without "air" or ambiance.

(Just ask Andrew if you have any questions about the meaning of that quote.) :>)

While they assert that their product "Can be used for wide area coverage without excessive absorption", since this "new" material supposedly has different reflective/absorbtive characteristics than more traditional fabric-wrapped panels, its touted combined beneficial effects all across the frequency spectrum frankly sounds "too good to be true". We still have the laws of physics to contend with and a quarter-inch-thick panel simply isn't going to do much to absorb bass waves, for instance.

And despite their verbiage, their graphs don't necessarily reveal a panacea at other frequencies either. They describe their material's diffusion as "uniform" -- when compared to a panel that totally suffocates the high frequencies; at least the curve for their product doesn't descend steadily to zero -- but the curve is still pretty jagged for one described as "uniform". (Hard to tell what the scale is, but you'd think they'd publish the most flattering-looking result.)

Although the real, definitive, test would be to try it in one's own environment, unfortunately, unlike returning a component that doesn't work as expected, you can't rip this stuff off the walls and take it back to the building supply center for a refund.

Burke

[Andrew Pratt]

speaking from experience don't over due the dampening in your room or you'll take all the "life" out of it. My room is slowly getting back to how i want it to sound with the addition of more reflective surfaces...I have the opposite problem to most people that have to add absorbing material but either way you choose to do it keep things in ballence.