I have made four "ASC" type of traps, going by their diagram. They have helped with general slap back immensely, however, IMO, if you have a bass problem, you will need to go with either a parametric eq, or something besides ASC type devices. It all depends on your room. Some say any tone controls detract from the sound. I'm running all analog and even though I have many absorption panels, believe I either need to get a very expensive parametric eq, or make some diaphragmatic absorbers. I have a problem with 30-150hz. I've put so many panels of 1" 2x4 703 compressed insulation, I have begun to suck the life out of the music. I'm going to put some wood facing over about half of my panels and make a couple of diaphragmatic absorbers. IMO, if you have a heavy bass problem, anything else will be a waste of time and money. I'm very open to any suggestions. I have a good quality graphic eq in the mix( Samson S-curve 231), it just doesn't get the job done. My room is 19x21x10 and has 'knee" walls. I realize tone problem is my room dimensions-too square. I keep saying I need to post some pics, but don't have a wide angled lens. Equipment used: VPI Scoutmaster w/ DRT XV-1s cart, Theta Miles CD transport, Aesthetix Rhea Signature, Aesthetix Calypso Signature, Krell EV-600 monoblocks and a couple of Wilson Maxx II's. All suggestions welcomed!! As Milla Jovovich once said "please help."
Bass trapping - corners or walls?
I've been reading articles on the ASC website and it seems that they contradict themselves regarding placement of bass traps. Most of their placement articles discusses placing bass traps in the corners. But the article below actually says that traps in corners are not that important and that traps along the mid point of opposite walls are more beneficial. What gives?
http://www.tubetrap.com/bass_traps_articles/iar89.htm
http://www.tubetrap.com/bass_traps_articles/iar89.htm
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As fate would have it the standing waves associated with room corners do not (rpt not) always manifest precisely in the corners. That’s why it’s a good idea to map out the standing waves using a test tone and SPL meter. You may find in some cases the standing wave is located a foot or more from the actual corner. Placing the tube trap in the precise location of the standing wave makes all the difference. In addition to the corner locations, there usually are other places around the room where a tube trap is beneficial such as at the reflection point on side walls. |
Your room will have bass nodes at different frequencies and spots. Some of these "room nodes" will be loaded on the left/right side walls. Some will be loaded on the front/back walls. Others can also be loaded on the floor/ceiling points. However, putting bass traps in the tri-corners of the room (such as where floor meets back wall meets side wall) will treat all three types. It's a good compromise unless you need to specifically treat a certain frequency more so (in my room there is 50hz node loaded on the side walls, so I put 50hz membrane bass traps on the side walls to help). @handymann - try using 703FRK panels instead of normal 703. The foil cover on the FRK will reflect the mids/highs and will not suck the life out of the room as much. It will be a fine-line balancing act. Too much FRK panels will create brighter and harsher highs. Your normal 1" 703 panels will do absolutely nothing to treat the 30-150hz areas. The FRK foil panels will actually work well in treating frequencies down to about 80-90 hz. The foil cover on the FRK will act as a "membrane" and will resonate to the 80-150 frequencies. The fiberglass behind the foil will absorb the energy from this resonation and you have a nice 80-150 bass trap. Anything below 80hz really requires a tuned membrane type bass trap (such as the GIK Scopus traps). your 19x21x10 room appears to have 3 significant nodes at 53hz, 56hz, and 59hz: https://amcoustics.com/tools/amroc?l=21&w=19&h=10&ft=true&r60=0.6 An idea would be to contact GIK Acoustics and have them make some custom T55 Scopus bass traps (figure on about $1,000 for four traps). Them put them in the four tri-corners of the back wall. That should really help treat the 50-60 hz area. You have two other nodes, 80hz that load on the front/back walls, and 88 hz that load on the left/right walls. You can probably treat these with some 2" 703 FRK place in the rear corners maybe just on top of the Scopus on the floor. |
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