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Owens Corning 703 vs. Roxul Safe 'n' Sound?

I'm going to make some sound absorbing panels to place on the wall behind my listening chair. Owens Corning 703 and Roxul Safe 'n' Sound rigid boards are two choices to make them with. Anyone have experience with both, or even one?
128x128bdp24
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
I want to add some information regarding acoustic panels with a wood backing.  I got my order of Rockboard 80 (6 panels).  Two of the panels I was making for another room and I glued 1/4 plywood to the back and then wrapped it with Gilfurd of Maine fabric.  The back panel would allow me to hang it on the wall.  In between the time I was waiting for more fabric, I used these in my audio room.  I found that there was a ringing/blare in the midrange area that was being influenced by these panels.  Through testing, I swapped out other panels and determined that the wood back on the acoustic panel was resonating -- even when the board was on the back side of the fiberglass.  The blare/ringing definitely bugged me.  Long story short, I don't recommend the use of acoustic panels with a solid wood back.  Having a square frame around the edges is okay, but no large surface area that can resonate.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24 OP
9,788 posts
 
That's great to know aux. Both Acoustimac and ATS offer their DIY panel frames with or without back panels. Without it is!
bdp24's avatar
bdp24 OP
9,788 posts
 
Spencer---Man are you right about there being a lot of great info about acoustics and rooms from Ethan Winer on Audio Asylum! I did a search there using his name, and the first page came up with 200 threads, and that was just the first page! I got me some reading to do. The first thread I read through was a "heated" discussion between Ethan and Jon Risch, who also appears to be full of knowledge on the subject. Very interesting and informative, thanks for the tip---Eric.
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sbank
3,378 posts
 
@bdp24 Glad to know it's useful source for you. My take is that Jon Risch was one of the first to encourage others to do DIY builds of acoustic treatments and gave detailed recipes to build stuff like bass traps. He leaned towards cheap and focused only on results, even if it looked so bad that spouses would never accept them in a visible part of their home. Ethan then started RealTraps, which while affordable in audiophile terms (though more expensive than GIK I think), also had fit and finish that make them a little more visually acceptable to many. 
The guys selling panels with art on them have crossed the bridge in terms of looks, but I have no idea how they sound...Cheers,
Spencer
bdp24's avatar
bdp24 OP
9,788 posts
 

Exactly so Spencer. I have a dedicated room and answer to no one but myself, but I have a fairly developed sense of aesthetics myself, and a desire for a nice looking environment in which to listen to music. I don't have to build any "real" bass traps (one of the disagreements between Ethan and Jon is in regard to what qualifies as one), as in the mid-90's I found thirteen of them, in sizes 9", 11", and 16", for ten bucks apiece (!) in The Recycler, a Southern California weekly "for sale" newspaper.

The music room in my new abode forces me for the first time to sit very close to the rear wall, hence the need for treatment of that wall. I have prioritized having my planar speakers 5' from the wall behind them over the listening position being away from it's wall, as the rear wave of planars really must be delayed at least 10ms behind the front wave, and distance from the wall behind them is the only way to achieve that. Ethan and Jon (and ya'll here on Audiogon) are giving me the info I need to do the rear wall "correctly". Thanks again!---Eric.

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