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Acoustical Foam

Curious whether others have experimented with acoustical foam. I ordered 1.75" foam tiles and foam corner kits. I have installed them tonight in the room that I'm preparing. There is no equipment in that room yet. I have 1/2 the foam tiles up on the walls. I will not be putting any on the ceiling as my wife has already commented that this is insane looking as is. I have been testing the acoustics by clapping my hands in the room before, during, and after the foam has been installed. So far, it has definately lowered resonances / echo, however, the room is not dead like a recording studio. Perhaps, once all the foam is up, an area rug is down over the wood floor, and there is equipment in the room, the room may be more dead sounding. That is certainly my hope. If it works, I will post more about exactly what I bought, the cost of the tweak, and my feedback on the cost/benefit of this change. Alot of the systems that incorporate acoustical treatments have big budgets for panels and other expensive room treatments, so my tweaks are certainly more budge oriented than aesthetically pleasing. I just purchased my first home, so my housing costs have nearly tripled. There definately is not as much money to play with these days, so I definately won't be purchasing expensive equipment as upgrades. That is why I'm trying to find tweaks that can have the sonic benefits of upgraded equipment at a much lower cost.
firecracker_77
herman
2,251 posts
 
You are headed down the wrong path. A stereo system in a room that is "dead like a recording studio" sounds like crap.

Check this out.
jl1024's avatar
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jl1024
15 posts
 
Where did you purchase the aucoustical foam panels?

John
firecracker_77 OP
26 posts
 
Herman,

I don't think the room will be dead sounding. I worked at 2 radio stations in my younger days, and the recording studios that were dead sounding had heavy steel doors and purpose built walls that could withstand artillery fire. This room is not that solid in construction, so it won't be completely dead and I'm not treating the ceiling so that will still provide some reflection. I bought the following:

http://cgi.ebay.com/24x24x1-5-Thick-Studio-Acoustic-Soundproofing-WedgeFoam_W0QQitemZ260065468799QQihZ016QQcategoryZ15199QQcmdZViewItem

Worst case scenario is that I don't like the foam, and I tear it down wasting about $300 that I spent.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Firecracker,

If you check out my virtual system you can see how the new GIK Tri-traps integrate into a room in an aesthetic way. These use heavy mineral wool and are broadband absorbers (effective down to 100Hz with a tiny little bit of absorption even at 50 Hz).

As long as you have something broadly absorptive and with a density of 3 pounds per cubic foot or more (foam, fibreglass, mineral wool) then you can get some nice results with decent coverage. I believe that controlling rear wall (behind your listening position) reverberation is the most important use of these products.

As others have stated above a reflective room is pleasant and a dead room is dull and lifeless....which suggests that one should avoid heavy acoustic treatement in front of the listener.

Behind the listener is another matter.....anything reflecting from behind you is likely to interfere with your enjoyment, hiding detail and crowding the sound field in a claustrophobic manner. You will notice I use a combination of dedicated professional acoustic treatments, bookshelves, furniture and a massive stacked log fireplace...all designed to broadly absorb and improve the reverberation decay times. Long reverberation times are reduced dramatically whilst secondary reflections from side walls and ceiling still give a lively feel to the music. Dead sound is NOT the goal (in fact the early reflections help bring out more detail in music.....long reverberations are, however, a nusiance)
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