Another room treatment convert

Great advise and I agree completely!

Taking this one step further...Some of us have gotten great results using non-descript, domestically approved, household furnishings. No need to buy expensive treatments if you have some control over domestic furnishings. But the down side, or not, is that you will be de-emphasizing the existence of an 'audiophile in residence'. :-)

Probably, most rooms and setups could be better with proper accoustic treatment. Forums like this spread the know.

How ya gonna do the DIY bass traps?

Hi Newbee, Is is difficult to keep those couches and chairs on the ceiling and walls? I would reccomend a combination of bass traps and diffusion instead. They do look much more audiophile approved and are easier to hang. Plasic or real ficus/fern plants have way too little mass to affect the sound, and as you need to mount these on the ceiling also the plastic dirt falls out of the ficus plastic plants and real ferns are difficult to water on the ceiling. So actually there may be a need to buy/DIY real bass traps/diffusion. Picture this, sound does not recognize a ceiling, wall or floor, it reverberates off all of it equally so all surfaces need treatment. Go to Real Traps for real information.
Bob

Ng,

The bass traps will be:

superchunks

I'm using 6# mineral wool about 60 inches high + 4" legs under the base platform. They will look somewhat like pieces of furniture with respect to the legs & trim. They will be free standing & off the room corners (behind speakers) about 1-2 inches, 24" face, 17" deep on each side (in a triangle).

I'll probably use some of the leftover wool to make some sort of light flat 'pillow' to hang from the ceiling to address those reflection points. I'm seeking 'professional help' on the house interior...maybe the ceiling panels will match the window treatments...or...not...

Acoustat, You're right of course!

But, then again I found that killing first side reflections with 7ft bookcases filled with stuff worked just fine, as do wall hanging tapestries, or acoustic foam. I've also found that plants in front of glass windows can act as excellent diffusors, just as drapes can act to deaden sound off the wall behind the speakers, even if there are no windows behind it. Hell, you can even hide acoustic foam behind light curtains so you will not communicate your audio affliction to your unappreciative friends. Depends on your actual needs by virtue of room acoustics, set up, and of course speaker design.

FWIW, I'm still trying to figure out how to put bass traps on ceilings or to kill the cathederal effect of high vaulted ceilings, or for that matter flat lower ceilings unless your decorator allows you to install fake support beams on the ceiling to break up the first reflections off the ceiling. I don't think I could get my decorator to allow me to plaster my ceiling with acoustic foam.

Now if I didn't have others to consider and no budget constraints I would use RPG diffusors, acoustic foam deadeners, and, maybe, bass traps if I thought they would solve a problem I was experiencing in the bass frequencies that they affect.

The only thing we disagree on, I think, is you statement that "all surfaces need treatment". There are highly reflective surfaces in a room which are, as a pratical matter, meaningless so long as the frequencies they reflect efficiently are blocked on the surface that recieves the reflections. Simply put, for reflection control of 2d reflection points you would only have to treat alternating walls, not every wall, the floor, and ceiling. Sort of like live end/dead end room set up, sort of. Anyway thats my take on it. I'm just a Newbee, in acoustics anyway. :-)