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Trying to improve sound...but confused

3K views 27 replies 8 participants last post by  Horrorfan33 
#1 ·
I have a home theater/music listening room that is also a living room and we rent. So any sound treatments I do have to be temporary and limited unfortunately. The room is 12ft deep by 14ft wide with a 10ft ceiling. The MLP is a couch on the long wall and the equipment is on the opposite long wall. This is necessary because of an opening to the dining room and two windows. The front three speakers are about 15" from front wall. Can't move that much. Sub is 26" from side wall and 6" from front wall (measuring to edges of box) Speakers are Ascend Sierra-1's and sub is sealed 15" Rythmik.

I made three 'bass traps' but only have one in the original position because my measurements with REW showed a more uneven frequency response with them in the corners. Two are right now behind the couch. I cut mineral wool into triangles with a 24" face and inserted them into a 1x2 and plywood frame. I think I messed up because the plywood on the tops and bottoms are solid and may be causing an echo issue. Is it a good idea to take them apart and cut or drill holes into the tops and bottoms?

Also, I am trying out two sheets of 3lb Rigid Fiberglass 2'x4'x2" behind my L and R speakers. I thought I heard an improvement in sound but couldn't measure a difference with REW. It seems like these sheets would help reduce echo in my echoey room! Here's a pic of my room:
 
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#2 ·
Regardless of a slightly more uneven response, I would think the bass absorbers woudl still be a be a nice benefit in terms of decay time control and tightening up the bottom end. What you may be experiencing is 2 problems offsetting each other - when the corners addressed one of the 2, the other is no longer cancelled so you're seeing it.

Bryan
 
#3 ·
You're right about the bass response being better with the traps in the corners. I think I'll take them apart and drill 1" holes in the tops to allow more sound absortion.

Do you think I might have better results from placing the 2' x 4' x 2" panels on the back wall halfway up? I have a window directly behind the mlp with two layers of curtains in front of that. I could hang the panels on either side of the window. My room is quite echoey. Are two panels enough to make any noticable difference?
 
#4 ·
Just a thought, you said your seating is against a wall? that can increase what you "hear" as boomyness.
 
#6 ·
You might want to treat that wall behind your seating to reduce reflections as well.
 
#7 ·
I agree with Tony, My seats are only about 14'' away from the back wall and treatments there really helped.
 
#8 ·
I have two pieces of ATS rigid fiberglass 2' x 4' x 2" 3lb variety. How would you recommend I hang it from the wall? Should I allow an air gap? I noticed at JoAnn Fabric that some microsuede is not very breathable. The cheaper 'costume' suede is though. Should I go with that? I used beige burlap on my corner bass traps, but it's too rustic imo.
 
#11 ·
I only have the two panels. To get more I'd have to order another package which I probably can't do. I already have homemade bass traps in three corners of my room. Although thicker traps would be most effective, I'm trying to keep the waf higher with thinner panels. I'm not unhappy with the sound of my room but I know it could be better. I can hear my voice echo if I speak loudly. So would two 2" thick panels with about a 1/2' air gap help with mid-to-high frequencies? If the difference is minimal, I'll give the panels to my brother who has a dedicated space and already has 10 bass/midrange panels.
 
#14 ·
Seems odd to me that the room has echo issues with the big furniture, plants, drapes, and the additional sound deadening you have already added.
If the floor is solid surface (tile, wood, laminate) that is an issue to look at.

From watching the TV shows similar to House Hunters and Property Brothers it appears the popcorn ceilings are now totally out of style, a benefit of the popcorn (blown acoustic) ceiling is sound deadening.

If the floor is carpet or you already have a thick area rug in the living room and the ceiling is a blown ceiling I don't know what would cause echoes.
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#16 ·
Agreed. High ceilings, while nice, leave a LOT of hard flat parallel surface with nothing to absorb, break it up like there is down lower.

Bryan
 
#24 ·
#26 ·
Guilford of Maine offers a variety of 'tans' in their FR701 series of fabrics. You can go to samplecenter.guilfordofmaine.com and search for FR701. You can order samples from them free of charge. I think they'll send you up to 6.
 
#27 ·
Well I was able to find something from the local JoAnn that works for me. See post above. It is 'Costume Microsuede' in Cornstalk. It's very breathable and is a pretty close match for our wall color. Much more breathable than the samples I got from ATS. And I only spent $12 for 2 yards!
 
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