Acoustical Panels

[theWB]

Anyone ever build their own acoustical panels,or have suggestions in doing so.
I can't see paying the money asked for them,or find any I really like.Anything I bought I would only cover anyways with a fabric that matched my decor.I have to believe you could by some inexpensive material for aborbing sound at Home Depot ect. that would work just as well as the ones these companies ae asking hundreds of $ for.

 

[DTB300]

Lots of discussion over at this site:

http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/ubb/forum/f/26.html

on making your own sound absorption panels from ridgid fiberglass and acoutical cotton. Much reading to do, but many have done it there with great results. Ethan Winer is the moderator there and a great source of information and advice.

Then there is the Jon Risch (from Audio Asylum) DIY Tube Traps and other DIY projects:

http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/index2.htm

Dan

 

[Craig]

Glad you asked the question. I just happen to be planning to do the same thing. My main room (while not dedicated like yours) has some sonic issues that need to be addressed so I intend to make some panels myself to help reduce some unwanted reflections and to minmize some booming I get from a 4 foot high by 5 ft long wall next that seems to cause some unwanted bass resonance noise. You can tap on this wall with your fist and hear pretty good boom as if it were a bass drum.

Anyway, I just had a new A/C unit installed in the house and the repair man generously left me a 4X8' panel of rigid 1 1/2 thick fiberglass rigid board insulation. The main ingredient for the project. The rest (if not all) can be found at HomeDepo and a local craft store.

I plan to keep this project simple and make three approximately 2" deep boxes to fill with a cut piece of this fiberboard and then wrap the box in whatever decorative fabric my wife chooses. The back side of the box will be a 1/4 think wood panel (pegboard might work) and the side of the box will be 1 1/2 thick wooden molding strips with a rounded or angled edge (so it looks less like a shallow box). The front of the box will be open and filled tightly with the fiberboard. And then the box will be covered in whatever fabric my wife chooses.

I haven't nailed down the dimensions yet but 2 will be about 4 1/2' long by 2' high. These will go on the side of the speakers to soften or absorb refections off the rear side walls. The other 2 will go behind each speaker or I may them at the first reflection points on the side walls just forward of the speakers. They'll be about 1'x4' in size. I'll attach picture hanging hardware on the back for easy intallation.

While I'm at it I'll also make some corner traps. These will be the easiest. Just cut triangle pieces of fiberboard and wrap in cloth of choice. They may need a wood panel backing for support but that is easy. I have a couple of locations for these and they'll be placed mostly out of site behind a silk plant since I have ledge near the ceiling.

I do have some foam acoustic panels that I may use inside for 2 of them instead of the rigid fiberboard. These panels have pyramids on the front and are designed for diffusion. They're too ugly to hang up in the living room. They look like something you might see in a recording studio. You can easily find these in your local guitar/drums/keyboard pro audio type store for about $15 a sheet.

As far as bass traps go I may just go ahead and buy those. They can e made too but they are a little more involved to do it right and still look good.

You may want todo a search on the Audio Asyslum Tweakers forum for more ideas. John Risch has posted a lot on this subject. I'll take photos once I get going on this project.

 

[dyazdani]

I made my own, about 9 traps or so. 4 of them are 5" thick (made from 1x6s) and are used in the wall-wall corners for low freq absorption. The other 5 are 2" thick (1x3s) and are used behind the speakers and at first reflection points on the side walls.

See system #69 for pics. I also have a build thread on the MusicPlayer forum link above. You can do a search by the same username. I removed some of my pics, so let me know if you'd like to see additional ones.

Overall, this is a pretty easy undertaking. I took me about a full day to make all of them, including fabric work...

 

[theWB]

Dan,Craig,and Danish thanks for your help.

Dan the links you provided were very helpful

Craig I like your idea of using molding around the frame for a less boxy look
your one lucky man,Not 1 but 3 ML systems.

Danish,Thanks for the link and details of how you built yours,They look great.
Do the 5" deep panels in the corners absorb too much bass?

Unfortunatly as I announced to the wife this morning that I was off to Lowes to get some materials to make some acoustic panels for my music room
I was reminded that I promised to paint the dining room and tile the backsplash in the kitchen.Acoustic panels will have to wait.

 

[Robin]

Acoustic Panel Project (APP)

Dan,Craig,and Danish thanks for your help.

Dan the links you provided were very helpful

Craig I like your idea of using molding around the frame for a less boxy look
your one lucky man,Not 1 but 3 ML systems.

Danish,Thanks for the link and details of how you built yours,They look great.
Do the 5" deep panels in the corners absorb too much bass?

Unfortunatly as I announced to the wife this morning that I was off to Lowes to get some materials to make some acoustic panels for my music room
I was reminded that I promised to paint the dining room and tile the backsplash in the kitchen.Acoustic panels will have to wait.

Wayne,

What ever you do with your APP is going to look sooooo cool in you HT room. Tell your wife, "Robin says it's going to look so cool, and thinks it should come first". Maybe, another point of view will help.

 

[dyazdani]

Danish,Thanks for the link and details of how you built yours,They look great.
Do the 5" deep panels in the corners absorb too much bass?

You can never really have too much bass absorption, so no. You basically "need" as many bass traps as you can fit, though just a few can make a huge difference.

What you can mess up is the "ambiance" or higher frequency information. What many people do is to leave the foil face on the outside of one of the pieces of fiberglass, make sure it faces the room. This keeps things lively and from sounding kind of dull.

Don't forget to do some measurements - Room EQ Wizard and an RS meter will go a long way to help you. The panels can't add what's not there so it is helpful to see the nulls as well as the peaks.

I use a Parametric EQ (Behringer aka "BFD") on my sub to flatten out the bass response. It makes a world of difference combined with good bass trapping.

 

[Steve Daigneault]

check these guys out, just got one of their monster traps for a VERY reasonable price, and they measure very well... GIK Acoustics

 

[theWB]

Wayne,

Tell your wife, "Robin says it's going to look so cool, and thinks it should come first". Maybe, another point of view will help.

Thanks for the help Robin but when my wife makes up her mind about something,there's no changing it.Just spent the last 2 and half hours going through paint samples.Looks like the paintings coming first.

Happy Birthday Robin,Hope you have a Great Day

 

[theWB]

check these guys out, just got one of their monster traps for a VERY reasonable price, and they measure very well... GIK Acoustics

Steve,
This looks like what I might be looking for very reasonably priced.How's the quality of workmanship.Are you happy with them,I can't find out from their website what their made of.From the pictures it just looks like foam covered with fabric,are they sturdy? Stable hanging on the walls.

Thanks,Wayne

 

[dyazdani]

I believe that they also use rigid fiberglass, but they use one thick piece and have the frame mounted to the back. This keeps the front and sides free from obstruction.

And yes, those are what I would also choose if not willing to DIY...

 

[Steve Daigneault]

Steve,
This looks like what I might be looking for very reasonably priced.How's the quality of workmanship.Are you happy with them,I can't find out from their website what their made of.From the pictures it just looks like foam covered with fabric,are they sturdy? Stable hanging on the walls.

Thanks,Wayne

hey Wayne, I was very happy with the quality of the workmanship. the fabric is nicely tailored around the trap. it's basically a wood frame stuffed with the right type of fiberglass or foam, but i believe is fire retardant, and measured very well, so it was kind of a no brainer for me, since i'm not much of a DIY.

 

[theWB]

check these guys out, just got one of their monster traps for a VERY reasonable price, and they measure very well... GIK Acoustics

Steve, Thanks for your help, Placed my order today

 

[theWB]

check these guys out, just got one of their monster traps for a VERY reasonable price, and they measure very well... GIK Acoustics

Steve, Thanks for your help, Placed my order today!!

Wayne

 

[Kruppy]

hey Wayne, I was very happy with the quality of the workmanship. the fabric is nicely tailored around the trap. it's basically a wood frame stuffed with the right type of fiberglass or foam, but i believe is fire retardant, and measured very well, so it was kind of a no brainer for me, since i'm not much of a DIY.

Steve and Wayne,
What panels did you guys end up buying (244, 242 or the bass panels)? I couldn't find anything on the GIK website about panel weights? As mentioned above the price is inticing vs. diy.

 

[theWB]

Steve and Wayne,
What panels did you guys end up buying (244, 242 or the bass panels)? I couldn't find anything on the GIK website about panel weights? As mentioned above the price is inticing vs. diy.

Krup, The 242 is 12 pounds,the 244 is 22 pounds,and the Monster is 28 pounds.Just placed my order Sunday night,haven't received them yet.I ordered 2 of the 244's cost me just $145 with shipping.We'll experiment with different placments before I actually mount them.If they work well my plan is a total of 6 panels.2 on the front wall behind the Odysseys,2 in the front corners,and on the rear wall,or possibly just 3 panels,the 2 244's behind the odyssey and a monster trap in the corner by the sub,or just the 244's in the front corners???We'll update once I receive and start experimenting.

 

[Kruppy]

Krup, The 242 is 12 pounds,the 244 is 22 pounds,and the Monster is 28 pounds.Just placed my order Sunday night,haven't received them yet.I ordered 2 of the 244's cost me just $145 with shipping.We'll experiment with different placments before I actually mount them.If they work well my plan is a total of 6 panels.2 on the front wall behind the Odysseys,2 in the front corners,and on the rear wall,or possibly just 3 panels,the 2 244's behind the odyssey and a monster trap in the corner by the sub,or just the 244's in the front corners???We'll update once I receive and start experimenting.

Thanks,
I'm interested in your results once you settle on positions. What made you decide on the 244s vs the 242s?

 

[theWB]

Thanks,
I'm interested in your results once you settle on positions. What made you decide on the 244s vs the 242s?

I called the company and the person I talked to recommended the 244s,and recommended a corner placement on the walls with my mains and sub.He felt this would do the trick.It was also less expensive since the 242s ship in cartons of 3.Will keep you posted.