Bass traps and other room treatments

MWalt · Nov 9, 2020

I just moved 3 states away into a new house and for the first time in my married life I have a dedicated room just for me. No more small bedroom office or acoustically challenged basement space. The new room is a "bonus room" that sits above the garage and is approximately 15 x 18 feet. I decided not to spend another dollar on gear until I "fix" the room. Should I start with bass traps first? The space is not just dedicated to audio as I also have a desk and a credenza with a TV on it in the room. Any advice on the best way to do this would be much appreciated.

Leben · Nov 9, 2020

I don’t have much advice to give but I’ll follow along since I‘m very interested in the topic.

Congrats on your new place and enjoy having a dedicated room!

rogerfederer · Nov 9, 2020

there are a lot of threads on AK
tomlinmgt is one guy who really got into it at one point

MrEd · Nov 9, 2020

Jealousy, that's a fantastic size.
Are you into diy?
Bass traps are pretty easy to make , I would start with floor to ceiling in all four corners. The single biggest improvement I have ever done. After that set up your system and try difusion at various points. There are a few ways to do cheep and dirty diffusers to try and if it wworks then buy or build something nicer.
This is a good link to find out what modes your room has, you can down load the calculator.

RealTraps

RealTraps - the acoustic treatment experts

realtraps.com

This a good read also

Room Modes 101

What are room modes and how do they impact sound quality? Some unavoidable facts: ALL rooms have naturally occurring resonance frequencies called room modes or standing waves. If you read around the web you’ll find some more esoteric terms like eigentones or eigenmodes. I quite like calling them...

www.acousticfrontiers.com

Audionut · Nov 9, 2020

I need bass so can’t offer much help...yet.

MrEd · Nov 9, 2020

Bass traps are easy to make

1 x 4 s, rock wool, and fabric
You need.to be alble to make 1x4 frame, and use a staple gun

MWalt · Nov 10, 2020

I just found the forum on AK that rogerfederer was referring to. For some reason I forgot to check AK. I do have a staple gun and am interested in some DIY. I will check Mred's links and get back in here soon. I also have to post better pics of the room so as to present the challenges a little better. The room has angles that I have to address that may be a challenge.

MrEd · Nov 10, 2020

Room shape will play into it. Sloped ceilings are good, but make modeling in the calculators more difficult and you have to fudge somewhat

I will find a couple more good links for you about diffuser diy and post them.

MWalt · Nov 10, 2020

Here are some photos of my challenging room design:

-Not sure how to get bass traps and subs in the same space? Move the subs, but where?
-How would one design a bass trap for such crazy corner angles? Would I only build for just the vertical portion?
-Not sure how to address the first reflection points because they are "occupied" by the CPU nook on one side and the TV/credenza on the other long wall.

FWIW, the system as you see it sounds way better than it did in the basement of my last house. The Q's didn't come into their own until I pulled them out 3-4 feet from the back wall. The reason they replaced the more expensive ProAc's is that they have greater scale than the Tab 10's.

thin_ice · Nov 13, 2020

Ive started to tame my room with quilts. Not as lively anymore. Woody - that is the Mediabridge speaker cable you threw in for me. Much appreciated!

Hifi · Nov 18, 2020

Before spending any money/efforts with room treatment I would at least try sub placement inside main speaker. I would also try moving speakers even further from front wall. Listening position adjustments, as well, to get you out of a “room excited” position if called for. Some of the best two channel audio rooms I have experienced have speakers at one third and listening position at two third Room position.

MrEd · Nov 19, 2020

Totally agree with @Hifi Speaker placement is critical and if the room alows definitly experiemnt.
Here is a good link for building diffusors.

Sound Diffusers 101: Free Designs for DIY Diffuser Panels

DIY Sound Diffuser Blueprints—Free designs for optimized diffuser panels & fractal sound diffusers. Come download them and learn about acoustic diffusion!

arqen.com

Roscoe65 · Nov 19, 2020

MWalt said:
Here are some photos of my challenging room design:View attachment 29200 View attachment 29202 View attachment 29206 View attachment 29207 View attachment 29208 View attachment 29209

-Not sure how to get bass traps and subs in the same space? Move the subs, but where?
-How would one design a bass trap for such crazy corner angles? Would I only build for just the vertical portion?
-Not sure how to address the first reflection points because they are "occupied" by the CPU nook on one side and the TV/credenza on the other long wall.

FWIW, the system as you see it sounds way better than it did in the basement of my last house. The Q's didn't come into their own until I pulled them out 3-4 feet from the back wall. The reason they replaced the more expensive ProAc's is that they have greater scale than the Tab 10's.

If you email GIK Acoustics (they have a forum over on AC) they will provide you with a suggested set of treatments for your room. You can either choose from their products (both factory and DIY) or make your own.

MrEd · Nov 19, 2020

Her is a question for those above my mental capicity .
I have been searching some of the web writings on acoustic treatment trying find out how to treat for a null.
I have a dip in the 250 hz range that has always showed up when measured as long I have been living in this house.
Any ideas or links to papers about how to deal with a "suck out"?
I would think difusion might be the answer but I dont know if can be effective with lower frequency.

Hifi · Nov 19, 2020

I may be wrong but 250hz may be an area that is impossible to diffuse with any consumer available products. I would suggest if your measurement/listening position is sitting in this null try moving seating position as well as speaker position for a more linear sound.

MWalt · Nov 19, 2020

Hifi said:
Before spending any money/efforts with room treatment I would at least try sub placement inside main speaker. I would also try moving speakers even further from front wall. Listening position adjustments, as well, to get you out of a “room excited” position if called for. Some of the best two channel audio rooms I have experienced have speakers at one third and listening position at two third Room position.

I have read this online somewhere. Right now the front of the speaker is 4 feet from the back wall and 3 feet from the sides. My listening chair is roughly 8 feet from the speakers. So, if I am to get this right, I need to move the speakers out another 2 feet and leave the chair in place. Room is 18 feet long so I assume the chair is good where it is. Is this correct?

MrEd · Nov 19, 2020

Hifi said:
I may be wrong but 250hz may be an area that is impossible to diffuse with any consumer available products. I would suggest if your measurement/listening position is sitting in this null try moving seating position as well as speaker position for a more linear sound.

Unfortunately pretty locked down by room size.

Hifi · Nov 20, 2020

MWalt said:
I have read this online somewhere. Right now the front of the speaker is 4 feet from the back wall and 3 feet from the sides. My listening chair is roughly 8 feet from the speakers. So, if I am to get this right, I need to move the speakers out another 2 feet and leave the chair in place. Room is 18 feet long so I assume the chair is good where it is. Is this correct?

I understand the ” rule of thirds” considers the way bass propagates within small room acoustic. This would put speaker baffles at six foot from front wall and listening seat at twelve feet from front wall in an room with 18 ft length dimension. With that said maybe it’s something you could try before spending money on expensive bass treatment.

Even if you were to leave speakers as they are you can still move your listening position and experience deeper/shallower peeks/nulls. I will say I’m a big fan of rooms where speakers are pulled in to room as apposed to close to front wall.

MWalt · Nov 20, 2020

Sounds good Hifi. The good news is that the chair is already at the 12 foot point. So I pull the speakers out to 6 feet and push the two subs to a position inside the speakers based on your advice. I guess the next question is placement when I rotate the Qacoustics 3050i towers with the ProAc Tablette 10's, or am I getting ahead of myself. I am also playing around with some OB speakers at the moment, but I would assume that is a completely different animal in regards to room treatment or positioning.

Hifi · Nov 20, 2020

Sub placement considerations should provide the smoothest sound in your listening position. I don’t have ownership experience with subs for my 2 ch audio room. I do know corner loading a sub can really excite a room. I don’t think there is any rule that says corner loading a sub is incorrect. I do think one should try as many things that may help.

Bass traps and other room treatments

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