oldtimer Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 To answer your question, yes. Second only to carpet for non-purpose-built absorption. If you've got a bathroom with tile or linoleum flooring, just walk around talking or clapping with your towels hanging up and again with them removed. Seriously, just even 2 towels will make an audible difference in the bathroom. It sounds odd without them there. If you have bathmats and remove those too, the effect is stronger. Then imagine how large two drapes are in comparison. The "shower stall effect" is brought on by the shape and lack of absorption which enhances sympathetic and parasympathetic vibrations. I actually learned that in college, proving it wasn't a total waste... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 none of it matters at < 7' from the speaker face. :D Actually it still does. Your face still does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 The "shower stall effect" is brought on by the shape and lack of absorption which enhances sympathetic and parasympathetic vibrations. I actually learned that in college, proving it wasn't a total waste... Taught by Sandusky? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I couldn't help but notice that the carpet doesn't match the drapes. I will also second the fact that absorption panels at the first reflection point really make a difference. Well played sir, you beat me to the punch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 The "shower stall effect" is brought on by the shape and lack of absorption which enhances sympathetic and parasympathetic vibrations. I actually learned that in college, proving it wasn't a total waste... Taught by Sandusky? That's just sick. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Drapes and room furnishings can make a big difference in the listening room. If done right, they can be the room tx's and the use of other acoustic tx's may not be needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 No one can appreciate a fully treated room until they do their own. Leave the curtains for the wife to deal with. Buy 2'X4', two inch thick panels..... Front wall, back wall and ceiling. If you don't have them, your not hearing all the details in your content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Front wall, back wall and ceiling. If you don't have them, your not hearing all the details in your content. I'd love to have some on the ceilings but had to compromise to get any in the room at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 No one can appreciate a fully treated room until they do their own. Leave the curtains for the wife to deal with. Buy 2'X4', two inch thick panels..... Front wall, back wall and ceiling. If you don't have them, your not hearing all the details in your content. True, especially for a frame-up dedicated HT. But, if you're in a dedicated (existing) room it will have windows. I'm not going to hang Acoustic Panels over my windows. I'll take Drapes over glass anytime.... no wife needed, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 No one can appreciate a fully treated room until they do their own. Leave the curtains for the wife to deal with. Buy 2'X4', two inch thick panels..... Front wall, back wall and ceiling. If you don't have them, your not hearing all the details in your content. True, especially for a frame-up dedicated HT. But, if you're in a dedicated (existing) room it will have windows. I'm not going to hang Acoustic Panels over my windows. I'll take Drapes over glass anytime.... no wife needed, Uh yeah, I don't think panels over a window would turn out too good, even in a frat house. Hang enough panels in your room and it wont matter what you put over the windows, if anything. But of course, curtains wouldn't hurt, but they are not going do near what a few panels would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 No one can appreciate a fully treated room until they do their own. Leave the curtains for the wife to deal with. Buy 2'X4', two inch thick panels..... Front wall, back wall and ceiling. If you don't have them, your not hearing all the details in your content. True, especially for a frame-up dedicated HT. But, if you're in a dedicated (existing) room it will have windows. I'm not going to hang Acoustic Panels over my windows. I'll take Drapes over glass anytime.... no wife needed, Uh yeah, I don't think panels over a window would turn out too good, even in a frat house. Hang enough panels in your room and it wont matter what you put over the windows, if anything. But of course, curtains wouldn't hurt, but they are not going do near what a few panels would. Pretty sure no one here said drapes would be better than acoustic panels. That benefit is not in question. The OP was asking if drapes/curtain will offer any benefit... & yes the will provide some noticeable difference (for Music or HT). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) It depends on the weight/thickness of the drapes themselves: they can be just as effective as panels.... Edited June 5, 2015 by Chris A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 It depends on the weight/thickness of the drapes themselves: they can be just as effective as panels.... That awesome. I've been seeing some of those padded curtains online. Nice!! I might have to explore them further. It used to be those options were pretty pedestrian/industrial, great to see they have evolved into offering something much nicer. Looks great. I have one particularly large 144" x 60" window & its covered with heavy drapes which are lined with a blackout layer. Those can be puled open or closed like a traditional covering & they rest 4"- 5" away from the wall. In addition, I have a separate covering that rolls down when viewing movies & it sits flush with the wall/window. It rolls back up & is hidden during normal day-to-day use. Try watching the beginning of Transformers AoE or Godzilla without either of those coverings in place (not good). lol I even have a small etched/decorative window that's designed "not" to have any covering—but I put a basic terry cloth towel over it when watching movies. That actually works as a great temporary solution, especially when the subs dig deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 What happens without it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Was going to post this separately, but it fits well with this thread. Saw this in the Washington Post. New designer felt acoustic panels coming in July. No NRC (noise reduction coefficient) rating yet, but pretty cool looking if you are doing something with a modernistic flare. Pricey at $240 for 16 square feet (four panels), but pretty cool looking. http://mioculture.com/paperforms/deco-feltforms.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) I believe it is plausible that the drapes did a lot of good. Unfortunately it takes some sophisticated equipment to measure acoustics of a room, some good insights on what the data mean, and further learning on what to do to make things better. Nonetheless, my thinking is that our rooms are very poor acoustic environments and therefore even small amounts of absorbing, or diffusing, material will help. Points: When our office suite was being re-carpeted I got to hear rooms without carpet. There was a very harsh sound not previously present. My small office sounds pretty good even though square, and almost a cube, sheetrock with a good area of glass windows. Theoretically bad. It has a ceiling of suspended acoustic panels. These probably have some effect. But I think the major factor is that there is almost 24 inches of free space above which communicates to the entire suite. And the door in the corner is always open. It is just to say that in fact, it is not really such a bad environment. Similarly, home listening rooms are never the theoretical size because of openings. But they may have other issues. My favorite observation is the bath tub shower area where I listen to a tap tunes radio. With the sliding doors shut it is awful. But sliding the glass door open creates about 5% to 10% absorption area in that 100% of the sound is going out and never re-echoing in that small space. It is very, very marked in improvement. The bath tub shower thing: In past centuries builders of concert halls would build scaled down replicas of the proposed hall to see how the model sounded. Therefore my bath tub shower might well be recreating the use of absorptive material in a living room. My guess is that a concert hall was scaled down to a living room in size. So our living room could be scaled down to a bath tub shower. No? PWK describe the use of cylindrical diffusers and recommended that they take up 10% of the wall area. (I have to check the Dope From Hope.) In your case, it looks like the drapes are right behind the speakers and this could well be affecting early reflections. This is reportedly a major issue on imaging. This is why people pull their speakers away from walls. The bottom line is that it makes sense. WMcD Edited June 6, 2015 by William F. Gil McDermott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 If I sing in the shower with clothes on, will it echo less? If so, will I sound better or worse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 If I sing in the shower with clothes on, will it echo less? If so, will I sound better or worse? I know if you wear your raincoat in the shower its definitely worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 PWK describe the use of cylindrical diffusers and recommended that they take up 10% of the wall area. (I have to check the Dope From Hope.) Bonners, after Dr. Bonner. There is some debate as to whether they do as good a job as more modern diffusers, but they are easy to make & inexpensive, so one could put in many of them. Does anyone know how lasers were used to analyse or predict the acoustics in the Disney hall (LA)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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