Acoustical Surfaces: is this stuff legit?

[damonrpayne]

http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/acoust_ceilings/contour.htm?d=20

Would this be better than doing a drywall ceiling and then trying to add auralex panels after the fact?

[colterphoto1]

Isn't this mainly diffraction, if those numbers are in db, that's not much absorbtion.

Isn't auralex mainly absorbtion. But it's good to have some of both.

. Explore randomness like the photo you enclosed.

Look at the photos of Klipsch's listening room. some auralex panels on the doors, some rounded diffusion panels. angled ceiling. That's all. Not really fancy.

Michael

[picky]

Michael: I am not trying to correct you, my friend. I could be mistaken, but I do not believe those figures are expressed in decibels. I believe they are expressed as acoustic absorbtion coeffecients.

Damon: Here are the tiles I used in my ceiling: http://www.sonex-online.com/SONEX%20Ceilings.htm I used the "Basix" pattern in Black. They are about 2-1/4" thick, fireproof and the maker says they have a 90% sound absorbtion capability. They are ligitamate and they work excellent.

In the walls, I installed something similar to an acoustic blocking membrane beneath the drywall. It works great to deaden the walls and help prevent bleed-through.

Here is one brand called ProSPEC Barrier: http://www.quietnoise.com/barriers.htm It can be rather expensive.

In light of the expense, I wound up using a high-density roofing product that was about $39 at Home Depot for a 4 ft wide (3/4 Square) roll (7 Square Meters). Despite the naysayers, the stuff works remarkably well. It's made by GAF and was a regular stock item in our area here in Michigan: http://www.gaf.com/Content/Documents/10812.pdf

[colterphoto1]

AH, I see. The only caveat I'd have against any type of product hung in a grid might be a buzzing from the panels or the grid system itself at loud volume levels. Looks like a good product.

Michael

[IndyKlipschFan]

I liked the "Quietrock" drywall system until I learned it was 128 dollars PER 4x 8 sheet AND no dealers here so 50 dollars per sheet shipping... so 187 dollas per 4 x 8 times your room... Plus a sealent... special spackle... naaaa I will pass..

It did look great until........ LOL Famous last words I am sure.

[DrWho]

http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/acoust_ceilings/contour.htm?d=20

Would this be better than doing a drywall ceiling and then trying to add auralex panels after the fact?

I believe these kind of panels were more intended for office

workspaces, where there is a great deal of "noise" in the octave

surrounding 2kHz (fan noise, phones, printers, faxes, etc etc). These

panels greatly absorb the sound at these frequencies which results in a

much quieter workplace where people can actually hear the person on the

phone. Narrow absorbtion however is typically an awful thing to

implement into a home theatre, where you typically want broad band

solutions.

[artto]

Im immediately suspicious of any company/product whos first line of propaganda includes the words sound proofing.

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What you have here are some basic, traditional, noise control products. IMO they are primarily targeted toward the commercial/industrial sectors to improve ambient noise conditions. If you look closely at the sound absorption coefficient charts of these products youll notice higher values in the middle frequencies, with the lower sound absorption coefficients at both lower and higher frequencies. This is so the product absorbs more mid-range frequency ambient noise so that it interferes less with sound close by. These do not make for very good sound absorption or diffusion devices for our purposes, which is primarily voice and music. These products are used, for instance, to help tone down the mid-range noise from a printer/plotter or some other office or industrial equipment so it interferes less with say, a conversation in an adjacent area.

[WMcD]

Like Art, I'm a bit suspicious about the claims. One problem is that it is not quite certain what is being claimed.

On one hand, we see that normal ceiling tile is very thin and this stuff is 2 inches or more. So it is bound to have more effect on somethings.

I believe that Art and I come from the same camp of hard science.

The issue is identifying the problems and finding solutions. Generally these break down into sound transmission, sound diffusion, and sound absorption. The technical studies show that no one item of treatment does more than address one of them. Further, a given item has widely different performance at different frequencies.

I wonder just how much good ceiling treatment can do, given the other problems. It looks at (reflects off) the floor which typically has carpet and, at home, stuffed furnature.

On the other hand, the walls are hard plaster board. When I hear a slap echo, I attribute it to the walls. It is interesting that that the testimonial on the webisite talk about wall treatment, if I read that right.

Best,

Gil

[damonrpayne]

I am a big fan of hard science.

So what's y'all's hourly rate to come up here an consult about my room when my house is done?

[artto]

Well, actually the right way would have been to consult with me before you build the house/room. That being said, I work cheap, self-employed, low overhead. And werent you supposed to stop by John Malotkys place when I was up there last fall? At any rate, maybe Gil would like to take a drive up there with me. What kind of parties do you throw? []

[damonrpayne]

I allowed as much space in the house/room as I was going to spend on my 1st new home. I was supposed to meet you at JM's place but work came up.

What kind of parties? The kind with food on the grill, booze, and music. I would absolutely pay (In beer?) for help with planning the construction once you saw the room. I'd be looking for options on what materials to put where mostly.

[IndyKlipschFan]

The kind with food on the grill, booze, and music....

And no scantily clad women... ?

J/K

[damonrpayne]

The kind with food on the grill, booze, and music....

And no scantily clad women... ?

J/K

Just my daughter running in the diaper, but you keep your hands off her.