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Acoustic foam - yea or nay?


wuzzzer

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Here are a couple pictures of my basement stereo:

{EDIT} See later post for pics

I was thinking about buying a set of acoustic foam, either 1" or 2" thickness. On the right speaker I was considering putting foam from the wall outlet to the column that sticks out (exactly 48" in width). Height would be flush with the ledge that's about right in the middle of the total height of the wall (about 40" tall).

The loveseat next to the wall by the left speaker isn't normally there. Usually nothing but a long bare wall up to the door at the far left of the pic. If I were to install acoustic foam on this wall, would I be better off matching the 48" width of the foam on the right wall or installing it all the way up to the door on the far left of the pic?

Any advice or suggestions is always appreciated. Thanks!

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Symmetry is a good thing...

Btw, for others to see your pictures you must first upload them to the

internet - instead of using the attach picture button from the menu. At

the bottom there is a file attachment feature that will do this and

automatically add the picture to the bottom of your post (you get one

picture per post).

So what would you be trying to accomplish with the addition of this

foam? In other words, what don't you like about your sound that you're

hoping to improve? It seems like you're wanting to add some foam

because you've heard it can be a good thing, but adding the wrong

acoustical treatments can actually be detrimental to the sound too...

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Get at least 2" thick. The 1" stuff doesn't do much at all, the 2" is

much more effective. www.foambymail.com has good pricing btw.

"would I be better off matching the 48" width of the foam on the right

wall or installing it all the way up to the door on the far left of the

pic?"

No, I wouldn't match the foam height side to side. The open right side

won't be reflecting the same way as the left so the treatments on the

left should go higher to try the cut down the extra reflections from

the left side compared to the right.

Depending upon how much you are going to put up find the first reflection points and treat them first.

Shawn

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Another idea would be to put a big panel of it or misc pieces (maybe checkerboard) up one side of that open stairwell- that things an echo chamber. It might also help to reduce some transmission of sound to the upper floor. A friend of mine did this and used the 3" wedges from foambymail.

M

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Here's another way to place foam.

Get a mirror or piece of mirror tile.

Set in main seating position.

Have a friend move the mirror around on the side wall adjacent to a speaker.

When you can see the speaker in the mirror, mark that spot on wall. That is the point of FIRST REFLECTION where you would want to consider placing a good chunk (maybe 3 x 3 ') of foam.

I got the 4". Thicker works with lower tones.

I also got a 4 pack of the corner type 'Lenrd' type traps and put it in the corner of the junction of the two longest walls to help trap standing waves. Works wonders.

Michael

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Thanks for the replies. I do have a plan of attack if/when I put the acoustic foam on. The mirror trick sounds like a very good idea and makes 100% sense. It won't be just a random placement of foam. [:)]

Would there be benefits by treating the ceiling too? I'm thinking there probably would be. Would the mirror trick be a good way to panel the ceiling also?

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Would there be benefits by treating the ceiling

too? I'm thinking there probably would be. Would the mirror

trick be a good way to panel the ceiling also?

Yes, on both accounts. The ceiling refections can be quite significant, esp when dealing with lower heights...

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I would suggest going with diffusion along the cieling (ala skyline rpg diffusors) instead of acoustic foam...

Tackling the side early reflections with foam is pretty standard, but I

would suggest installing some bass traps first as they will probably

have a larger impact on the sound.

When you go around tackling all the early reflections points, before

you know it you end up with a very dead anechoic chamber type sound -

which is a most unpleasant listening experience. So when you can use

diffusion to treat a problem, it is usually better (especially in

smaller rooms) as it results in a more natural decay of sound in the

room. Or if you wanted to be technical about it you would run around

measuring the RT60 and aiming for one of the ideal targets. (RT60

refers to the length of time required for a sound source to drop 60dB

at a particular frequency - you actually don't want the same decay

rates for every frequency and the ideal RT60 charts indicate relative

decay rates that sound the most natural).

If your room is quiet, you might actually be able to hear where

reflections are coming from without doing any fancing measuring. And

then you can decide whether or not these reflections are beneficial to

the sound and you can treat them accordingly. Just try to do everything

with forethought and do one thing at a time so that you can get an idea

of how each panel is affecting the sound. Using T-Pins is a great way

of temporarily mounting foam to the wall so that you are free to move

them around and experiment a bit.

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I do have a pretty short ceiling, I'm guessing its about 7 feet tall considering that I'm 5'10" and can touch the ceiling with my feet flat on the ground.

My wife wasn't too keen on the idea of the foam on the ceiling, so those acoustic panels are worth looking at. Thanks!

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Well making the foam look good is going to be different for everyone

and for every application. You can cover any kind of foam with any

color cloth - which is probably the first place to start. In dedicated

rooms you can make the foam a part of the visual scheme in the room.

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She did see a show on one of the decorating

channels of someone who put some fabric over them to hide them

more.

Depends on you artistic preferences, but I've always found foam an

interesting material to work with. It can be used to create a

couple of "minimalist" art works which control sound.

In other words, instead of placing foam on your walls where needed...

build a couple of foam filled art works, and hang those there

instead.

ROb

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The fabric covering is probably the best idea. One- it's cheaper if you buy the foam in Grey color. At the FOAMBYMAIL site, it's less expensive and you can trade in the corner blocks and spray glue for more squares. You'll want to use Liquid Nails or equivalent. I mounted mine to gatorfoam panels so I can move em around.

I've also seen the more massive Lenrd corner bass traps covered in a shirred fabric and dramatically lit so it almost looks like an architectural column. Make a quarter circle of heavy wire, mount top and bottom on the wall around the foam blocks, then attach fabric panels bunched up so as to created the 'flutes' that a column would have. Place a small can light on floor a safe distance away. Instant art.

Michael

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The fabric covering is probably the best idea. One- it's cheaper if you buy the foam in Grey color. At the FOAMBYMAIL site, it's less expensive and you can trade in the corner blocks and spray glue for more squares. You'll want to use Liquid Nails or equivalent. I mounted mine to gatorfoam panels so I can move em around.

I've also seen the more massive Lenrd corner bass traps covered in a shirred fabric and dramatically lit so it almost looks like an architectural column. Make a quarter circle of heavy wire, mount top and bottom on the wall around the foam blocks, then attach fabric panels bunched up so as to created the 'flutes' that a column would have. Place a small can light on floor a safe distance away. Instant art.

Michael

If you are going to cover it in fabric, why not use carpet foam? Really cheap and available locally in every city.

Chris

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