#1924084 - 04/08/08 05:06 PM
Blown AWAY...
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mcphoto
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Registered: 04/03/08
Posts: 7
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OK, this post is for people surfing the web and wondering if all this "treatment" is worth it, or whether they should spend their cash on some new blinkey-light computerized rack gear thingie...
In an earlier thread, Ethan advised me on a treatment plan for my mixing area, and I have a garage full of frames and a big bundle of 703, all awaiting burlap.
Meanwhile, I found a closeout deal on some panels - 3 pieces, 2" thick 703, 24" square, hard backs & burlap... about the minimum sort of panel one would build. But, I figured they'd be useful somewhere, price was right - hundred bucks shipped.
My mix position is problematic - I'm forced to have my speakers very close to a wall with a big window. Just for grins, I hung two panels at the early reflection points, and leaned one against the window between my speakers, put on some reference music and prepared to squint, make faces, rub my chin, and try to convince myself I was hearing a difference.
And holy crap - what a difference. The stereo image is amazing - WIDE. I'm hearing things I never heard before, and every subtle sound in its exact place in the stereo field. I tried some Snakefarm (one of the best-mixed CDs of the last decade) and caught subtle splash cymbals and accents and bits of doubled vocals. I put on some Afghan Whigs ("Somethin' Hot" from "1969", smokin' song) and amongst the thrashy tumult I could make out vocal reverb tails. With Neko Case, the thuddy upright bass was suddenly clear. In fact, the bass response from my rig is tight, clear, and seems about 6db up - 6 USEFUL DB of clarity & presence in the low end. And this from a sheet & a half of 703??? Hot damn!
I then sat my wife down with the same "am I crazy?" face I made when I came home with a $1600 Acoustic. She said "wow". (Same thing she said for the Gibson, I am SO KEEPING THIS WOMAN!)
So, unbelievers - give 'er a try. Go to ATS acoutsics.com - they sell single panels of 703 and rockwool - buy one or two and lean 'em up here & there for starters.
I'm truly amazed. Thanks Ethan & everyone who posts here.
(As my special thanks - I'll suggest you go to iTunes and enter "SnakeFarm" and preview cuts from "Songs from my Funeral" - give "Frankie and Johnny" or "St. james Infirmary" a try... unless you're into hardcore rap or death metal, you'll dig the sound they got).
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#1924218 - 04/09/08 12:50 AM
Re: Blown AWAY...
[Re: mcphoto]
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Speaker Boy
Senior Member
Registered: 02/04/08
Posts: 71
Loc: Santa Barbara, California
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I am amazed by the difference you are seeing. I have two 96sqft bags of 8" thick ultra-touch cotton in my living room and I dont notice that large of a difference. Right now the material is just sitting along the floor corners, but it is still doing something.
Jeff
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#1924595 - 04/09/08 05:02 PM
Re: Blown AWAY...
[Re: Speaker Boy]
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mcphoto
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Registered: 04/03/08
Posts: 7
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My guess is that I don't have as big a rear-wall bass problem as some folks; I'm up against the front wall & window, and to my left a 5' wide doorway opens up - but it's about 4' behind my head, so I may not have those big waves bouncing around as bad. they've got a lot of room to get loose & die, about 20' to the next wall.
Obviously early reflections right at the listening position were a big problem with my room. In the next week or so I'll have 4" thick 703 traps in the corners, a 2' x 4' x 4" cloud overhead, and a similar sized baffle on the back wall; both of those 2x4's will be suspended 4" off the drywall, too.
I also made a couple 1' x 4' frames, 2" thick, which I'll mount vertically on something dense enough to stand them upright on my desk, and play with using them along the window - still get some light in but maybe bust things up more audio-wise, angle 'em around the rear ports on my speakers.
I'll do some 4" pyramid foam on my long side wall (because I just don't have time to build more frames), but that may be most noticeable when I'm tracking acoustics; when I play my acoustics I can hear a hard "harshness" in the high-mids that "sounds" like the room. I'll post my results, but this is a great start.
Hardest thing about all this is A-B-ing it; get up, move stuff around, sit down, listen... I need a babe in a glittery evening gown to do all that while I just listen. Man, there's your tip for the day!
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#1925103 - 04/10/08 02:26 PM
Re: Blown AWAY...
[Re: mcphoto]
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Jesse S
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Registered: 04/17/07
Posts: 28
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mcphoto-
I had the same experience last week. I put up 6 panels of 703 type fibreglass at my reflection points and the difference was stunning. People think you need room echoes for "musical" listening but really the room just sabotages everything that is already in the recording (hopefully).
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