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Room acoustics and treatment


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A previous discussion about new monitors ended in an interesting discussion about my room and acoustics. I would like to continue that discussion here.

 

First of all, things changed. As me and my girlfriend are expecting a baby boy in September I needed to change the studio room. (happy to do so, very excited about becoming a dad!:))

 

The new room is shared as a laundry room, but it is big enough for both functions. I also moved the acoustic panels. The new room is much higher (and a bit bigger) then the old one. It also sounds more lively. I really like it. But there is a peak/standing wave of about 44Hz. I would like to get rid of it. It is quite dominant

 

The size of the room is L3,65xW2,95xH2,20 to 2,90 m (ceilings is sloped).

 

Mike or others, do you have any suggestions for improvement further?

 

Here are some pictures.

Rudy

 

 

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Did you see the pictures? I made my own panels, which have high density Rockwool in it. They are 10cm thick. They do a lot actually. I still have one left as you see standing in the corner. I could put that horizontally somewhere between ceiling and wall. I don't have room for it to place vertically. Or I could maybe buy some of those block bass traps and put those in the corners of the ceiling, but I doubt they will do much.

Rudy

 

 

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My apologies, Sir Rudy. I've looked now, your bass traps look nice and from your description they are a nice enhancement.

 

If there is still a problem at 44hz then you have more work to do and I haven't got the knowledge to assist you or I would share it.

Hopefully, one of our other forumites with more experience in that realm will chime in and we might learn something useful. Cheers, Kuru

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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The new room is shared as a laundry room, but it is big enough for both functions. I also moved the acoustic panels. The new room is much higher (and a bit bigger) then the old one. It also sounds more lively. I really like it. But there is a peak/standing wave of about 44Hz. I would like to get rid of it. It is quite dominant

 

The size of the room is L3,65xW2,95xH2,20 to 2,90 m (ceilings is sloped).

 

Mike or others, do you have any suggestions for improvement further?

 

44 Hz is really low for acoustic panels. You need something like a Helmholz resonator, which is really not as hard to build as it is to spell. But maybe you can solve the problem another way, by moving the listening position or putting a diffusor where you'd put a trap to spread the reflection out to where it won't interfere with what you want to hear.

 

I didn't run the numbers, but have you? Does 44 Hz jive with one of the room dimensions? Have you checked out Ethan Winer's acoustics articles? Among other things he has a room mode calculator there that's pretty slick. More articles on the RealTraps web site? (Ethan's former company)

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Thank you Eric!! Really excited:)

 

@mike, I"ve used some online calculators. It is anaxial mode of the rooms length. I also used a low f sin to test it. It is at its peak on both end walls and goes to a nill in the middle of the room. I"ve put the absorbers to the back wall and in the ceiling corner, but it didn"t do much.

 

@Kuru, no problem, I was just checking wether you or me was missing something:)

Rudy

 

 

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Hi Rudy,

 

Congratulations on the new space! It looks really nice.

 

To follow up on other people's notes: 44 Hz is LOW. That is way down in the realm of proper bass, and a 10 cm panel won't do anything meaningful to control it. Neither will foam absorbers of any thickness. As far as that one mode is concerned, your room basically has blank walls.

 

On the bright side, if that is the one really bad mode you're hearing, then you can get away with a properly tuned bass trap rather than attempting a broadband solution, which would have been quite a bit more iffy.

 

Normally I would say that a Helmholtz resonator on the floor against the wall would help a fair bit, as long as it's tuned correctly. That may still be the case, but you will have to do some research as to whether it's practical to build one that goes that low. If you made your own panels, a Helmholtz resonator would be about the same degree of difficulty as a DIY project, so a solution is within reach.

 

I recommend reaching out to Bruce Black at manofacoustics.com. He is an excellent acoustics engineer and room designer, a great teacher, and a friend. He won't build one for you, but if you tell him that I suggested him based on a very nice and straightforward Helmholtz resonator design he created for RECORDING Magazine some time ago, he might be able to get you the sizes and materials you need.

 

Good luck and keep us informed!

 

mike

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

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Hi Mike, Thank you for the feedback. I was already thinking this would head to the direction of a Helmholtz resonator. To be honest I actually don't like the idea of having a >150 liters object extra in the room. I also don't think my girlfriend would really appreciate.

 

I can ask him what the measures are, just to have an idea.

 

But it is really a nice to have. The room actually already sounds pretty darn good. I don't know if this can be explained by acoustic physics, but I have the feeling the stereo image is much wider in this room. It also sounds bigger than my previous room (it actually is, so that makes sense:)).

Rudy

 

 

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Hey Rudy,

 

You should definitely ask him. One of the things about Helmholtz resonators is that they can actually be surprisingly small for the work they do. 44 Hz is a big wave, to be sure, but you might be pleasantly surprised.

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

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