SOUND ON SOUND

[Sam Spoons]

Me too, Opt 4 loses the bass trap which is definitely a bad idea, the more bass trapping you can fit into a small room the better. I have my mirror points panels horizontal at ear/ monitor level as in Opt 3b.

[Funkyflash5]

3b!

[erkperk]

I was hoping for option 4, but the forum has spoken! Thank you very much!

[blinddrew]

Trust us, you'll appreciate the bass trapping (and any more you might choose to add in the future). ;)

[Sam Spoons]

I was hoping for option 4, but the forum has spoken! Thank you very much!

Curious to know why you preferred opt 4?

[erkperk]

Hi Sam,,

For me there are several factors at play other than the purely acoustical ones, why it is valuable having someone pointing you in the right direction in terms of acoustics. These are the reasons why I preferred option 4:

1. The rectangular absorbers are fairly easy to build (I am still waiting for the Rockwool to arrive, but everything else went well so far), and handy because they can easily be re-configured, as opposed to the corner trap which will stay there. I am not planning to move the studio soon, but is would give more flexibility within the room.

2. I know the low frequencies are the hardest one to tame, especially in a small room. I hoped putting more ceiling panels up would be an easier way to handle the bass than building a corner trap. The ceiling absorbers are about 450mm deep in total (from front to ceiling), and the corner traps slightly more shallow (at the deepest 400mm) but of course more strategically placed as bass tend to build up bouncing around in the corners - and I would actually cover a whole lot of surface by building them!

3. Option 4 is also symmetrical and look more tidy - it is configured around the working spot, and then mirrored around the room axis.

[Sam Spoons]

Fair enough :thumbup:

Rather than complex corner traps you could build rectangular panels and fix them across the wall ceiling corner, adding some extra thickness behind by either doubling up the thickness with a narrower piece of RW3 or securing a roll or two of cheaper insulation into the corner before mounting them will increase their efficiency but the 'round the corners' audio path gives increased LF attenuation over mounting them over a flat surface.

[RichardT]

Hi Sam,,

For me there are several factors at play other than the purely acoustical ones, why it is valuable having someone pointing you in the right direction in terms of acoustics. These are the reasons why I preferred option 4:

1. The rectangular absorbers are fairly easy to build (I am still waiting for the Rockwool to arrive, but everything else went well so far), and handy because they can easily be re-configured, as opposed to the corner trap which will stay there. I am not planning to move the studio soon, but is would give more flexibility within the room.

2. I know the low frequencies are the hardest one to tame, especially in a small room. I hoped putting more ceiling panels up would be an easier way to handle the bass than building a corner trap. The ceiling absorbers are about 450mm deep in total (from front to ceiling), and the corner traps slightly more shallow (at the deepest 400mm) but of course more strategically placed as bass tend to build up bouncing around in the corners - and I would actually cover a whole lot of surface by building them!

3. Option 4 is also symmetrical and look more tidy - it is configured around the working spot, and then mirrored around the room axis.

Understood. I would go for the horizontal orientation of the wall panels as per 3b whatever you choose to do with the other traps. You could also have free standing broadband traps behind you in conjunction with the ceiling panels of option 4 if the suspended corner trap is daunting (I do remember what you said about the back wall!). Sam’s suggestion is also good.

[James Perrett]

I'd agree with Sam. Build the corner traps in the same way as the other panels and then fill the void. I glued rockwool to the walls in the corners behind the traps and filled the void with offcuts of rockwool that I had left over from other parts of the studio. The filling in the void doesn't have to be complete or as dense as the panel because it is mainly the front panel and its distance from the wall that is doing the work.

[erkperk]

Sweet! Thanks for your support. It would then look something like this:


The corner absorbers and ceiling absorber are very close to one another, but I guess that's fine?

[erkperk]

Oh, and in in response to what James wrote; the shelves at the back wall doesn't go all the way up to the ceiling. There is a gap (currently full of stuff) of approx 60cm. I guess I could clear that area and squeeze in corner traps there, possibly a bit further into the room. I assume that the placement is better as it could reduce some low frequencies before they bounce back into the room, possibly reducing funky wave interference slightly (on the other hand the back wall is a thinner drywall, so the bass might pass through)? Or even put corner absorbers both at the front and the back?

[Funkyflash5]

Making the whole area above the shelves bass trapping sounds like a winning idea to me.

[Sam Spoons]

Yup, me too, you can't have too much bass trapping in a small room. But that last should yield good results and it's not too difficult to add extra treatment later on of you decide more would be worthwhile.