Do you use acoustic treatment in your listening area?
- Thread starter rough edges
- Start date
Bob McC
Living the life of Riley
It was unheard of for domestic audio situations for decades.
I got through the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and up to today without it.
I don’t think I’ll bother now thank you very much.
Life’s too short to get OCD about putting monoliths in the room and covering walls with crap.
I got through the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and up to today without it.
I don’t think I’ll bother now thank you very much.
Life’s too short to get OCD about putting monoliths in the room and covering walls with crap.
rough edges
Sapere Aude
Every audio dealership I have ever been in uses acoustic treatment in their sound rooms. I wonder why they would do that if it made no difference...
Folkman
pfm Member
Played with a few panels in my previous room with positive results ,so much so that when i built my current dedicated listening room full acoustic treatment was part of the design process.
All GIK panels and ended up with side walls and ceiling first reflection point covered by 4 full range monster panels. 8 tritraps stacked in all 4 corners and all 4 walls treated with 8 monster bass panels.
Interestingly having tried some diffusion panels I came to the conclusion I did not like the result , so everything was done for absorption.
All done with design help from GIK. End result took the sound contribution of the room out of the equation so you are left with the real sound of the music / equipment. One of the best things ive done in 40 years of hifi.
Oh , and one unforeseen by product is that the room is very quiet and calming just to sit in.
All GIK panels and ended up with side walls and ceiling first reflection point covered by 4 full range monster panels. 8 tritraps stacked in all 4 corners and all 4 walls treated with 8 monster bass panels.
Interestingly having tried some diffusion panels I came to the conclusion I did not like the result , so everything was done for absorption.
All done with design help from GIK. End result took the sound contribution of the room out of the equation so you are left with the real sound of the music / equipment. One of the best things ive done in 40 years of hifi.
Oh , and one unforeseen by product is that the room is very quiet and calming just to sit in.
Tony L
Administrator
Be warned that it is certainly possible to overdo room treatment. I have a big pile of studio damping foam (this sort of thing) stacked up in the basement. A few weeks ago curiosity got the better of me and I arranged a row of them behind my listening seat atop the radiator, i.e. at ear height and with the logic of damping out any rear-wall bounce. My room is very well behaved to start with, I don’t have any irritating honks, booms or treble splash/flutter and it sounds very natural to speak or play music in. It is a just a good sounding room. This tweak just killed it! It made the image smaller and flatter and kind of put everything inside the speaker rather than a convincing soundstage behind. I was really surprised by how bad it was! I know this is but one isolated example, but I’d still be aware ‘too far’ is very possible!
PS If anyone wants the foam and can collect they are very welcome to it, there’s a pile about 5’ high of them. Obviously second hand (they were stapled up in a studio), but still presentable.
PS If anyone wants the foam and can collect they are very welcome to it, there’s a pile about 5’ high of them. Obviously second hand (they were stapled up in a studio), but still presentable.
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Chris81
pfm Member
The keyword is balanced. I guess they damped the heights and higher midrange but not the lower midrange down to bass so you achieved an imbalance which sound bad. Therefore I use thicker plates (100mm) instead of thiner ones likes yours from the link. There are also big quality differences between different absorption materials. I have used cheap stuff in the past and it wasn't worth the money.
Generally I think it is easier to do the wrong treatment instead of over dampen a room.
Generally I think it is easier to do the wrong treatment instead of over dampen a room.
darrenyeats
pfm Member
Modern rooms with bare floors and walls and lots of glass can't be compared to an Victorian house with lots of books, shelves, furniture, nooks, thick carpet etc. One size doesn't fit all.
In terms of generalities: listening position away from the back wall and speakers away from side walls, is a good start (1 metre is good). If you can't get speakers away from side walls then at least treat first reflections (I do this) but I'd prioritise getting the listening position in a bit of space.
Otherwise, a lot depends on the specifics of the room I'd say. Flutter echo may be a problem, resonance in mid/top may be a problem - it depends. If you decide to use bass traps: some measuring equipment is a necessary start, and I would prioritise tunable/custom-tuned narrow-band traps.
In terms of generalities: listening position away from the back wall and speakers away from side walls, is a good start (1 metre is good). If you can't get speakers away from side walls then at least treat first reflections (I do this) but I'd prioritise getting the listening position in a bit of space.
Otherwise, a lot depends on the specifics of the room I'd say. Flutter echo may be a problem, resonance in mid/top may be a problem - it depends. If you decide to use bass traps: some measuring equipment is a necessary start, and I would prioritise tunable/custom-tuned narrow-band traps.
Last edited:
ToTo Man
the band not the dog
I often see folk using acoustic foam or very thin insulation as treatments, either because they believe their room only has mid and high frequency problems, or are misguided in thinking that it offers broadband absorption. The key to good sound is even reverberation/decay times across all frequencies. Plastering your walls with foam will reduce decay times of high frequencies but won't touch the bass, usually resulting in a lopsided balance that is still boomy/smeary/resonant but now with the sparkle and ambience stripped out, - a worse result than before!
If you don't trust your ears to tell you how balanced your room currently is, a quick frequency sweep with REW will show you how even your decay times are across the frequency range. If you're averaging under 500ms then you're already in a pretty good place. Low frequencies usually resonate the most in a room, so you will often see the decay times rising sharply below 100Hz.
The goal is to push the starting point of this rise to as low a frequency as possible, and also reduce the rise to a level that's closer to your average decay times from 100Hz to 20kHz, but do so in a way that DOESN'T also inadvertently reduce the decay times from 100Hz to 20kHz. Damping low frequencies requires THICK broadband absorption and lots of it, and/or more targeted treatment such as tuned traps. These can be faced with a reflective material so that mid- and high-frequencies are reflected back into the room and not over-absorbed.
A lot of this is a learning process of trial and error, you can't expect to get everything right at the first attempt. I've possibly gone slightly OTT with my room treatment (my decay times above 80Hz are down to 300ms, closer to 400ms would perhaps be more natural), however the result is so much better than without the treatment, and better than the sound of any other room in the house without treatment, that I would happily choose my treated room to listen in every time.
If you don't trust your ears to tell you how balanced your room currently is, a quick frequency sweep with REW will show you how even your decay times are across the frequency range. If you're averaging under 500ms then you're already in a pretty good place. Low frequencies usually resonate the most in a room, so you will often see the decay times rising sharply below 100Hz.
The goal is to push the starting point of this rise to as low a frequency as possible, and also reduce the rise to a level that's closer to your average decay times from 100Hz to 20kHz, but do so in a way that DOESN'T also inadvertently reduce the decay times from 100Hz to 20kHz. Damping low frequencies requires THICK broadband absorption and lots of it, and/or more targeted treatment such as tuned traps. These can be faced with a reflective material so that mid- and high-frequencies are reflected back into the room and not over-absorbed.
A lot of this is a learning process of trial and error, you can't expect to get everything right at the first attempt. I've possibly gone slightly OTT with my room treatment (my decay times above 80Hz are down to 300ms, closer to 400ms would perhaps be more natural), however the result is so much better than without the treatment, and better than the sound of any other room in the house without treatment, that I would happily choose my treated room to listen in every time.
manicatel
pfm Member
Interesting as I also found the GIK diffusion panels to not do the trick for me. Absorption at the reflection points works, diffusion behind the listening position, along with bass trapping in the corners.
Also agree that it’s noticeable coming from a typical family kitchen with its inherent echoey live sound, stepping into the music room is noticeably quieter/calmer. I do think you can go too far with this though, an anechoic chamber is so quiet, I find in quite uncomfortable!
However, designing a music room from scratch, it seems crazy to me not to factor in some acoustic panels, as they are so effective & good vfm.
herb
brain's right hemisphere
No treatment here - I have tried, but I listen too quietly and it becomes too absorptive. There is a higher volume where room treatment may be of use but I would never go there with acoustical music. Very low bass is of little interest to me with classical music, not something I experience at live concerts.
Having room treatment solve bass issues is an 'ear opener'. Not only do you hear the bass as it should sound but it also allows the higher frequencies to shine too.
That's a good question. I've seen some ideas somewhere, perhaps on the Martin Logan site.
That's a good question. I've seen some ideas somewhere, perhaps on the Martin Logan site.
ToTo Man
the band not the dog
Couldn't agree more.
loz2103
pfm Member
Sweet, I'll check it out. Thanks.
I don't have any acoustic treatment in my listening area although I am sure it does make a difference. It is a domestic space, a living room after all and not a studio, so it is much better to use speaker positioning, bookshelves, curtains, furniture etc. to reach an acceptable compromise. The height of the ceiling and the choice of material can affect how the room sounds. Luckily I have pitched roofs so standing waves seem not to be a problem.
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
Today we removed four paintings that are glass fronted from the wall behind the listening position -then hung a large 'throw' from the picture rail on the bare wall.
The result is easy to notice - a significant improvement. So, I managed to fit another rug in the music room as well.
Here I am with the curtains closed (obviously) listening to records like they are newly found.
I love those sort of moments when phaffing about trying to find a bit more.
The result is easy to notice - a significant improvement. So, I managed to fit another rug in the music room as well.
Here I am with the curtains closed (obviously) listening to records like they are newly found.
I love those sort of moments when phaffing about trying to find a bit more.