Author Topic: Acoustic Panels  (Read 546 times)

jalevinemd

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Acoustic Panels
« on: November 14, 2012, 09:00:48 PM »
The room I play in at home is my den. It's above the garage and has a 15 foot ceiling shaped like this:
 / `
 
I'm losing a lot of sound and wanted to put acoustic panels on both sides of the sloped ceiling. Any idea how much needs to be covered? How far apart should the panels be?

mario_farufyno

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Acoustic Panels
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2012, 08:20:27 AM »
Acoustic panels are usually used to adjust how a room should sounds, to tune his tone and control its reverberant field.
 
If you need to improve sound proofing, you must think in terms of increase walls/floor/ceiling's mass. Drywalls are an efficient way to gain mass and keep highs and mids trapped in the room. Efficience will depend on how carefully you cover inside surfaces.  
 
Remember that any thinner wall will be where sound will drain out, as windows and doors (one weak ring in the chain is where all our efforts will fail). Opting for double pane window, thicker and heavier glasses and doors, will help. Avoid openings below doors or even keyholes, you would be amazed how much sound energy can escape by such tiny openings. In studios, people use neoprene rings to seal doors and windows when closed to their backstop. If air can get out, sound will too.
 
Unfortunately, lows can put things shaking too easily, so it is considerably harder to inprison them. As they get out by vibrating walls/floor/structure, you must get ways to decouple inner isolation from outer walls. You can hang drywalls on metal trails, reducing its contact points to the wall, or use wires to suspend them on the ceiling. There is even kinds of hangers that have rubber cushions to help dampen vibrations.
 
There are many ways to isolate sound, but sky is the limit. Consider how much you intend to spend and how much sound proofing you need.
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eligilam

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« Reply #2 on: November 16, 2012, 02:38:49 PM »
Are you looking to soundproof or to cut down on wall reverberations?

jalevinemd

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« Reply #3 on: November 16, 2012, 10:36:40 PM »
Cut down on wall reverb. Not looking to soundproof.

lbpesq

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« Reply #4 on: November 16, 2012, 10:40:06 PM »
In the old days we used egg crate.
 
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jalevinemd

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« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2012, 12:13:06 AM »
I want it to be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

lbpesq

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« Reply #6 on: November 17, 2012, 07:36:51 AM »
Dark grey foam egg crate?  More expensive than the cardboard stuff, but I always thought it looked cool!
 
Bill, tgo

jalevinemd

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« Reply #7 on: November 17, 2012, 07:40:45 AM »
Hmmmm...
 
Don't think I've ever seen foam egg crate. I'll take a look around.

sonicus

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« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2012, 07:47:36 AM »

keith_h

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« Reply #9 on: November 17, 2012, 08:16:26 AM »
You need to be careful with what foam products you use. Many of the lower cost foams are highly flammable. While they will all burn the ones specifically designed for sound absorption are flame resistant.  
 
Keith

sonicus

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« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2012, 08:22:04 AM »

cje

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« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2012, 08:25:29 AM »
One functional thing you could do is get some absorptive material like Sonex or egg crate, and attach them to plywood panels of the same size with a spray adhesive.  Then, hang them from the ceiling, say 4-6 feet down, perhaps at different angles. This way, you eliminate much of the cavernous sound that your 15ft ceiling is creating, but you are still letting some sound travel up, and it won't feel like you are in a small room.  
 
I'd start with just a few, maybe 4 at first, and see if it provides enough dampening. You can always add more, add a bit of treatment to the walls, or maybe some bass traps. Eliminating parallel surfaces by attaching things to the walls of different depths will go a long way to eliminate reverberation and standing waves. In acoustics, those things are called diffusers.  
 
Don't go overboard and cover 100% of your surfaces with absorptive material. It's usually best to add just enough so it sounds good, but leave some reflective material exposed so your room doesn't sound lifeless.  
 
Let us know how it works out!

cozmik_cowboy

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« Reply #12 on: November 17, 2012, 09:46:34 AM »
Pull off the drywall between every other stud (try to get opposing walls opposite - drywall facing torn off) , fill the space with insulation (if it's not already), and cover with burlap/tie-dye/faux leopard/your cloth of choice.  Now you're half reflective, half absorbtive, and looking groovy.  If this not a dedicated studio space, though, you may want to get prior approval from senior management.
 
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edwin

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« Reply #13 on: November 17, 2012, 07:24:01 PM »
Foam doesn't really do all that much to improve acoustics. I've looked into this extensively and foam might affect some high frequency reflections, but it leaves your wallet empty and the room largely unaffected. While I'm not specifically recommending this company over others, check out http://www.gikacoustics.com. I do have a couple of their 2x4 2 panels and they are very nice. I also made a bunch out of 5 deep cotton acoustic insulation. Much cheaper and very effective.  
 
While this forum deals with mostly studio issues, there are lots of ideas applicable to your situation and some real experts (including Glenn of GIK) hang here and so your questions can get some good answer.
 
So, I'll just reiterate, stay away from foam, you'd be wasting time and money. Believe me, I've been there. I spent a lot of money on Auralex, trying to do it on the cheap and ending up taking a loss on all of it and starting over right. I'm definitely not the only one to have found this out the hard way and I'd hate for you to walk down that path as well.

jalevinemd

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« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2012, 08:32:27 AM »
Edwin,
 
Thanks for the link. I'm going to call them on Monday and see what their thoughts are regarding my needs and budget. Funny you should mention Auralex...that was the direction I was heading!
 
Regards,
 
Jonathan