tags: #publish links: [[Music Production Resources]] created: 2021-09-24 Fri --- # Acoustic room treatment [[My room acoustic treatment]] ## Concepts and physics [[Room modes]] [[Speaker boundary interference response]] ## General guidelines for acoustic treatment As a starting point, general recommendation seems to be, in this order: - Bass absorption: 1. Front corners 2. Back corners 3. or floor/ceiling corners - Mid/treble absorbers or diffusers at points of first reflection relative to listening position and speakers: 1. Front wall between speakers 2. Rear wall 3. Ceiling 4. Side walls? If not too close Diffusers don't work as well if they are close - e.g. my side walls, and definitely front wall, would need mostly absorption rather than diffusion. Diffusers better for back of the room. Diffusers *only if you sit far enough away (3 x lowest wavelength diffused)* The best and therefore the usual place for absorbers is in the corners of your room. Also: place resonance absorbers in the pressure zones of your modes (max pressure) and porous absorbers in between (max velocity). http://arqen.com/bass-traps-101/placement-guide/ http://arqen.com/sound-diffusers/ http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/room-setup-acoustic-treatment/ ## Size of panels vs frequency Acoustic absorbers sized to 1/4 of the wavelength will work about as well as full wavelength. 1/4 of a 200 Hz wave is about 16″. 1/4 of 100 Hz wave is about 32″. If you build a 24″ wide bass trap and mount it diagonally in a corner of your room, it will be is approximately 18″ from the corner. Therefore, it can attenuate down to a frequency with an actual wavelength of about 6 feet long (~190 Hz). 4″ fiberglass bass traps can absorb down to the 50-100 Hz range. ## Foam and fibreglass Don't try to make your own out of fibreglass / rockwool. It tends to decay and release dust if not treated properly. Foam may not be a great idea to put on walls in large quantities, due to the fire or insurance risk. Foam on its own does not tend to absorb bass frequencies enough, especially if low density. Or at least, you need a lot of it in a corner volume. ## Acoustic room treatment suppliers ### Sound Acoustics ==Currently looking like best option== https://soundacoustics.com.au/product-category/room-kits/ The bass traps can be installed with a staple gun or with 3M removable hooks. BEAR bass traps have *far* better bass absorption than the Primacoustics "Broadway" 2" fibreglass panel used in the London 10 kit, and totally embarrasses the Swamp ones. They usefully absorb to a significantly lower frequency than any others I've found, and they're cheaper than the nearest equivalents. These are basically plate oscillators as per https://amcoustics.com/articles/thesis/5_2_2 - a foam-sprung plate **Purchased 2021-10** Kit RK1 - $699 https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/acoustic-foam-panels/home-studio/acoustic-panel-room-kit-rk1/ 4x LF65 bass traps 8x HA600/75 Hybrid Diffuser wall panels **Purchased x2, 2021-10** MP700-40 ceiling panels, $66 https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/acoustic-foam-panels/white-acoustic-ceiling-panel-mp70040/ 700 x 700 x 40mm, white Melamine foam, good fire safety HA600/75 Hybrid Diffuser wall panels - $65 https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/architectural-panels/hybrid-absorber-diffuser-ha600-75/ - these are a mix of absorption and diffusion - more absorption 150-1000Hz, 50/50 above 1000Hz - 600 x 600 x 75mm - Wood or perspex (can put things behind the perspex for decoration) Lundor foam panels - $69 https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/acoustic-foam-panels/slotted_modular_acoustic_panels/lundor-architectural-acoustic-panel/ Bright colours 36kg/m³ 600 x 600 x 45mm PA600/25 ceiling panels, $59 https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/ceiling-acoustic-panels/sonsorb-pa600-25-ceiling-acoustic-panel/ 600 x 600 x 25mm, white partially recycled, poly, good fire rating glue or velcro mount LF60 $249 each - custom order only https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/bass-traps/corner-bass-trap-lf60-bear-series/ 600mm high, 820mm across front LF65 $99 each https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/bass-traps/lf65-corner-bass-trap/ 600mm high, 600mm front LF70 $119 each https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/bass-traps/lf70-corner-bass-trap-bear-series/ 1000mm high, 520mm across front face, "fits in a 400mm corner space" (so still will not fit in front left corner) RAM400/1000 $99 https://soundacoustics.com.au/product/bass-traps/corner-bass-trap-ram-400-1000/ 1000mm high, 530mm across front (approx same as LF70) possibly less good foam than LF70, less absorption, less pretty ### Primacoustics London kits Colours: - Black, Beige, Grey: *fabric* - White/Paintable: *specially formulated textured latex surface* - may be better off with the Grey instead [[#Turramurra Music]] is cheapest source with most options, StoreDj also has some in stock Lead times are likely to be 2-3 months if not in stock. 96 kg/m³ fiberglass (not foam), broad absorption The colum pieces in the 8 and 10 kits are not really large enough to use as corner base traps, though there is a 12 kit (unavailable locally) that has "Broadband Panels" (thicker, 610mm wide) intended to use across a corner. My front-left corner is too small for this though. Probably better off getting the 8 plus some additional base traps. #### London 8 https://www.primacoustic.com/london-8/ $379 backorder (maybe) from https://www.sounddevices.com.au/shop/product/primacoustic-london-8-room-kit/ - but they don't supply the white option White: backorder $399 from https://www.turramusic.com.au/primacoustic-london-8-room-kit-white Beige: ==in stock== $399 from https://www.turramusic.com.au/primacoustic-london-8-room-kit-beige Black: $459 https://www.storedj.com.au/primacoustic-london-8-starter-room-kit-12-panels-black Recommended for up to 9m² 4x columns, 1.5" thick, 305 x 910mm 8x scatter blocks, 1" thick, 305 x 305mm #### London 10 Thicker and taller columns than the London 8 kit. https://www.primacoustic.com/london-10/ $859 backorder (maybe) from https://www.sounddevices.com.au/shop/product/primacoustic-london-10-room-kit/ - but they don't supply the white option White: $899 backorder from https://www.turramusic.com.au/primacoustic-london-10-room-kit-white Black: $1049 https://www.storedj.com.au/primacoustic-london-10-room-kit-20-panels-black White: $1099 https://www.soundlight.com.au/primacoustic-london-10-room-acoustic-treatment-kit-paintable-white Recommended for up to 12m² 8x columns, 2" thick, 305 x 1219mm 12x scatter blocks, 1" thick, 305 x 305mm #### London 12 Same as London 10 plus 2x thick, wider bass corner panels too: https://www.primacoustic.com/london-12/ White: $1285 from https://www.turramusic.com.au/primacoustic-london-12-room-kit-white Grey: $1299 in stock https://www.modernmusician.com.au/studio/acoustic-treatment/room-treatment-kits/ As [[#London 10]] plus: 2x broadband panels, 2" thick, 609 x 1219mm ### Swamp https://www.swamp.net.au/recording/acoustic-treatment/ These are cheap but not great: corner base traps are low-density 20kg/m³ foam, only 0.11 absorption at 125Hz. There are various panel options and colours too, which may be better. ### Kogan Some kinda panels with wood, potentially useful as diffusers https://www.kogan.com/au/shop/category/pro-audio-acoustic-treatments-43799/?page=2 The bass traps are just lightweight foam though so not useful ### The Audio Tailor https://www.theaudiotailor.com.au/collections/acoustic-treatments Sells Primacoustics London kits (more options) and some other extremely expensive things ### Addicted to Audio https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/acoustic-treatment All very expensive ### Selby https://www.selby.com.au/acoustic-room-treatment.html Various fairly cheap fibreglass panels, and foam corner bass traps ### Turramurra Music https://www.turramusic.com.au/recording-and-production/accessories/acoustic-treatment Primacoustics London kits seem to be cheaper here They have the 8, 10 and 12 kits ### Melbourne Hifi Have some bass traps that *may* get close to the BEAR ones but hard to tell, no detailed stats. Allegedly to 80Hz. 60cm h x 37 x 37 $179 for 2. Ugly https://www.melbournehifi.com.au/collections/acoustic-treatment/products/sonitus-acoustics-low-killer-bass-trap-acoustic-treatment-2-pack http://www.sonitusacoustics.eu/4/product/low-killer ### Belfield Music Everything Auralex https://www.belfieldmusic.com.au/collections/acoustic-treatment ### Soundlight https://www.soundlight.com.au/acoustic-panels-and-treatment/ Another Primacoustic kit supplier to check for stock - not the cheapest ### Rubber Monkey https://www.rubbermonkey.com.au/Music-Audio/Acoustic-Treatment Another Primacoustic kit supplier to check for stock - not the cheapest Grey hexagons: https://www.rubbermonkey.com.au/Primacoustic-Element-Accent-Panel-Grey-12-per-Box?fromCategoryId=3446 - might be suitable for front wall between windows. Unfortunately only available in a set of 12 for $589.