Creating a Acoustically Sound Room

[chiragkapadia]

Hi,

I am doing up my bedroom which is about 140sqft. I am going to have a stereo setup with a pre amp and a power amp of quad and towers of quad 25L. I am looking for some suggestions for making the room keep the sound inside and not echo or have the sound leak outside the room(like how demo rooms are)

My flooring is going to be wood. Thick drapes and windows. Bed is going to have a large headboard that will be padded which will be across the speakers so will reduce booming a bit. There isnt much glass in the room and the main room door is going to be made heavy and have glasswool packed inside it and all gaps to be sealed. My question is what to do about the walls and ceilings? I would put carpet on the floors but would be difficult to maintain and afterall its a bedroom not a studio but i want to maximize the effect in the room. Open to suggestions and comments from anyone asap...

 

[aloklala]

Can you post a few pictures of your room?
Are you ready to get wall, doors and windows treatment done?
Having glass wool as insulation material is very helpful but it needs to be shielded and so you will need to put plywood or something else on top of it and also need to have a base structure to support the glass wool.
You can see my thread details on how I did it.

 

[chiragkapadia]

Hi

I am putting double glazed windows with 12mm vacuumed sealed air gap and thick drapes to be put in front. Glass wool will come on the room door and bathroom door. Only issue is opposite speakers my listening position which is m bed which will have a thick and talk headboard with fabric. Ceiling sound tiles are turning out too expensive and flooring going to be wood with a rug in front so it does not boom.

What would you do for th walls on the side of th bed headboard and ceiling?

 

[theironhorse]

whats the room shape like.. square / rectangle.... ??

dimensions ??

 

[chiragkapadia]

It is more square. 12x11 to be exact..

 

[cmsajith]

It is more square. 12x11 to be exact..

whats the height?

 

[chiragkapadia]

8ft ceiling

 

[chiragkapadia]

See below link to get a rough idea of my room. The measurements are slightly off but it is roughly 135sqft.. 12 x 11.xx

<a href="http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chiragkapadia/?action=view&amp;current=Room.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chiragkapadia/Room.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

My main concerns are ceiling and wall facing the speakers next to the padded headboard

 

[cmsajith]

Since you are planning for acoustics & sound proofing, your expectation will be to get the max SQ. I am afraid that you may not end up achieving your goal in the current layout. One major reason is the corner loading of the quads rear ported speakers, glass window at the left side, listening position very near to the back wall and the big wardrobes that will resonate etc. Instead I would suggest you change the speaker position to the left side of the room and use the 2'8" next to the entry door as the listening position. Also wardrobe design should be changed / reduced (will tell you later).

The room mode ratio (HWL) seems to be ok 1:1.38:1.50 and the room modes would be at 47.08Hz (L), 51.36Hz (W), 70.63Hz (H). So the possible mode peaks <300Hz could be somewhere near to 150Hz (141.25Hz), 200Hz (205.45Hz,211.88Hz) and 282.50Hz.

Bass Traps are a must esp tri-corner ones. Drapes are going to help you for nothing since the reflections are happening very near to the listening position.

If you are open for changing the layout, I may be able to help you more.

Moreover I dont prefer using glass wool in the bedroom esp in the headboard.

For sound proofing, you need to seal all the possible gaps in the room.

Having glass wool as insulation material is very helpful but it needs to be shielded and so you will need to put plywood or something else on top of it and also need to have a base structure to support the glass wool.

Are you talking about the acoustic treatment or sound proofing?

 

[chiragkapadia]

Hi
The quads are sealed towers and non rear ported. The speakers will be a little outside from the cavity. As far as glass wool to be used it will be for the entrance door and not the headboard. Head board will have fabric padding to reduce bouncing off the sound. What else can you suggest? This setup cannot be changed as I loose out on cupboard space. I need to ensure there are no gaps, yes.

 

[cmsajith]

I can assure you that you will not get the benefit of doing acoustics (but to a small extend, not much) in the current layout.

Are you sure its a sealed speaker, I have not yet seen them but got to know the 23L is having passive radiator or something similar which is equivalent to ported design.

Also the current sound proofing method will be effective considering that you are not going to add any sub to the setup.

 

[chiragkapadia]

What would you have me to? Carpentry will start in a day so if any changes have to be done I have to do It now only.

 

[cmsajith]

As I said, change the speaker layout to the left. Build bass traps on all 3 corners (1 cannot be done because of the entry door)

For doing the side first reflections, your carpenter need to be more creative. I would suggest to make the cupboard door with frames and the middle portion with some porus meterial like anutone wood wool board. If nothing is possible, try to make the door with bigger louvers (can be closed from inside with acoustic transparent cloth). At the backside of the door, make a small light weight frame (1-2" depth) and use Synth from anutone or something similar. eg: Floor Register Air Vent - Weihai Fangtai Electron Equipment Co., Ltd.

At the left side, the head board of the bed has to be extended to cover the first reflection points and make it 1-2" depth and fill with Synth or something similar with front covered with wood wool board and acoustic transparent cloth. Simply covering the back wall / headboard with a cloth will not do anything to the sound waves.

The window (which comes at the centre of the L/R speakers in the new layout) with vertical blinds (some metal based material is the best) to act as diffusers(angle can be finalized by on trial and error method). At the back side of the listening position, use a 4" depth frame and fill it with high density rockwool / synth and leave the entry door/bathroom door as it is.

All the ceiling corners should be treated with bass traps (google for diy tritraps). Carpets are not required since the bed will do the same. Ceiling can be treated later if it is required.

Eventhough the speakers are sealed ones (check whether it has a passive radiator), it requires enough space from the walls to perform well and also if it is on a tight cavity as in the picture it can add to the baffle diffraction also.

 

[chiragkapadia]

Changing the speakers position can be done but I would not get a good effect sitting on the bed. Cupboard shutter designs would change if I put these near the window and your suggestion would largely help. The speakers have a ABR down firing and are sealed. What if I keep the speakers outside the cavity which is about 24 inches on depth and put bass traps next to the headboard?

 

[chiragkapadia]

What can I use from Anutone to put on walls and ceiling? It is a bedroom at the end of the day and I can't have huge panels blocking most of the room.

 

[cmsajith]

Changing the speakers position can be done but I would not get a good effect sitting on the bed. Cupboard shutter designs would change if I put these near the window and your suggestion would largely help. The speakers have a ABR down firing and are sealed. What if I keep the speakers outside the cavity which is about 24 inches on depth and put bass traps next to the headboard?

In the initial layout the main issue is how to treat the first reflection points which are coming at the window location.

Listening on the bed may not be possible, but i wont recommend it as the tweeter-woofer mid portion should be at the ear level which wont be possible while sitting on the bed.

Also you need to make the wardrobe shutters sliding to make use of the space near the speakers, else the speakers will block the folding shutters from opening.

Speakers are having passive radiators facing down (similar to ported) and corner loading can enhance the room modes. You should keep them outside the cavity and can use them as bass traps (3 in total)

 

[cmsajith]

What can I use from Anutone to put on walls and ceiling? It is a bedroom at the end of the day and I can't have huge panels blocking most of the room.

Wood wool board with cloth covering, once covered it will not look like a panel if you can design them as part of the furniture.

 

[chiragkapadia]

I was just on their site and found some good setup materials. Will have to find out the cost.. The wardrobe doors are clear of the speakers and the speakers will come out a few inches from the cavity for the listening position and I have kept that in mind. I was thinking of padding the inside cavity as well and also the cavity is dedicated for the speaker. The bed is low and about 18 inches at max height. I can still go lower I put the bed flat but 18 seems a good number. I was also thinking of putting a thick carpet cutout just enough for the speaker so the spikes go into them. Since its a bedroom and of a small size not much else can be done on a large scale to better the sound without sacrificing other basic essentials. Give me your thoughts.

 

[cmsajith]

I was talking about the 2nd layout. (sliding doors)

Anyways its up to you to decide whether to get the "benefit of acoustics" or just "do the acoustics"

 

[chiragkapadia]

Do you think a listening position is too close for tower speakers or if the acoustics are done right it can sound very different