Do potted plants help in sound absorption

[panditji]

Hi, planning to add more plants in the music room as I read somewhwere that leaves and stems absorb sound... Was wondering if the mud/sand also help in the absorption? It definitely makes the room look nicer and adds a little bit of more oxygen to the air...

 

[tuff]

Every demo Magnepan does has plants behind the speakers as they act as diffusers. Don't think it can absorb sound.

Magnepan LRS Loudspeaker

Ever since Magnepan's Wendell Diller married this beautiful former Soviet spy (aka Agent G), he's been doing everything on the down low, hush-hush, totally covert. (Though I must say he does look good in dark glasses.) This year at AXPONA he has a secret room, at the end of an obscure hall, with...

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[arj]

I believe it is more about dispersion than absorption. the leaves break up the Reflected waves. Absorption is more complex since while you may gain something you can lose something else hence needs to be done by folks who know what they are doing

 

[panditji]

Well they look nice and add some greenery to the room. Even if they help in dispersion, I will take it as a bonus...

 

[arj]

Well they look nice and add some greenery to the room. Even if they help in dispersion, I will take it as a bonus...

of course ! As long as you make sure that you do not water the amp/speaker along with it.

 

[raghupb]

Well they look nice and add some greenery to the room. Even if they help in dispersion, I will take it as a bonus...

Place the plants where it looks good.
Then conduct a joint counseling session with Speakers and Plants.
To the plants: "Don't make the sound worse than it is"
To the speakers: "Don't get too hung up on the plants"
To yourself (silently): "I hope these two can work it out"

Do this after a couple of pegs of whiskey
Its like arranged marriage and you are the broker.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[panditji]

of course ! As long as you make sure that you do not water the amp/speaker along with it.

Naahhh, I don't want the speakers and the amp to grow in size.. My room can barely handle the 10 inch drivers and I wouldn't know what to do if the drivers grow and become 15 inchers...

Place the plants where it looks good.
Then conduct a joint counseling session with Speakers and Plants.
To the plants: "Don't make the sound worse than it is"
To the speakers: "Don't get too hung up on the plants"
To yourself (silently): "I hope these two can work it out"

Do this after a couple of pegs of whiskey
Its like arranged marriage and you are the broker.

Cheers,
Raghu

You have been watching Sima Taparia in Indian Matchmaking on Netflix..

 

[keith_correa]

If you add a 1+ inch layer of activated charcoal over the soil in the plant pots it is a very good sound wave absorber and will also help keep the soil damp longer.
And, your plants will definitely be affected by the type of music you play - if your music room turns into the Amazon over time, we will know which way that goes - do keep us posted.

 

[panditji]

I use activated charcoal in my toothpaste. It does make my teeth smooth and helps in teeth separation..

 

[Deleted member 15865]

It definitely makes the room look nicer and adds a little bit of more oxygen to the air...

More oxygen and less CO2. And since oxygen has lower molecular weight than CO2, the air becomes rarified, causing the highs to float. Don’t get too high!

 

[dazzwilliams]

The level of sarcasm in this thread is alarming!!

Brb from the neighborhood nursery btw what type of plants do I pick? I want dual purpose plants which are not only acoustically competent but can also ward off Corona..

 

[panditji]

Since last year, there have been tons of articles about indoor air purifying plants and I went with Aloe Vera and the snake plants.. Small footprint, air purifying qualities (been told not true but ...) and some acoustic diffusion in a good way if lucky...

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Since last year, there have been tons of articles about indoor air purifying plants and I went with Aloe Vera and the snake plants.. Small footprint, air purifying qualities (been told not true but ...) and some acoustic diffusion in a good way if lucky...

Back to seriousness of the subject, those plants (with long vertical leaves) might mimic quadratic diffusers.

 

[square_wave]

Plants have some absorbtion as well as diffusion ( mostly diffusion ) properties that are known to make a positive difference to the listening room. That is the first thing many exhibitors look for when they try to setup systems in hotel rooms for shows.

They wont be as good a well designed diffusor ( not even close ), but it is better than nothing. Might be a good thing to do when you are trying to fine tune the system. I have heard many exhibitors look for certain plants.

 

[Srinivasa Rao]

Back to seriousness of the subject, those plants (with long vertical leaves) might mimic quadratic diffusers.

View attachment 47620

These are snake plant, highly recommended for indoors as they are low maintenance, watering to be done once in 10-14 days and look beautiful, I'm also planning of having them in my HT room next to floor standers. Below link might help.

 

[ssf]

Not to worry. I have small plants to accompany my small speakers. Neither have grown.

 

[ssf]

Surely, this can't be just for show. AV Showreports - High End Munich 2019

 

[raghupb]

Surely, this can't be just for show. AV Showreports - High End Munich 2019

<Pic snipped>

These trade shows are usually held in hotels.
For all we know they are the hallway plants that are a part of the hotel decor and could not be hidden away.
Heck, they may be placed even to deter folks from fiddling around the back of the electronics.
But they look nice, if one has the space.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[keith_correa]

Since last year, there have been tons of articles about indoor air purifying plants and I went with Aloe Vera and the snake plants.. Small footprint, air purifying qualities (been told not true but ...) and some acoustic diffusion in a good way if lucky...

That claim of plants being effective as room air purifiers is a myth. There was a controlled lab test done a long time ago by NASA on the effectiveness of plants as air purifiers and NASA found that some plants indeed purified the air by absorbing pollutants. Now after the results were published, as usual, the media jumped to conclusions and extrapolated those controlled lab test results to our living rooms. And the myth was born!
BTW, one would need about a 100 of the air purifying plants to purify the air in a typical room.

 

[panditji]

Keith, people also do havans and pujas to purify their souls.. And after those havans, they feel cleansed and continue the haram khori. If it works for them, why can't people do the same with plants? The benefits might be miniscule but atleast they are there. Reminds me of someone I know who told me a tweak on the laptop's USB is not supposed to work or make any difference but it did