Hooking up acoustic material

[neo9999]

Hi HiFivision members,

I'm setting up a home theatre (again ) in my new place using my existing equipment. Currently in process of procuring the acoustic materials and found one source - bajaao.com

I wanted to confirm is it ok if I just use strong glue to stick the acoustic material sheet on the walls instead of using wooden frame panels. I want to avoid any furniture related activities and hence wanted to know?

If glue is not good option, can i used thin ply 3mm sheets to screw to the wall and then over the play I can stick the acoustic sheets?

I have read some websites where people have stuck the sheets but I wanted to confirm from folks here too.

Thanks.
Neo

 

[hydra]

Sticking the foam to walls will make it unusable later (removing it would destroy it).

I'd suggest pasting the foam to thin foamboard (3mm should be fine, if you want to paste it to the walls). You can then paste/hang the foamboard onto the walls.

For my initial acoustic foam setup (1st reflection points) I used a pair of tall plywood panels to paste foam onto, and then leaned the panels onto the walls at the FRPs. But that involved treating the plywood for termites, priming it, and painting it.

Recently, I used 5mm foamboard as a backing for the foam to make a removable foam panel (to cover the TV).

I've just bought some more foam to use on the front wall and the back wall. I'll be using 4mm foamboard as a backing for the foam, and I'll then stick the foamboard onto the wall with strong double-sided tape (where sticking is needed). I bought two rolls of industrial grade tape from a sign-maker's supplies store.

Fevicol SR (the white, stationary grade Fevicol) works very well for pasting foam onto foamboard.

A 8ft x 4ft foamboard sheet (4mm thickness) cost me Rs.700.00.

 

[shelley]

Better to use thin MDF as it is termite proof instead of plywood. For better acoustics it is better to have a gap of 1"" or 2 "" thickness between the acoustic material and wall for better absorption. Why can't you try wood wool..Please visit my post for more info as I am currently doing acoustics for my room..Does foam provides you good sound absorption ???
http://www.hifivision.com/av-enhancers-room-acoustics/46168-diy-room-accoustics-home-theatre.html

 

[rdksrk2013]

Another suggestion I had come across was to use velcro to stick the material to the wall or thin ply. So you can remove it whenver you want.

 

[west10100]

I just completed my acoustic DIY project.
almost similar to sandy FM thread .
Used rockwool covered with foam and cloth on MDF wood panels.
Did 4 corner traps and 10 wall panels.
IT Makes my audio sound beautifully clear.
Total cost
rockwool 3000.
cloth 2000
foam 600
wood 1700
screws, l angles, gun tacker 600
No labour DIY !

 

[neo9999]

Thanks rdksrk, hydra,shelly,west10100.

Shelly - I'm not finding woodwool here hence using this material. Its not foam, but acoustic mix of material such as rockwool. I'll probably stick to the mdf idea.

west10100 - Can you provide your room size details?. You are lucky to use only 3000/- worth of rockwool.

Neo

 

[neo9999]

Hi,

Has anybody ordered the Aurica corner bass traps from bajaao.com?

Buy Online | Lowest Price | Free Shipping| Aurica Corner Bass Trap 24 x 12 - Pair - August Deal - Buy online at the guaranteed lowest price in India - BAJAAO - Buy online and Review Musical Instruments, Pro Audio, Studio, P.A. Audio Equipment in Indi

How was the quality?

Thanks
Neo.

 

[john_k_antony]

I recently bought Aurica Pyramid shapes acoustic foam. The quality looks good.

I built the bass traps my own as the price quoted for them were very high for Aurica. There is a big debate going on regarding the effectiveness of the bass traps. So I wanted to try the bass traps DIY and cheap first and if they work and function well, I might go in for a better quality expensive ones .

Thanks,
John.

 

[west10100]

Hi
my room size is small 17 by 11 ft.
Rockwool is indeed cheap. Visit rockwoolindia.com to find your local dealer.
It comes at 140 per sq meter. I got 28 slabs each 1 mt. X 0.6 mt
Regards

 

[neo9999]

Thanks John_k.

west10100 - for that room size, you got a great price deal on the rockwool part. I spent almost 20K in my earlier project in a 11X11 room.

I received package from bajaao.com - ordered 1X1X2" foams. Quick delivery service I must say.

I'm now looking for thick curtains for my 7X7 window at the screen side.

Neo

 

[Shivam]

I bought an open-cell foam based sofa-bed for my listening room some time back. It works better than Foam based corner bass traps I had bought sometime back and doubles up as a bed for guests when needed.

The important point is the foam structure here !

Pyramid / egg-tray shaped foam works better if kept slightly away from walls (with a gap between them), so sticking them on the walls is not a good idea.

 

[neo9999]

Shivam - how do you keep space between foam and wall? du mean you keep the foam part suspended somehow? or ..not able to imagine that...

Neo

 

[Shivam]

Shivam - how do you keep space between foam and wall? du mean you keep the foam part suspended somehow? or ..not able to imagine that...

Neo

the easiest way to do this is simply to stick small off-cuts of foam to the back of each panel as spacers. Stick these spacers to the wall then.

 

[neo9999]

Hey Shivam,

Thats pretty insightful. I could use L shaped brackets and hook them to the wall across 4 corners of an imaginary panel and just hang the acoustic foam material on the brackets.

That will also create the gap required. Whats your opinion?

Neo.

 

[Shivam]

That's exactly how some studios hang the acoustic material.

 

[neo9999]

Thanks Shivam. I'm wondering how I can do the same for ceiling portion..

Neo

 

[captainrizal]

Hi Neo
did you hook up foams on the wall? How does it sound? even I'm interested in Aurica acoustic foams, please share your experience.

 

[captainrizal]

I have ordered 14 pcs of 2' x 2' and 16 pcs of 1' x 1' acoustic foam from Bajaao.com. Hope I will get them in time so that my carpenters can make plywood frames and hang them on the wall. I am planning to make 2" frame with thin plywood at bottom and stick foam on plywood and then cover them with fabric so that aesthetic look of HT remains intact otherwise the pyramid shaped foam don't look very good in the HT room. My question is if i cover foam with thin fabric, will it lose its acoustic properties?

 

[audiohead]

I just completed my acoustic DIY project.
almost similar to sandy FM thread .
Used rockwool covered with foam and cloth on MDF wood panels.
Did 4 corner traps and 10 wall panels.
IT Makes my audio sound beautifully clear.
Total cost
rockwool 3000.
cloth 2000
foam 600
wood 1700
screws, l angles, gun tacker 600
No labour DIY !

Hey can you please share the density of the rock wool also the thickness of the rock wool.

You also mentioned that you covered it with foam and cloth, can you please specify what type of foam and cloth did u use?

I would be really interested in knowing these details.

Also did you make a bass trap or a broadband absorber?

 

[audiohead]

I have ordered 14 pcs of 2' x 2' and 16 pcs of 1' x 1' acoustic foam from Bajaao.com. Hope I will get them in time so that my carpenters can make plywood frames and hang them on the wall. I am planning to make 2" frame with thin plywood at bottom and stick foam on plywood and then cover them with fabric so that aesthetic look of HT remains intact otherwise the pyramid shaped foam don't look very good in the HT room. My question is if i cover foam with thin fabric, will it lose its acoustic properties?

The worst thing you can do is to stick foam to regular plywood, the regular plywood is more of a diffusive material than absorptive.

You also need to know the density of the foam you are buying, weither its fire retardant or not and if it is whats class is it under.

You also need to know what foam it is weither its melamine / polyuthrene or polystrene. All of the above mentioned are extracts of polyester.

Melamine is not a good absorptive material, polyuthrene is and polystrene also know as EPS Extruded Polystrene or EPS Expanded Polystrene is a diffusive material.

You also need to ask the NRC Test results and the certificate from the seller to ensure the product is what you are looking for cause you will never be able to tell the difference between a closed cell foam or an open cell foam, people can sell you regular mattress foam cut in pyramid and wedge shapes and you would never know the difference and since i believe that "Sound is perceived, its a perception of the human mind" you would actually feel that the foam worked while it made no difference to the room.

Moral of the story make sure what you are buying and from whom you are buying, i would suggest you check them out cueacoustic.in i have their stuff and they are very genuine. They have different ranges from studio acoustics to home theater acoustics and their stuff is aesthetically pleasing.

So check before you spend that hard earned money in a sham of acoustic product.

Same is the case with Glass wool / Rock wool.

Rockwool is for high temp insulation while Glass wool is for Acoustic insulation. People often tend to confuse themselves with both.

Pm me if you need more info on the stuff