Room Acoustics to reduce Echo.

[Tuhin Lavania]

Whats the room size? Why black carpet? I am thinking this will be primarily for theater and then for stereo, right?

Its a 22.5*12.15 feet room with 10 ft ceiling. 2800 cubic feet.
I went for black coz i want to see nothing except the image on the screen when watching a movie. Its a completely sealed room and primary purpose is HT.
The rooms are dark grey, they still reflect off the light. A Black Duvetyne cloth all over walls will black out the room completely.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Its a 22.5*12.15 feet room with 10 ft ceiling. 2800 cubic feet.
I went for black coz i want to see nothing except the image on the screen when watching a movie. Its a completely sealed room and primary purpose is HT.
The rooms are dark grey, they still reflect off the light. A Black Duvetyne cloth all over walls will black out the room completely.

Amazed at the extent to which you (and sure some others) have gone to ensure zero distractions while watching movies and/or listening to music. Hope you also avoid non-room distractions like mobile phone.

 

[Tuhin Lavania]

Amazed at the extent to which you (and sure some others) have gone to ensure zero distractions while watching movies and/or listening to music. Hope you also avoid non-room distractions like mobile phone.

I made a big mistake getting White speakers ( Did not intend to go black back then ) those will be covered with Duvetyne too.
I have been to several HTs where the light bouncing off the walls is really distracting to me. Maybe it is just me that i find it distracting, others may not.

 

[Prodigy]

I do not have the experience of treating my room space for echo.. However, once you have soft furnishing in the room like sofa, cushions, echo should reduce.. If you still hear echoes, then it should be possible to further reduce them by adding acoustic foams / high density rockwool slabs.. Don't think you will need to do it for the entire room end to end wall.. A portion of ceiling should do..

There are acoustic ceiling tiles which you can also consider for aesthetic purpose, not sure of the cost.. But you can enquire them and check feasibility..

Got it! I’ll try out what you advised 1st.

 

[rsjaurr]

Are these types of curtains help in noise reduction? Product detail mentions so.
My room has a big window right behind my audio system and right opposite LG C9.
I'm looking for cheaper and temporary solution in a 15x30 size room.

 

[sud98]

Blackout curtains are great for blocking light. For their absorption properties search online for the absorption coefficient of the material used for curtains and you get the answer. Every material will absorb some sound, the quantum of absorption as well as frequencies affected will depend upon the absoption coefficent and the thickness of the material used.

 

[yugaaa]

Tried to attach a file on acoustics by a dealer . THe PDF seems to be too large .

 

[jenson]

couple of suggestions..
1. .looks to me like, ideal placement would be near the window, as in the window being front wall (backwall to the speaker), with the idea that, a thicker curtain can control rear wall reflections (as a bonus, if you open the window, no rear wall reflection!)
2. then focus on corners....6 feet tall book shelfs...plants etc..
3. pull the speaker atleast 3 feet from the back wall (in this case your window) with a slight toe in
4. place your listening chair atleast 6 feet far from rear wall
5. choose wall carpets over paintings...looks nicer, does the job i dream of hanging carpets in corners, ceiling etc whenever i get to such luxury (by hanging i mean this way...in a more aesthetically pleasing way - https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/studio-sos-lab)

experiment with these speaker and seating placements...by this alone you will find a sweet spot...some echo is good, with these you may minimize at the same time not kills it...
if you are out to spend, then bring out the whole bag of tricks carpet, sound absorbing tiles for ceiling, walls etc..

only caution, don't over do it, having no reverb sucks out the life from music.

you are one lucky guy! congrats!

 

[vivek_r]

Hi All,
Looking for some inputs from the experts here on how to reduce the echo in my room and see what is the kind of treatments that I may have to go in for to solve my problems.
I did contact a few guys to do room Acoustics and I have received quotes for around a Lakh to treat the walls with 9mm polyester acoustic boards on all the walls end to end.
So basically, I recently moved to a newly built house and I have a secondary living room in the 1st floor. The dimensions are 15 X 24.
I am also adding some pics do you can get a fair idea of what the size is.
On one of the sides it’s a 12 feet window and I am planning for acoustic curtains or some dual layer thick curtains for that and I am planning on Diy route to make some rockwool 2X4 Pannel and hang them on the places using the mirror technique.
I am pretty confused so thought of putting it here.

Hi Prodigy,

Given the excess time at home due to the lockdown I have also been doing some furious googling on this matter!

My speakers are in a live room with little soft furnishing. Worse, it is a “living” room with a dining room next to it. So the speakers see asymmetrical side walls. And the side walls close to the speaker is not a wall even - it is the back of our children’s cupboard (wood!).

We consciously don’t want to use carpets on the floor as it is a dusty Bombay house (open windows).

I do know it’s a very living room which the family uses. So I don’t want to put any side panels which are dark or make it look like a man cave!

The cloth painting on the cupboard side wall has some cork sheet behind it. Franky I thought I should do something rather than nothing for my audiophile creds.

So the solution if not floor seems to be ceiling! And needs to be something easy to maintain. I also don’t want to spend a lot of money and NOT solve the problem!! Leave self medication, it is self surgery!

Here is where my googling got me - not in any order of preference

1.https://www.auralexchange.com/product-category/acoustic-panels/

2.https://www.acousticalsurfaces.in/ultra-touch-insulation.php

they also gave an interesting solution of acoustic tiles and acoustic plaster - perhaps India rep?

Home - Fade Ceilings

fadeceilings.com

3.https://www.apagar.in/collections/all

They also do acoustic testing! I can’t find their credentials though.

4. Some time pass reading.

13 Best Sound Absorbing Materials to Improve the Acoustics in Your Room

Soundproofing and sound absorption are different. What works for one doesn't work for the other. Here are 7 types of best sound absorbing materials for you.

aquietrefuge.com

Is Cork Good for Soundproofing?

Cork works well for soundproofing. Here is where to get the kind of cork you need, the right thickness and where to install it.

bettersoundproofing.com

I bought my cork sheet from a Fort Mumbai shop called Lamtex Insulation (please google) and they were super bemused. It covers absorption also besides sound proofing

5. Also this; if I hang panels I am sure I will be made to hang from the ceiling along with the panels.

Techno Acoustics - Complete Acoustic Solutions

Techno Acoustic™ brand non-woven polyester acoustic panel is indigenously manufactured in India for the first time by Techno Ceiling Products. Our range of products manufactured with state-of-the-art technology, offering various solutions that are applicable in wide range of commercial and...

www.technoacoustic.in

Done nothing yet. But armed!! I think I will google more, say what ?

 

[sud98]

If you want to do more time pass, the better VFM materials are here
1. https://mmtacoustixonline.com/
I bought acoustic foam from here with the spray glue. Much better than hanging wall carpets and equivalent and with the added benefit of hiding wires.

2. https://www.anutone.com/
Got my acoustic ceiling tiles and the aluminium frame from them. Did a very neat job but has grown very big so thinks of retail customers as a waste of time.

3. Rockwool of moderate density from any dealer. Roxul is a good brand and has proper testing data. There would be a local dealer of the same in your city, use it to build your bass trap/panels..

 

[rishabhgkp]

Maybe out of context, but has anyone idea of soundproofing! I have a street facing window to my room, just on the first floor, and want something to proof the sound atleast to a fair proportion.
I am open for closing the window with Rockwool layers OR Mass Loaded Vinyls, but not sure how much of a difference would it make.
Not looking for expensive window panes and soundproof glasses.
Has anyone had any experience with proofing?

 

[panditji]

Would putting some thick foam under the couches absorb lower frequencies even though they are placed under the couch in the middle of the room length close to the side walls??

 

[sud98]

Depending upon the foam's density, if it is too less, it wont do anything, if its very dense it might not let through lower frequencies. Lower frequencies are not very directional but the energies tend to collect at corners, hence thats the first area of attack. But any absorption of sufficient depth and density will act as a bass trap in the room.

 

[panditji]

Putting anything at the corners is not possible as the living room cannot look like a recording studio..Hence looking to absorb the lower frequencies as much as possible by using the space under the couch instead of the corners/front/back/side wall.. Let me look for the thickest possible foam and check...

 

[raghupb]

Putting anything at the corners is not possible as the living room cannot look like a recording studio..Hence looking to absorb the lower frequencies as much as possible by using the space under the couch instead of the corners/front/back/side wall.. Let me look for the thickest possible foam and check...

True. Many of us host our rigs in shared living spaces.
BTW, are the speakers misbehaving?
Any obvious pain points after placement experiments?

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[sud98]

Fm @elangoas has also done the same. Get rockwool and covered it with a net mesh and covered that with an acoustic transparent material like spandex.

 

[panditji]

True. Many of us host our rigs in shared living spaces.
BTW, are the speakers misbehaving?
Any obvious pain points after placement experiments?

Cheers,
Raghu

The lower frequencies need to be tamed.. The Room Correction software on the amp takes care of the middle and high frequencies but the low end needs to be tamed to get the best possible sound..Hence not looking at any diffusers and only lower frequency absorption without compromising on the aesthetics..

 

[panditji]

Fm @elangoas has also done the same. Get rockwool and covered it with a net mesh and covered that with an acoustic transparent material like spandex.

@elangoas : Sir, please share your feedback, learnings. Does putting thick foam under the couches help at all??

 

[elangoas]

@elangoas : Sir, please share your feedback, learnings. Does putting thick foam under the couches help at all??

Hi @panditji . Here is my thread on DIY room acoustics.. https://www.hifivision.com/threads/diy-room-acoustics.71796/page-8#post-840797

I customized the acoustics to the space available in my living room.. I tried unconventional ways (uncompressed rockwool), but it works..

As my listening position (3 seater sofa) is right against the wall, i had lot of unused space below the sofa.. So turned that as a bass-trap..

Also turned most of the ceiling as bass trap..

 

[elangoas]

Would putting some thick foam under the couches absorb lower frequencies even though they are placed under the couch in the middle of the room length close to the side walls??

As @sud98 suggested earlier, different materials have different absorption properties..

From what i have read, Acoustic foams have very good absorption properties above >500Hz.. They are ineffective at lower and very low frequencies..

Since you are looking to treat for low freq, best would be rockwool.. A lower density rockwool material will have lower air flow resistivity, which will help bass to pass thru it and then contain it to the extent possible depending on the thickness..