Acoustic panels, anyone tried them

matengawhat

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Finally converted my garage into my new office, home cinema, stereo room. No carpets down yet and not having curtains, room currently has an echo, might disappear with carpet.

Room shape is not ideal but best I could create, 3.4m by 4.4m speakers have to go on long wall firing down short wall due to windows and doors.

Tried loads of racks, cables, different boxes etc over the years, never tried any room acoustics beyond hanging a rug on wall behind listening position.

Anyone tried and would recommend them?
 
What are the walls like? Have you dry lined and filled with insulation? And the roof space?

In my experience of moving home about six years ago, the sound changed dramatically with carpets and curtains, including losing the echo. Furniture too, of course. Anything non reflecting will help tame a lively room. I’d get that sorted before worrying too much about ‘treatment’ though there are plenty of choices.
 

Tinman1952

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Finally converted my garage into my new office, home cinema, stereo room. No carpets down yet and not having curtains, room currently has an echo, might disappear with carpet.

Room shape is not ideal but best I could create, 3.4m by 4.4m speakers have to go on long wall firing down short wall due to windows and doors.

Tried loads of racks, cables, different boxes etc over the years, never tried any room acoustics beyond hanging a rug on wall behind listening position.

Anyone tried and would recommend them?
I have 6 GIK Acoustics panels in my lounge and wouldn't be without them. Check out the many types on their website.....👍
 

matengawhat

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Aug 17, 2007
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What are the walls like? Have you dry lined and filled with insulation? And the roof space?

In my experience of moving home about six years ago, the sound changed dramatically with carpets and curtains, including losing the echo. Furniture too, of course. Anything non reflecting will help tame a lively room. I’d get that sorted before worrying too much about ‘treatment’ though there are plenty of choices.
Was integral garage so already room above it, walls have been boarded and plastered, 2 internal and a external cavity wall, 4th is stud built wall with 100mm insulation. Floor is now suspended about concrete floor and again insulated with 100mm. My sub will sit on a marble base plate as will speakers.

Room is totally empty at min as not finished decorating so echo will prob go once carpets and sofa added but lots of flat walls, never had a dedicated room before so was thinking of trying it as reasonably priced next to other tweaks
 
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matengawhat

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I have 6 GIK Acoustics panels in my lounge and wouldn't be without them. Check out the many types on their website.....👍

Can i ask how you have them positioned, is there a tool to help you decide best place.

Was thinking 1 behind each speaker as about 1m from a corner, 1 on each side wall but closer to front speakers, then 2 behind my listening position on back wall

Did you put any on ceiling?
 
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Tinman1952

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Can i ask how you have them positioned, is there a tool to help you decide best place.

Was thinking 1 behind each speaker as about 1m from a corner, 1 on each side wall but closer to front speakers, then 2 behind my listening position on back wall

Did you put any on ceiling?
That sounds about right to me. I have two in the corners behind each speaker and then one on each side wall at the first reflection points. Couldn't do the ceiling practically in my space but that would be preferable too. Get a friend to hold a mirror on the side walls so you can see the reflection points from your listening position. 👍
 
The whole idea of room treatment makes me wince. Probably because, with the right equipment it may be unnecessary and even without my wife would have none of it.
if your listening room needs to be treated to that sort of degree then you really need to have a look at what you're trying to get to work within it.
 

matengawhat

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The whole idea of room treatment makes me wince. Probably because, with the right equipment it may be unnecessary and even without my wife would have none of it.
if your listening room needs to be treated to that sort of degree then you really need to have a look at what you're trying to get to work within it.

Really, why wouldn't you try it though.

Ppl go on about stands and cables and mains etc, swapping pieces of kit etc 6 panels will cost me like £350 which is considerably less than every piece of kit I own and something I'd be happy to try for the money.

I now have a dedicated music room so wife acceptance factor for once is not something I need to consider but best space utilisation is. My room is quite clinical with limited soft furnishings, carpets and sofa probably it for soft things.

It might kill the sound and come straight out again or might just lift it a level, looking at it as a fun experiment
 
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twinkletoes

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Finally converted my garage into my new office, home cinema, stereo room. No carpets down yet and not having curtains, room currently has an echo, might disappear with carpet.

Room shape is not ideal but best I could create, 3.4m by 4.4m speakers have to go on long wall firing down short wall due to windows and doors.

Tried loads of racks, cables, different boxes etc over the years, never tried any room acoustics beyond hanging a rug on wall behind listening position.

Anyone tried and would recommend them?

I’d recommend watching Andrew Robertson’s series of videos as he moves into a new house, he does a load diy sound “enhancing” installa. Still not cheap mind! But his resaults are impressive and look good . If you can create a a little space your in the perfect position to start form the ground up.
 
Really, why wouldn't you try it though.

Ppl go on about stands and cables and mains etc, swapping pieces of kit etc 6 panels will cost me like £350 which is considerably less than every piece of kit I own and something I'd be happy to try for the money.

I now have a dedicated music room so wife acceptance factor for once is not something I need to consider but best space utilisation is. My room is quite clinical with limited soft furnishings, carpets and sofa probably it for soft things.

It might kill the sound and come straight out again or might just lift it a level, looking at it as a fun experiment
You still have a wife? I do not have a dedicated room.... :)
 

matengawhat

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You still have a wife? I do not have a dedicated room.... :)

Yes still have a wife, she doesn't like my stereo stuff in the lounge so when we moved we made a few compromises, so stereo was moved aside so she has her little space and I have built mine, also I work from home so needed a dedicated office space so kind of a catch all.
 

matengawhat

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IMG_20220626_205928.jpg

So this is my new space, currently in process of decorating so junk everywhere except the projector and sound bar and sub for glasto, all other kit awaiting installation once painted, plasterer needs to come back and sort a wall issue then paint and order carpet and sofa then kit install.

My screen is now too big by about 6 inches so trying to decide whether to buy another 7ft one, 7.5ft would be ideal but Grandview don't make them
 
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Tinman1952

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The whole idea of room treatment makes me wince. Probably because, with the right equipment it may be unnecessary and even without my wife would have none of it.
if your listening room needs to be treated to that sort of degree then you really need to have a look at what you're trying to get to work within it.
I understand your point of view. Unfortunately it's not about having the 'right equipment' it's about the room itself. The dimensions of all rooms will create room modes which alter the frequency reponse and speaker reflections if not tamed will alter the soundstage and affect imaging adversely.
 
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Deliriumbassist

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Shame that you've already plastered the walls. Best thing I ever did with any listening room was mount the acoustic treatment directly onto the open stud bays. Double stud bays, filled with insulation. You put drywall on there - you're basically resetting the acoustics of the room and getting practically zero absorption, except for HF. Going straight on with the treatment allowed me to control the RT60 of the room down to below 125Hz, due to having 5+ inches worth of treatment. Absorptive panels at the top and bottom 25% of the first reflection point, and diffusive/absorptive in the middle 50%, changing to linear diffusion in the rest of the room. After all, dead is not the goal. You still want some liveliness in the room.
 

Gray

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The whole idea of room treatment makes me wince. Probably because, with the right equipment it may be unnecessary and even without my wife would have none of it.
if your listening room needs to be treated to that sort of degree then you really need to have a look at what you're trying to get to work within it.
There's every chance that your room is not bad Al.
But...never mind cable changes, the effects of 'burn in', filled or unfilled speaker stands etc. when the room needs it, there's a focussing of the sound that even the most sceptical, non-believers can't miss.
There's a reason why they test speakers in anechoic spaces - it lets them (and the test mic) hear what the speaker can do, unhindered.
Of course, consumers don't live in anechoic chambers (I would if I could), rooms will have reflections / reverberations, but some are real disaster zones - secretly making a mockery of multi-thousand pound equipment spends.
 
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