Custom acoustic panels with artwork or photos

[wilro15]

I think we all need to update our Sigs with the diffusers / absorbers / rugs / plants / curtains we have in our rooms! I hadn't realised how important it was until this happened. I had always lived in a cluttered room before.

Anyway the wife is on board with artwork based acoustic panels (probably from GIK Acoustics) plus a larger rug & plants. This should help the room without cluttering it up.

I'm also going to try the duvet/pillow test tonight although I am not particularly hopeful. Will report back soon!

 

[wilro15]

@jiggyjoe How do I go about measuring my speakers in room response?

 

[RobinKidderminster]

What better excuse NOT to declutter. Has worked for me for years!
Hope yr duvet/pillows help to identify areas for treatment. If not then snuggle up to yr hifi and take a snooze.

 

[jiggyjoe]

You can download some free sofware from here :http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/

when you register, lots of advise on the forum to.

Then buy a radio shack spl meter which costs about £30 to £40.

If you want to measure more accurately above 2khz its best to use a calibrated microphone, but the radioshack meter is good enough to show you the effects of adding room treatment and how much a difference moving your listening seat has on bass response.

Warning though you can spend HOURS messing around with this.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Was it worth the effort jj? Were you able to improve things after hours of.eq ing? Did yr results help? Interested to know if its useful in a domestic situation

 

[wilro15]

Isn't RadioShack just in the US? Would this work? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-633937-Sound-Level-Meter/dp/B0015NSTLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371805719&sr=8-1&keywords=spl+meter

 

[RobinKidderminster]

I was asvised by a much better authority in one of my threads to use a £20/£30 mic from ??Beihieser?? I think it needs an accurate full frequency jobbie. No expert but taken on advice. Do keep us informed if u go down this road!

 

[jiggyjoe]

Wilro15

That silverline spl meter looks like a rebadged version of my radioshack spl meter so should work fine. I just recommend the radioshack version because the calibration file to correct for the microphone response itself is available from hometheatershack.

I found this software a great tool in helping to get the best bass response in my room, and by far the greatest influence on bass performance is moving the speaker position in the room and your listening position. Also blocking one or more ports on your speakers also has a large effect.

But you need to have the flexabilty in your room to move things around. If you cant then your a bit stuck.

People endlessly change speakers because they boom, but more often than not it is the position they are in not the speaker.

All the above had a greater efffect than using cushions and memory foam matteresses all over the walls( yes i have tried that

Im sure all specialist bass traps would work well also but I think you would need to use alot of them, and unless your single, there is now way your other half is going to let you stick these things up. And it's not cheap.

 

[wilro15]

Well one things for sure, I'm not going to solve the problem any time soon!

 

[jiggyjoe]

The behringer ecm 8000 is good but you need a mic preamp as well.

 

[wilro15]

I think I can guess the answer, but would this suffice: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/spl-meter/id309206756?mt=8

It won't be professional level but would it be good enough?

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Sorry apps will be no good. How good is the mic in yr phone?
Some interesting opinions here. Unusually little to dispute. My opinion is that with any given kit in any given room then experimentation will lead to improvement. By how much depends on how far u go and yr ability to analyse the sound either by ear or using instruments.
Maybe we buy the wrong kit and certainly we would want a more ideal room but short of moving kit onto the back lawn, we all settle for a compromise.

 

[jiggyjoe]

No way of calibrating the iphone/ipad mic itself and it is optimized to work at midrange frequencies for voice.

Radioshack meter is the cheapest way and is as accurate as expensive mics up to 2khz so covers most of the range needed as regards to reflections.

I woudnt worry about getting to far in to this at the moment, just put some rugs down and pictures, plants in corners etc .

Try moving your speakers a few inches back or forward from your wall and see how it sounds and go from there.

 

[MakkaPakka]

Isn't RadioShack just in the US? Would this work? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-633937-Sound-Level-Meter/dp/B0015NSTLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371805719&sr=8-1&keywords=spl+meter

Yes, it's what I use.

It will take a while to get to grips with REW but it's excellent and you'll learn a lot from experimenting with it.

 

[MakkaPakka]

Im sure all specialist bass traps would work well also but I think you would need to use alot of them, and unless your single, there is now way your other half is going to let you stick these things up. And it's not cheap.

They do work well

More is better but big improvements can be made with a couple in the rear corners (REW will verify the exact difference)

I'm married

They're cheap compared to what people spend on cables and stands. Very cheap if you DIY

 

[sheggs]

Sorry I have been away so missed this thread.

Feel free to drop me a pm and I can offer some free acoustic advise to you about what to do. As a general rule -

Foam is only good for the mids to high frequencies

Art Panels should be actual broadband panels where adye sublimination process has been used to print the image

Rockwool in corners is about depth and not density soo you could just put some fluffy loft insulation in the corners, still in its plastic covering as a trial

Our site has a lot of educational articles and videos which you may find helps also

 

[wilro15]

Thanks for your reply. I am actually in email communication with Christina @ GIK right now about getting a quote for some ArtPanels. I'll see what the cost looks like, maybe make some revisions and see where we go from there.

 

[sheggs]

No problems, any queries feel free to drop me a line

 

[wilro15]

Well I just tried the duvet + pillows in the corner and it made no difference! Not surprising really but worth a try.

After a brief email chat with GIK Acoustic's Lead Acoustician (great job title!) he is recommending their 244 panels behind the speakers & tv. The 244s are bass traps according to the website. One speaker has a door almost right behind it so I also need a corner bass trap on the other side to balance it out.

Apparently when acoustically treating a room, everything should be symmetrical. I have a window and radiator down one side which can't be treated so it means you shouldn't treat the opposite side which is a bare wall. However I am sure thats where my echo is coming from; previously that wall had 3 bookshelves and a full coat rack - and there was no echo.

It seems like I am going up a dead end here. All I can do is treat the room for bass but I don't think bass is my problem.

:wall:

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Echo you mention. Never a good thing! I can only suggest, heavy curtains and artwork opposite to give balance. Certainly a large heavy rug - have you some old carpet to try temporarily? I would also still try lining the rear wall with 4inches of rockwool. We all have to compromise but it is sad sometimes that a room, which is difficult to change, rather negates the expenditure on decent equipment. Many will also suggest moving speakers & seating a little and sometimes tweaking crossover and eq settings can help for free. Good luck again