It almost killed me but….

[Alex Kenivel]

Kickass!

I miss my music room, albeit much smaller than what you've got going on. The room I'm in is bigger now, but is a shared space

All my panels are shoved in a closet

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I’ll never learn.

Hired a pro studio designer just for some final room tweaks, partly just to control the low stuff even more, and partly just to make things look a bit more cohesive now that I know I’m in a pretty good place.

1st step is just to get things a bit more symmetrical on my sides, figured I can make some diaphragmatic absorbers that’ll help with low frequencies more than regular porous ones. Because of the depth of the panels, I’m using some very low density fibreglass with a diaphragmatic material on the back.

While I’m doing that I’m making a slightly thinner version (23cm vs 30cm deep) as another cloud. Different diaphragmatic properties, my existing cloud will move back towards the middle of the room, and this one will go where my current cloud is.

Doing this will mean I can move some more panels and treatment to my rear wall. But two really tackle the low modal stuff (hello 26hz), I’d need to do some serious work on the rear wall, which would be quite a big undertaking. So we’ll see where I’m at after this and I can consider it then.

Here’s roughly how my decay times look in my room, as there is quite a lot of absorption already, I wouldn’t be surprised if things don’t change THAT much with these going in. Hopefully things even out in the low end a bit more, but at the least it’ll look and feel a bit more cohesive in there.

Exciting stuff!

 

[MirrorProfiles]

the bad news:

I have no idea whether it’ll be better to position soffits, then these panels, then more soffits, or these panels first at the front and then soffits after, or any combination until I’ve measured every option. Unfortunately, that means a lot of moving big and heavy items around the studio all over again.

I know I can’t leave shit alone until I’ve tried and tested everything otherwise it’ll just linger in my head. Options are basically only good as long as you eliminate them.

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

 

[MirrorProfiles]

2 of these buggers built. Just the cloud to do tomorrow, as well as a lot of moving cabs and furniture around again, as well as testing and measuring.

2nd one came out a lot nicer than the first, annoying how many small things you learn from the 1st one that make the second plain sailing.

Miserable colour but looks OK in the room, gotta blame scouting for girls for that.

 

[la szum]

That thing is .....

 

[MirrorProfiles]

That thing is .....

Ha they’re pretty massive. But also they’re only 30cm deep while most of the other panels are 40cm or 60cm deep. The design and materials should mean they are at least as effective, but they should actually perform better than what I have if I’ve done a good enough job

 

[la szum]

I'll be building 2 or 3 clouds here shortly. Looks like you are using the looser Fiberglass insulation.
Have you tried the denser/heavier stuff like the Rockwool??

It's so uplifting building stuff with your own hands like that.

 

[la szum]

Rockwool® Mineral Wool 60 Acoustic Insulation - 6Lbs 48"x24"x2" Case of 6

SOLD BY THE CASE OF 6 PIECES PIECE SIZE: 48" x 24" with 2" Thickness HIGHLY FLAME RESISTANT - UP TO 1200℉

www.acoustimac.com

I am still thinking about what material is best to source here.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I'll be building 2 or 3 clouds here shortly. Looks like you are using the looser Fiberglass insulation.
Have you tried the denser/heavier stuff like the Rockwool??

It's so uplifting building stuff with your own hands like that.

I’ve done lots with denser stuff too, essentially it all depends on how deep your panels are.

For thinner panels (up to about 15cm) something like Rockwool (RWA 45) or Roxul Safe n Sound or Knauf Ecose is your best bet - typically rockwool that’s 40kg/m3. 15cm panels wont do a great deal with low end (where the biggest issues are), and for deeper panels you generally want a lower density material (higher density stuff becomes reflective after a certain depth).

It’s hard to find gas flow resistivity values online (which is what matters for acoustic absorption) but they typically follow this trend. For lighter densities, fibreglass is your best bet as far as cost/performance goes.

You can put the values on the Y axis into the porous absorber calculator with your panel depths and you can compare how effective different materials and thicknesses will be.

 

[la szum]

Wow. Thanks!

How about the fabric you are wrapping them with? Suggestions? Thoughts?

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Wow. Thanks!

How about the fabric you are wrapping them with? Suggestions? Thoughts?

I use Camira Cara, I think Guilford of Maine is the US equivalent. It’s acoustically transparent and really nicely made fabric, but unfortunately comes at a cost. I think it’s worth it, but you can use anything light enough where you can feel your breath through it if needed.

I also put a sheet of dacron polyester wadding between the insulation and the fabric, just to contain any potential loose strands of fibreglass. More of an abundance of care, easy to put a layer in and not have to worry about it.

 

[la szum]

Awesome. Thanks so much, Ed! My Winter projects to do here are forming into shape with
your help and expertise.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Awesome. Thanks so much, Ed! My Winter projects to do here are forming into shape with
your help and expertise.

It’s a very satisfying journey! I’d say help and expertise is more like “learn from my many mistakes”.

I don’t know how much space you have to work with (or what you want to achieve), but if you are able to, try and calculate roughly what room modes you’ll be dealing with and see if you can find an optimal depth and material to use. It’s a real benefit of doing it DIY vs (expensive) off the shelf stuff.

 

[la szum]

Appreciate you sharing all of your mistakes here then.