What's been your experience with acoustic treatments?

[jcisbig]

Hey All,

I'm planning to add acoustic treatments to my HT room soon and have been talking primarily with GIK. They are recommending the following:

Four Soffit Traps to help control bass frequencies (and some mids)
242 Panels at my 1st reflection points on my sidewalls
Three 6" Alpha traps on my back wall
More 242 Panels on my front wall after those other things have been done

Altogether, it will represent a little over $2k in treatments, which is a lot more than I was expecting! Needless to say, I wonder in the back of my head how much audible difference those things will make in my room. I've heard a lot of folks say that acoustic treatments make a HUGE difference, but there's always that little nagging doubt in my mind.


Two questions:
1) Does anyone have experience with any of the treatments above? (or similar from another company)
2) Can anyone say a few things to help ease my mind about spending so much for room treatments?

[Boomzilla]

I've used the ATS ones. What I found was:

First batch (about $400 worth) made a HUGE difference. So I figured if a little is good, a lot MUST be better... So I bought another $600 worth and was PROFOUNDLY disappointed. Little to no difference at all.

So my advice, for what it's worth, is as follows:

Start small. Buy a FEW panels & hang them where they do the most good (first reflection points, etc).

Then buy an extra or two panels or traps & try moving them around. Hear a difference that you like ("different" is not necessarily the same as "better")? Leave that one in place & buy another "trial panel" to move around.

Eventually (and rather quickly, in my experience) you'll find that the extra parts just don't do too much.

Then you're done.

Don't let the internet blowhards tell you that your room should look like the inside of a marshmallow before it will sound right. And take every bit of advice (including mine) with the appropriate grain of salt.

Happy acoustic treating!

Boomzilla

[repeetavx]

Hi jcisbig

Room treatments make cheap electronics sound expensive.

Your plan looks good except that adding too much acoustic treatment can make a room sound dead. Instead of doing everything at once, just start with your corners and reflection points. Then add back walls. Last add front walls.

That being said, some people have had a different experience. Take your time and enjoy your hobby.

[brutiarti]

Start with the corners and first reflection points treatments first. Evaluate results and maybe add a couple of more panels in the back or ceiling depending where you get the most results. GIk products are really good quality acoustic treatments

[garbulky]

First you should know that there are no real BASS acoustic traps though they do reduce it a bit.
You may be able to get cheaper room treatments at ATS acoustics. Now....sometimes what you really need is reduction of treble frequencies - though I admit that the mid range and bass are important too.

If you are looking for cheap cheap - but ugly - acoustic foam can be had for very cheap. It doesn't do much but it does absorb a little bit of the treble. I bought it because it was cheap and can cover a large area for the price.

I don't have a sub. So when I included the bass panels things sounded off. The bass was robbed. There was a bit of a mid range glare blah blah. But playing around with things has really reduced stuff.

[sheetmetalworker]

I agree with Boom, more isn't always better. I have 4 of the ATS 24"×48"×2" panels and 4 of the Gik alpha series 24"×24"×4" diffuser/ absorbers. They work well and had to move them around quite a bit till I found what works for me. They definitely have made a difference for the better.

[adaboy]

Sept 19, 2016 16:29:20 GMT -5 garbulky said:

First you should know that there are no real BASS acoustic traps though they do reduce it a bit.
You may be able to get cheaper room treatments at ATS acoustics. Now....sometimes what you really need is reduction of treble frequencies - though I admit that the mid range and bass are important too.

If you are looking for cheap cheap - but ugly - acoustic foam can be had for very cheap. It doesn't do much but it does absorb a little bit of the treble. I bought it because it was cheap and can cover a large area for the price.

I don't have a sub. So when I included the bass panels things sounded off. The bass was robbed. There was a bit of a mid range glare blah blah. But playing around with things has really reduced stuff.

Hi Garbulky, I have to respectfully disagree. I use GIK bass traps and the monster bass trap along with other broadband treatments. If you use the correct stuff not the cheap egg crate foam it works very well. This is both audible and measurable. I recommend that you try GIK's products you can talk with Bryan or Glenn and they will walk you down the right path. Room treatment is more effective than any other thing in your room.

Thanks again

[vneal]

bass traps

[jlafrenz]

Acoustic panels are worth the investment. I have used them in several of my rooms and all have yielded a positive result. The guys at GIK have always been helpful when I have talked to them. $2K may sound like a lot, but they do have an impact on your overall system performance. Like Boomzilla has mentioned, start slow and add as you can. Think of them as part of your system. A good system is something that you build, typically over time. Not many of us here have the coin to go out and put together the systems we have now with the single check. The added benefit of building a system as you go is you get to listen to it and decide where you want to take it before just spending a bunch of money.

If you are handy and all I have a few tutorials on DIY panels. Give it some thought and let us know. We are here to help.

[teaman]

I find area rugs and heavy drapes are an inexpensive way to getting better sound with those hard surface areas.

[adaboy]

Sept 19, 2016 21:23:25 GMT -5 jlafrenz said:

Acoustic panels are worth the investment. I have used them in several of my rooms and all have yielded a positive result. The guys at GIK have always been helpful when I have talked to them. $2K may sound like a lot, but they do have an impact on your overall system performance. Like Boomzilla has mentioned, start slow and add as you can. Think of them as part of your system. A good system is something that you build, typically over time. Not many of us here have the coin to go out and put together the systems we have now with the single check. The added benefit of building a system as you go is you get to listen to it and decide where you want to take it before just spending a bunch of money.

If you are handy and all I have a few tutorials on DIY panels. Give it some thought and let us know. We are here to help.

Agreed! I think when I first started I sent a drawing of my room and started with a $700 purchase. It was for my basement at the time and it was near perfect. When I moved to AZ the house had tile throughout the 1st floor so I then added more to keep conversation intelligible and kept the decor more consistent.

These were for the basement rental I was in up in Nebraska, again it was only around $700 from GIK (Room package 2). I'll admit I was apprehensive about spending that on sound treatment but as I was putting them up I could tell it was the right decision.

This is the drawing I sent.


This was the finished product.

[twism]

Treating your room is one of the best bang for your bucks. I have my room fully treated and I use GIK.

[deltadube]

Sept 19, 2016 15:59:40 GMT -5 jcisbig said:

Hey All,

I'm planning to add acoustic treatments to my HT room soon and have been talking primarily with GIK. They are recommending the following:

Four Soffit Traps to help control bass frequencies (and some mids)
242 Panels at my 1st reflection points on my sidewalls
Three 6" Alpha traps on my back wall
More 242 Panels on my front wall after those other things have been done

Altogether, it will represent a little over $2k in treatments, which is a lot more than I was expecting! Needless to say, I wonder in the back of my head how much audible difference those things will make in my room. I've heard a lot of folks say that acoustic treatments make a HUGE difference, but there's always that little nagging doubt in my mind.


Two questions:
1) Does anyone have experience with any of the treatments above? (or similar from another company)
2) Can anyone say a few things to help ease my mind about spending so much for room treatments?

if you have lots of cash go for it.. other wise look into making your own.... for a lot less money...

and great results..

[jcisbig]

Thanks for the replies guys. It makes a lot of sense to me to do things in smaller increments and take it slow. I definitely don't want to spend $xxx and see a huge difference, then spend another $xxx and not notice much of a difference at all! I think I'll start with a pair of soffit traps in my front corners and some 2x4 panels at my 1st reflection points. That should address the most major issues in my room and we'll see how far that gets me!

[leonski]

Lots of DIY solution for 'panels' One of the finest products uses OC703, which is an industrial Boiler insulation. It has very good (and known) acoustic properties and is available as 2'x4'sheets from 1" to 4" thick.

I'd ALSO look at diffusion. Making a 2D QRD is fairly easy but WILL require some time and effort. Diffusion really helps 'live' rooms and is highly recommended for BEHIND panel speakers.

Absorption works very well at a speakers 'first reflection points'.

www.avsforum.com/forum/19-dedicated-theater-design-construction/1312693-diy-construction-methods-hang-able-acoustic-panels-moveable-corner-traps-not-fixed-frames.html

This would be a good place to start.

[garbulky]

I on the other hand reccomend going big at the beginning. BECAUSE the tendency is to notice a difference even if it's very few like I did. Then basically dawdle on treating the rest (how much better can it get mentality).

[adaboy]

Sept 20, 2016 9:25:46 GMT -5 garbulky said:

I on the other hand reccomend going big at the beginning. BECAUSE the tendency is to notice a difference even if it's very few like I did. Then basically dawdle on treating the rest (how much better can it get mentality).

Garbulky nailed it!

This is the number one problem with room treatment (lack there of). People don't do enough upfront and then wonder why their room didn't improve.

Front soffit and 1st refection isn't going to tame a room.

Don't dip your toe in, go ahead and jump in. It's a small fraction of your system (I assume) it is for most here.

[garbulky]

Yes don't go small. If you do, then you won't notice a difference between say - one panel and say three.
The nice thing is that it is remarkable how much the soundstage can clear up. Just know that it takes experimentation. Some positions can make the sound worse.
If cost is a problem ATS acoustics may be 30 to 40% cheaper.

[sebastianr]

Bass traps are a good start. Once the bass gets tamed, the rest of the audio spectrum really cleaned up too. Then like everyone has said, first reflection points and maybe a cloud. I noticed a huge difference in the room. If you can measure the room before and after, it will help you determine what changes you are making. Sometimes you can add acoustic panels and they are not doing what you intended them to do.

[leonski]

I've been in a recording studio. Awful place to actually LISTEN to music. The reason I bring this up is that it is quite possible to OVER DAMP a room with 'treatments' not fully understood (frequency characteristics, for example).
And YES. By ALL MEANS, figure out a way to MEASURE.

My LR was helped many years ago with the addition of a SINGLE woolen tapestry about 3'x4' on a wall which was the source of a slap-back echo. Carefully thinking it thru FIRST will save time and money.

DIY is a VERY viable way to go for these projects. Most of the absorber/flat panels use the SAME STUFF and it is available to the end user. Fabrics from www.guilfordofmaine.com/acoustic will give an project a finished look impossible to tell from commercial project panels.