Do you treat your rooms?

[MattiasNYC]

I'm just curious.

There's a thread right now in which a poster talks about the last link in his audio chain and I started to think about many of the home setups in which the rooms are either untreated or not treated at all. So I'm just curious to see how many of you have done any significant treatment to them.

Not necessarily looking for a debate, just to see what people here do in general...



PS: "treating" in this sense means acoustic treatment, mainly to refract and absorb sound, not to sound proof from adjacent rooms/apartments...

[Kallenator]

I have hung up some old blankets on the roof, wall and made six acoustic plates that are positioned around the room. This is topped off with black curtains as well.

It gives decent sound dampening to a strangely shaped room. =)

[MattiasNYC]

Cool.

Anybody else?

[[DANGERDAN]]

I like the idea and would do it if i could but i have mostly just compared room types, like the size and the types of flooring used. Wood floors vs Carpet give off totally different sounds and same goes with rooms with lots of windows, though i find myself like the carpet rooms better as there are less reflections. Makes sense too as music studios are completely padded with treated material.

[Kingcarcas]

As far as throwing things in the corner as "bass traps" sticking a bookshelf on the wall behind the tv/speakers. IDK if i'll ever bother with acoustic panels though....

[MattiasNYC]

So I actually work professionally in studios for music and post, and I put up panels at home for my home workstation. It makes a huge difference which I'm sure most would agree on.

What is it that you take into consideration when you decide just how far to go? Is it cost? Is it aesthetics?

[M.Beier]

Furniture in generel works pretty darn well?
I've done so for all rooms except bathroom, heck even kitchen is covered

[Expat GriZ]

Well.....after speaker placement....which is your "cheapest" .... & "best" ...... easy free tweak possible ......I'd have to say room treatment or quality is extremely important "IF" you care about sound quality at all.

Reflective surfaces are not what is wanted .....you want to take away your "First Reflective Point", ceiling, walls & floor.......period. Room dimensions will also come into play as you do not want even multiples. Odds are the way to go to avoid standing waves....etc.

It's as easy as stacking old newspaper in a box ... let your spouse, better half or soon to be ex.... ........colour, cover, paint the box however she wants...stick it in the corner and wahhhhhfookin lah........nice bass trap.

Had many a girlfriend say..."this looks like a sound room....not a living room" ....... "Why is there a mattress on the wall?" ........ now yer getting it.......more ways than one........

Anybody want a stack of dCS? Lookin to upgrade ...........

[MattiasNYC]

Well, I'm not sure how you wouldn't get even multiples with any dimension. Perhaps I misunderstand what you're talking about, but in any normal apartment room you'd typically have 90 degree angles meaning you get standing waves. Only way to get rid of or attenuate them is absorption.

Mattress on the wall? hehehe... I bet she's having questions about that.... hah!..

[MattiasNYC]

Furniture in generel works pretty darn well?
I've done so for all rooms except bathroom, heck even kitchen is covered

Furniture is better than nothing for sure, but it's still difficult to treat the room since it takes a bit of thought, planning and analysis and the stuff at hand isn't really designed for it (i.e. your couch or bookshelf etc).

[MattiasNYC]

Thanks for your replies btw...

[Expat GriZ]

Multiples...... 10 x 20 etc. Odds are better... as in not = 2

[MattiasNYC]

Multiples...... 10 x 20 etc. Odds are better... as in not = 2

I don't see how that affects standing ways in any kind of way though. Why would it?

[Expat GriZ]

Basic sound properties dude. Sound reflects off walls, ceiling & floor (reflection) and interacts or interferes with the incident wave creating standing waves. You now get nodes and high pressure zones. With these zones you will experience "holes" in your sound spectrum. I thought you said a few posts up you "work in the industry"? You should know this...... do some reading.

[MattiasNYC]

Basic sound properties dude. Sound reflects off walls, ceiling & floor (reflection) and interacts or interferes with the incident wave creating standing waves. You now get nodes and high pressure zones. With these zones you will experience "holes" in your sound spectrum. I thought you said a few posts up you "work in the industry"? You should know this...... do some reading.

No need to be snarky here.

Yes, I know full well what standing waves are and that they not only provide attenuation but also increases in spl at some locations/frequencies. That wasn't the question though. I asked specifically about "odds and evens". As you say, "basic sound properties dude".

How do the dimensions being odd versus even make any difference as far as standing waves are concerned?

[Expat GriZ]

No need to be snarky here.

Yes, I know full well what standing waves are and that they not only provide attenuation but also increases in spl at some locations/frequencies. That wasn't the question though. I asked specifically about "odds and evens". As you say, "basic sound properties dude".

How do the dimensions being odd versus even make any difference as far as standing waves are concerned?

Not being snarky......you being in the industry this should be pretty basic for you or you should have access to people who do know.

multiples "create" this standing wave phenomenon. Ok, lets get basic .... a 10 X 20 room with a 10 foot ceiling is "not good". 8x16x24, 12x12x8, 12x24x8, 16x24x8 all not good. Too many nodes created due to the sound waves meeting all too regularly.

An 11 or 12'10" x 20 room with 9.5 or even 8 foot ceiling (basement) would be better....as the odds don't create as many standing waves. That's all I'm trying to say.

AND ....since you already have an existing room .....its dimensions will determine the sound properties. There is no one given "Golden Ratio" to fit all .....it all comes down to your existing room dimensions which have "their" ratio and the treatments you use to get the most out of it..... unless you have the luxury of building one from scratch .... like Spielberg did where the walls are even angled away from each other to dispurse unwanted reflections.

[MattiasNYC]

Not being snarky......you being in the industry this should be pretty basic for you or you should have access to people who do know.

multiples "create" this standing wave phenomenon. Ok, lets get basic .... a 10 X 20 room with a 10 foot ceiling is "not good". 8x16x24, 12x12x8, 12x24x8, 16x24x8 all not good. Too many nodes created due to the sound waves meeting all too regularly.

An 11 or 12'10" x 20 room with 9.5 or even 8 foot ceiling (basement) would be better....as the odds don't create as many standing waves. That's all I'm trying to say.

AND ....since you already have an existing room .....its dimensions will determine the sound properties. There is no one given "Golden Ratio" to fit all .....it all comes down to your existing room dimensions which have "their" ratio and the treatments you use to get the most out of it..... unless you have the luxury of building one from scratch .... like Spielberg did where the walls are even angled away from each other to dispurse unwanted reflections.

I don't think you're following what my objection actually is.

The issue here is what a standing wave actually is and how it is created. A standing wave is the result of the sound "meeting itself" in a room and at that point either reinforcing or attenuating a specific frequency. If you move your walls from 11 x 20 to 10 x 20 all you've done is move the point at which a particular frequency happens to create a standing wave, and in the place it used to be you'll have another.

Suppose we have a room that for the sake of argument is exactly 10 feet across. A pure sine wave appears and travels across this distance. The wavelength is 20 feet. Let's also say that it emanates from an in-wall speaker, to make it simpler. So at the middle of the room this wave happens to reach it's peak after which it falls off to reach zero at the opposing wall. The bounce-back however will be the opposite polarity (the other half of 20 feet) and will null in the middle of the room, right? So we have a standing wave problem.

So let's say you now are able to change the room size and make it 9 instead of 10. This problem at that location is now solved. However, any sound with a wavelength of 18 feet will have the exact same problem in the same place, right?

[Expat GriZ]

I don't think you're following what my objection actually is.

The issue here is what a standing wave actually is and how it is created. A standing wave is the result of the sound "meeting itself" in a room and at that point either reinforcing or attenuating a specific frequency. If you move your walls from 11 x 20 to 10 x 20 all you've done is move the point at which a particular frequency happens to create a standing wave, and in the place it used to be you'll have another.

Suppose we have a room that for the sake of argument is exactly 10 feet across. A pure sine wave appears and travels across this distance. The wavelength is 20 feet. Let's also say that it emanates from an in-wall speaker, to make it simpler. So at the middle of the room this wave happens to reach it's peak after which it falls off to reach zero at the opposing wall. The bounce-back however will be the opposite polarity (the other half of 20 feet) and will null in the middle of the room, right? So we have a standing wave problem.

So let's say you now are able to change the room size and make it 9 instead of 10. This problem at that location is now solved. However, any sound with a wavelength of 18 feet will have the exact same problem in the same place, right?

You answered your first question yourself, and in a way you answered your second query as well.

Reduce the amount of "sound meeting itself" by room dimensions. This brings us to "the sweet spot" ......."seating position". All this modification (Dimensions, room treatment, etc) is to benefit "one" specific area of your room .... or you could use one of the many digital room correction devices on the market. But all this tweaking is for your primary listening position and AT that postition you are hearing it as uncoloured and clean, as recorded etc.

2 channel people .....home theater room .....each has its optimal sweet spot. That's about it ......

[MattiasNYC]

You answered your first question yourself, and in a way you answered your second query as well.

Yeah, I know what I said. I just proved to you that it doesn't matter if a room is 10 x 20 or 11 x 20. I'm guessing you're beginning to see my point now since you're not actually replying to what I said...

Reduce the amount of "sound meeting itself" by room dimensions. This brings us to "the sweet spot" ......."seating position". All this modification (Dimensions, room treatment, etc) is to benefit "one" specific area of your room .... or you could use one of the many digital room correction devices on the market. But all this tweaking is for your primary listening position and AT that postition you are hearing it as uncoloured and clean, as recorded etc.

2 channel people .....home theater room .....each has its optimal sweet spot. That's about it ......

So? The above has what to do with "odds" and "evens"?