Peter Project Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hey Folks. So I recently moved my studio into a larger room. Got a new gig, so I celebrated with some new toys, and picked up some Dynaudio BM5As. A nice step up from the Little Rolands I've been using for the past 5 years. Here's the issue. The Dyne's have a MUCH more extended bass response, and I'm now in Standing Wave hell. Specifically in the 110hz world. I've treated my room with some nice acoustic panels I built, and they work great in the upper frequencies, but some bass notes cause my entire room to explode. I've been reading up and looking on line, and the subject of bass trapping seems to be such voodoo. I've read up on some cool DIY bass traps, such as the corner tubes, and wall mounted panels. The corner tubes seem to be up for debate as to how well they work, and the wall panels seem to differ and contradict in every design. Anyone here have experience and/or luck in bass trapping?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
route-electrique Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Actually only way is to experiement w/ different designs. I'm not professional, i just got interested like you, and then made some . I would treat front corners and early reflection zones first, but i warn you; once you get couple of those ready, you get addicted. I would forget all that foam s#!+. If you got $$$, then i would buy some Basstraps, maybe from RealTraps (if you live in US) to places where you dont need special sizes. And then make other ones myself. Also, room size is very important factor, if you got spare space, you can do much more to your corners. I had/have very limited space, so i had to do quite small corner traps. Anyway, below is some pictures of my finished project; i made 14 basstraps, 13 of them ended up in the room. Btw, that fabric "painting" on the frontwall is also panel . http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/amrz1/frontwall.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/amrz1/frontwall.jpg Backwall got treated too http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/amrz1/2.jpg If you want see more pictures about project go here. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fader8 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I've been reading up and looking on line, and the subject of bass trapping seems to be such voodoo. It's not voodoo really, although I think some of the marketing folks would like you to think so. The truth is that there are 3 basic types of trap methods in use, frictional, flexural and resonant cavity. Here's the comic book explanation: Frictional: Your basic foam/fiber trap. Broadband low frequency absorption. The bigger it is the more it absorbs. Easy to design. Flexural: A resonant panel. Essentially, excite a panel at its natural frequency and it will absorb acoustic energy at that frequency. Very effective at that frequency. More difficult to design though. The panel material is selected by its surface density to match the frequency to be absorbed. Note that these can be reflective at other frequencies. Generally speaking they are more effective than frictional foam/fiber at the problem frequency, but must be designed for it. Stricter installation requirements. Cavity: Like the flexural panel, but design a cavity that resonates at the problem frequency. You can think of it as an acoustic spring. Generally easier to tune, but still hard to design. More portable, well, can be. Don't know if that helps you pick traps, but at least it helps to be a little better informed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Project Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Wow, thanks guys. I'm specifically interested in these two designs, ans I think they'd make good use of my studio corners. What do you think? http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/traps/traps.html http://www.acousticsciences.com/tubetrap-flyer.pdf route-electrique - What design did you use in your corners? So far, the designs I've used, is 1 1/2" acoustic rigid fiberglass, mounted on a 2'X4' frame with a 2" gap behind it. (see attached - the red things) I need to to go after the bass. http://photos-b.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v1977/178/92/649860680/n649860680_2374545_2062.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivermetimbers Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 What are your speakers sitting on? Speakers on top of a wooden stand on a wooden floor makes a nice bass enhancer. Sitting close and at ear level it is not as noticeable as when you move back and let the room take over. So one tip would be to isolate your speaker from the stand. The other place would be the area behind your speakers. That is another area the low end likes to pool. Keep the backs of the speakers away from non absorbing surfaces and/or treat that area with something to soak up the lows. All you want to be hearing is the sound from your speakers with no reflections or enhancements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Project Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 I've got them on stands which I've treated with a tick layer of undercarpet foam. Then they go into concrete basis. I'mprety sure they do a good job of isolating them. You're right though. I should look into treating more of the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivermetimbers Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 It is amazing to hear the speakers at ear level and then listen to them at the floor level. What a drastic change if the speakers are not isolated. You should not hear much of a change (increase in low end) if treated properly. Is the picture your current room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fader8 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Peter, Looking at your studio pic . . . Can you tell me (measure) the distance from the front face of your monitors to the wall surface behind your desk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Project Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 This is the current set up. The Speakers are angled about 45" from the wall, The center of each face is approx 24" -P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holger Lagerfeldt Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I use GIK 244 and Ohlers custom made corner traps. I have a slanted Parafon ceiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
instantpop Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Well, I've made all my own stuff. You can buy "acoustic foam" dirt cheap if you know where to look for it and make your own panels. Your rigid fiberglass implementation is also very good. Works perfectly for me. I think the biggest factor is making sure your reflection points are covered. That's the biggest help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fader8 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 The Speakers are angled about 45" from the wall, The center of each face is approx 24" If you could move that desk another foot, or better 2 feet, away from that wall, you'd be half-way there in solving your 110Hz standing wave problem. That glass window isn't helping either, but I'm sure you don't want to lose that. At 110Hz, your monitors have no directional control. They're nearly as loud in back as they are in front. So getting that reflection farther away from them, and you, is going to make a big difference. Then work on your absorption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Project Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Cool. I've pulled them out bit. I think I'll build a trap to go under the window. Has anyone had any lcuk with the tube traps? -P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
route-electrique Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 route-electrique - What design did you use in your corners? Nothing special. Just cut shitloads of triangles from fiber (used 10cm thick Paroc COS5 fiber for these, so i had to cut less triangles), so they fill the entire corner. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/amrz1/Corner_Basstraps_Sheets_2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/amrz1/frame_fiber_small.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/amrz1/frames_fiber_x3_small.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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