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Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ.

I haven't been very systematic, but I am satisfied

When I first went down this route, I had no idea how much difference a few simple treatments would make. I didn't start out with any hugely glaring problems, just a relatively bare room that was too reflective and bright sounding. I read all of Jon Risch's posts, and Ethan Winer's site, then a few others including the the Teres site.

For space and aesthetic reasons I decided on 18" x 6' tube traps in the front corners and a series of narrow absorption panels on the side walls. The difference in sound quality was dramatic - treating the first reflection points smoothed everything out, and the tube traps made the room less boomy, resulting in greater clarity and a perceived increase in resolution.

For the tube traps, I used pipe insulation and followed the very clear instructions on the Teres site (linked). I have no doubt other materials could be more effective, but this method is quick, easy, cheap, and works. Half of the length is stuffed longitudinally with the left-over panel material in an X shape to (in theory) increase mass and provide broader-band absorption. By the way, contrary to a post below, these must be capped, they don't work if the ends are left open:

Photobucket

For wall panels I used 2" compressed fiberglass panels and wrapped them to please my better half. Rather than use the typical 2' wide sections I made several narrow ones in the theory (hope?) that multiple edges would increase diffusion. These made a really noticeable improvement in imaging:

Photobucket

Finally, to reduce visual impact and maybe add a little more diffusion, I added a couple of ficus trees. These made no noticeable audible difference but stay for the visual effect

room front view

By the way, my total outlay was about $200 (materials are expensive where I live) and one weekend of effort. I'm sure the results can be improved, but this stuff is easy and cheap enough for an experiment




Edits: 10/13/09 10/13/09

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