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AUDIO FORUMS >> Room Treatment >> DIY room treatment
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Message started by tom.gnade on 11/10/15 at 19:05:57

Title: DIY room treatment
Post by tom.gnade on 11/10/15 at 19:05:57

Hi,

I see from Steve's listening room that he has some much larger diffusers that appear similar to the standard DIY offering. I wonder if plans are available for those - I assume they handle much lower frequencies. There are also rounded corner traps and what appear to be absorbers.

Has anyone built these them?

I also wonder if the 24x24" size that is commercially sold would be more convenient to build - can the DIY size just be scaled up, or is the design completely different?

Thanks!

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by DPC on 11/10/15 at 22:43:45

The short answer is "yes" they can be made in just about any size you want.

That said, I found even the kit form to be a very time consuming project.

You will find many plans on the net. Pick your poison!

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by DPC on 11/10/15 at 22:47:13

Also note that I am a DYI room treatment hobbyist.

Lots of benefit for little cost!

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by tom.gnade on 11/11/15 at 01:23:08

The beauty of my current situation is that I have a large dedicated space in my basement that is just in studs, no drywall or finish of any kind. I have a clean slate, and I can pretty much do whatever I want.

Do you have any particular recommendations?

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by lLance on 11/12/15 at 02:19:01

Yes, even the kits are a bit labor intensive. Steve just sent an email with a discount on assembled diffuser kits. The picture is taken from my room earlier this year. It took me 2 days and a gallon of wood glue.

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by tom.gnade on 11/12/15 at 04:27:22

I saw that email. The problem is that my room is something like 22'x18', so that's a lot of diffusion. I'm a DIY guy, so I'm tempted to just build 20 of them or something crazy, but I'm sure I would regret it after the first 2.

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by lLance on 11/13/15 at 02:20:30

I have 22 diffusers and my room is 14.5 X 14.5'. That is an old picture. I have since removed some diffusers and added absorption. I also have bass traps in all 4 corners. The room now sounds great.

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by tom.gnade on 11/13/15 at 13:51:40

I'm sorry I don't see a picture, can you attach? I'm thinking of starting with green glue and drywall on the subfloors above, and some R19 insulation. Do you (or anyone on the forum) have experience with that?

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by lLance on 11/14/15 at 02:31:52

This is more recent

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by tom.gnade on 11/15/15 at 01:12:56

Wow, that is a lot of diffusion. Did you DIY any of that stuff or buy it all? What is that to the left of the corner bass trap, they look like diffusers but they seem like they're made of foam or something. Are they absorbers?

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by lLance on 11/15/15 at 04:32:30

The corner is DIY bass traps I made to the exact height I wanted. Next to those are Auralex Q'Fusor, styrofoam, I just painted them. Above them also an Auralex product but made of foam. The vertical diffusers directly behind the speakers are GIK products, got a great deal at the end of CAF audio show. The rest of the wood diffusers are Decware kits. The kits do take a while to assemble but considering they are birch plywood, cut precisely and partially assembled already, I believe they are, like so many other Decware products, a great value.

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by Archie on 11/15/15 at 18:27:09

Quote:

I'm thinking of starting with green glue and drywall on the subfloors above

I'm not sure what you mean by Green Glue but if it's the "non-toxic" environmentally friendly glue then I recommend that you use the good old solvent based toxic glue if you want it to hold for the long term! I'm a builder and the water based stuff is generally brittle and doesn't stick very well.

But would there be more logic in using "sound channel" between the drywall and joists as vibration/sound isolation?

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by Palomino on 11/16/15 at 18:19:45

Nice room, ILance!

I have built QRD, fractal, and skyline diffusers. Unless you need lower frequency diffusion, buy the Decware diffusers.

I can't see them being much harder to put together than anything I mention above and you will save a lot of hassle.

If you don't want to build at all, here are a couple that look reasonable as well:

If you need lower frequency diffusion, these caught my eye on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATS-Acoustic-Diffuser-/221231381442?hash=item33826afbc2:g:-0sAAOxyHE5RsggH

I also lined the back of my room with these back when they were on sale:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Top-Acoustics-FD-480-Fractal-Acoustic-Step-Diffuser-Panel-48x16x6-inches-/261833417920?hash=item3cf67ce4c0:g:UOkAAOSwpDdVD5dV

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by tom.gnade on 11/17/15 at 13:00:51

Do you think the top acoustics diffusers work? I can't find much about them.

http://topacoustics.com/
https://plus.google.com/116995310056198777949/about

It looks like this foam diffuser is the only thing they make.

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by Palomino on 11/20/15 at 22:29:27

That's what I have in the back of my room. I feel they work well. Not as much impact as QRD diffusers but they definitely diffuse.

Title: Re: DIY room treatment
Post by Jeff1 on 12/08/15 at 00:06:45

Other than the general basics of eliminating early reflections from sidewalls and ceilings diffusers and bass traps may take some trial and error depending on your room dimensions, speaker and listening position. I have used a reference book "The Master Handbook of Acoustics" to evaluate and build all of my treatments. The book covers what to use and formulas to help you along.