Hello there,

I finally got a system up and running in my 13.88'x14.66'x8.27' listening room: Omega Super 8 XRS with a SEUFO2 and digital front end.

I have some curtains on one wall, but most of the room is pretty bare on the walls and the sound is rather harsh and needs some help. I'm looking to DIY room treatment and want to go with natural absorbing materials (instead of rockwool, fiberglass, foam, etc).

I ended up buying a box of 2'x4' acoustic wool panels from Havelock and a 30 lb bag of loose fill wool. My half-baked plan was to build 2'x4' frames, put a wool panel in front, pack the rest with the loose wool, and wrap everything in a breathable cotton fabric.

I signed up for a couple free consults from different acoustic companies and the feedback is to go heavy on the bass trapping.

Curious if anyone else has worked with natural wool for acoustic treatments, or knows any good resources to help with this project. From what I can tell, if I do make these frames, it sounds like the deeper the better (7-9" deep).

As always, thanks in advance for any help and advice.

Hi, Alex. I second JB’s recommendation on the Master Book of Acoustics. The Sabine equation described in that book can appear daunting but if you work through the example using your room’s dimensions and surfaces it will point you at exactly the problem areas in your space.

Another great resource is the Acoustic Fields YouTube channel. Their products are expensive but you will learn a lot from the extensive videos that Dennis has posted, and if you are DIY savvy you can build most of what he describes easily.

For the most part you are on the right track. You probably need to start with low frequency control and to address those frequencies you’re looking at 8 inches minimum thickness and 12 inches is better.

I use a free app called Housecurve too. It doesn’t use a calibrated mic like REW or have nearly the features, but it is free and a handy way of monitoring changes over time as you move things or try different treatments.

I’ve compared the general sweep with Housecurve on my iPhone 16 against REW and it’s actually pretty close. Not nearly as detailed as REW but definitely catches the general peaks and nulls pretty accurately.