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subspace · 7th January 2003

Think of soundboard as insulation. It's to be used between your sheetrock and your studs to dampen the wall, not as a wall surface treatment. That's why it doesn't matter if it stinks or crumbles when abused, it stays inside your walls.
What should you do? Finish the room normally, concentrating on keeping inside sound in, outside sound out (seal everything, maybe use that soundboard as a sandwich under an extra layer of sheetrock.) Then "voice" the room using surface treatment that's as broadband as possible. If you use foam, get the deeper 3" or 4" stuff and mount it with an air gap between it and the wall. Try covering both sides of a sheet of 5/8" plywood and hang it from the ceiling using eyehooks so that there's a 3" air gap between it and the wall. This will extend it's absorption efficency to lower frequencies. Stagger another panel on the opposite wall so they aren't facing eachother, they should both face an untreated section of wall. The exception to this is the section of wall between your monitors and your ears, which should be symetric in treatment.
Owens-corning 703 fiberglass actually works a bit better than foam, and you can cover it easily by stretching fabric on a frame in front of it. In most cases, the wall behind your speakers should be completely covered, while the wall they fire at shouldn't use absorption. Use something to randomly scatter reflections instead, a professionly made diffusor, or on the cheap, a bookshelf, or even a curved piece of pegboard.
Corners provide the oppurtunity to improve the efficiency of your low end absorption. You can hang a pair of the absorption panels so they meet in the corner, and then hang a third panel across it so they form a triangle. This can act as a simple bass trap, improving your low end absorbtion efficiency where it counts the most.
Those are some simple things to try, with the emphasis on trying to keep your treatment even at all frequencies. As for how much treatment you need, let your ears be your guide. Put some up and listen, if it starts sounding unnatural, take it down and try something else. That's why I advise easily moved/ undone methods of treatment, not to mention you might just get bored with one sound over time and want to try something liver or deader. HTH

7th January 2003	#4
subspace Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Too sun Posts: 859 2 Reviews written	Think of soundboard as insulation. It's to be used between your sheetrock and your studs to dampen the wall, not as a wall surface treatment. That's why it doesn't matter if it stinks or crumbles when abused, it stays inside your walls. What should you do? Finish the room normally, concentrating on keeping inside sound in, outside sound out (seal everything, maybe use that soundboard as a sandwich under an extra layer of sheetrock.) Then "voice" the room using surface treatment that's as broadband as possible. If you use foam, get the deeper 3" or 4" stuff and mount it with an air gap between it and the wall. Try covering both sides of a sheet of 5/8" plywood and hang it from the ceiling using eyehooks so that there's a 3" air gap between it and the wall. This will extend it's absorption efficency to lower frequencies. Stagger another panel on the opposite wall so they aren't facing eachother, they should both face an untreated section of wall. The exception to this is the section of wall between your monitors and your ears, which should be symetric in treatment. Owens-corning 703 fiberglass actually works a bit better than foam, and you can cover it easily by stretching fabric on a frame in front of it. In most cases, the wall behind your speakers should be completely covered, while the wall they fire at shouldn't use absorption. Use something to randomly scatter reflections instead, a professionly made diffusor, or on the cheap, a bookshelf, or even a curved piece of pegboard. Corners provide the oppurtunity to improve the efficiency of your low end absorption. You can hang a pair of the absorption panels so they meet in the corner, and then hang a third panel across it so they form a triangle. This can act as a simple bass trap, improving your low end absorbtion efficiency where it counts the most. Those are some simple things to try, with the emphasis on trying to keep your treatment even at all frequencies. As for how much treatment you need, let your ears be your guide. Put some up and listen, if it starts sounding unnatural, take it down and try something else. That's why I advise easily moved/ undone methods of treatment, not to mention you might just get bored with one sound over time and want to try something liver or deader. HTH __________________ "If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good."