Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - SPACE COUPLERS. Theory, construction and effectiveness on traps.

terry j · 27th August 2009

In this thread Is a totally dead room useful for a small home studio? the idea of using space couplers was floated.

The claim is that at lower frequencies the effectiveness of trapping can be increased dramatically.

This idea came at a pretty good time for me as the look and finish of the traps this would give is just what I was after.

So, a quick re-do of my build and now I will use space couplers. This is for aesthetic reasons, but any gain in effectiveness will of course be welcomed!

The build itself is easy as, happy to post pics for others (and have alternative ideas too).

For now tho, I am happy to run tests and measurements (as directed/suggested by others more knowledgable) so we can have a bit of hard data on the effects of space couplers facing traps.

I will use REW for those measurements, ....I guess there is a way that I can e-mail the raw data??? I ask because the more knowledgable guys might find it easier to have a look at what they want to see if they had the files themselves. It is a bit clumsy for them to ask me what to generate, then for me to do it and post it.

Better off they just post the point they want to see??? (so if it can be done I am happy to send the data to them...but you will have to tell me how to do it)

This is what I can do. I can measure the traps effectiveness as-is (without couplers) so we establish the base line performance.

Then of course I can re-measure when (maybe even as, it can be in installments) the space couplers get added.

The only difference between the two stages will be the addition of the coupler structure, the amount and placement of the f/glass will remain the same.

There seemed to be interest in this in the other thread, so now is the time to ask what you would like done.

I do not have heaps of time to wait here, if the interest has waned then so be it, I will go ahead and just install the couplers (as I say I am doing it for looks). This will start happening in the next few days, so I guess questions/requests need to start appearing soon.

I have just blindly followed the construction of the couplers from pictures available, three inch depth and three inch square wells.

I see no reason why those figures are 'magic' figures, why (for example) the depth cannot be greater or less, the square size greater or less, indeed even why it needs to be square (eg could be longer in one dimension than the other, or even the coupler could be made from 'discs'...lop off lengths of suitable pipe and butt them all together, would look funky and have an opening where the circles do not meet, which would vary the diffusion/scattering etc).

Still, for the looks I want I will go with the design outlined.

Let me know what you want to see measured with this.

27th August 2009	#1
terry j Gear maniac Joined: Jul 2009 Posts: 296 Thread Starter	SPACE COUPLERS. Theory, construction and effectiveness on traps. In this thread Is a totally dead room useful for a small home studio? the idea of using space couplers was floated. The claim is that at lower frequencies the effectiveness of trapping can be increased dramatically. This idea came at a pretty good time for me as the look and finish of the traps this would give is just what I was after. So, a quick re-do of my build and now I will use space couplers. This is for aesthetic reasons, but any gain in effectiveness will of course be welcomed! The build itself is easy as, happy to post pics for others (and have alternative ideas too). For now tho, I am happy to run tests and measurements (as directed/suggested by others more knowledgable) so we can have a bit of hard data on the effects of space couplers facing traps. I will use REW for those measurements, ....I guess there is a way that I can e-mail the raw data??? I ask because the more knowledgable guys might find it easier to have a look at what they want to see if they had the files themselves. It is a bit clumsy for them to ask me what to generate, then for me to do it and post it. Better off they just post the point they want to see??? (so if it can be done I am happy to send the data to them...but you will have to tell me how to do it) This is what I can do. I can measure the traps effectiveness as-is (without couplers) so we establish the base line performance. Then of course I can re-measure when (maybe even as, it can be in installments) the space couplers get added. The only difference between the two stages will be the addition of the coupler structure, the amount and placement of the f/glass will remain the same. There seemed to be interest in this in the other thread, so now is the time to ask what you would like done. I do not have heaps of time to wait here, if the interest has waned then so be it, I will go ahead and just install the couplers (as I say I am doing it for looks). This will start happening in the next few days, so I guess questions/requests need to start appearing soon. I have just blindly followed the construction of the couplers from pictures available, three inch depth and three inch square wells. I see no reason why those figures are 'magic' figures, why (for example) the depth cannot be greater or less, the square size greater or less, indeed even why it needs to be square (eg could be longer in one dimension than the other, or even the coupler could be made from 'discs'...lop off lengths of suitable pipe and butt them all together, would look funky and have an opening where the circles do not meet, which would vary the diffusion/scattering etc). Still, for the looks I want I will go with the design outlined. Let me know what you want to see measured with this.