Studio/Acoustic panel setup

iyakin · 27th January 2012

Hi all,

I recently moved to a new apartment (which turns out to have a lot of echo) and need a little help/advice with how best to set up my recording environment. I've spent the past few days reading up on the forums trying to get a grasp of what I need to do, but my knowledge is extremely basic (if that!), so apologies in advance for anything I say or ask that might be ridiculous

Anyway, I want to build and install some acoustic panels for my studio room. I'm in the Philippines, so the availability of rockwool is limited. I managed to get 12 slabs of Roxul Rocktech s350 from a local insulation company. These are 2", 60kg/m3 dense, 48" X 24" firesafe panels, and are unfortunately all I have to work with at this time.

Here is a quick sketch i made of the room I am working with. All walls are concrete, and the floor I believe is laminate:

Please note that the drawing is not to scale - I threw it together quickly using google docs

I guess what I'm looking for is some advice on how best to utilise the limited materials that I have (other than for frames and required materials to make the panels, I would prefer not to spend any more money). I'm primarily concerned with reducing echo, both in the monitoring room, and in the smaller room which is connected (no door). I was thinking of turning that into a vocal/recording booth.

Would making 2" panels mounted with 2" air gaps from the wall (12 of which would cover pretty much all of the wall space excluding corners) be sufficient? Or should I stick 2 slabs together to make 4" panels, and be more selective with placement? I understand that thicker panels are better for low frequency absorption, but with my main concern being echo, does it matter? Especially in the vocal room?

Thanks in advance for any advice. All help is greatly appreciated

Ethan Winer · 27th January 2012

Any chance you can change your setup so you look out the window at the bottom of the drawing while sitting at your desk? That will give you better results than your current layout.

You need 4 inches thick for bass traps, and 2 inches is thick enough for reflection and general ambience control.

--Ethan

The Acoustic Treatment Experts

Glenn Kuras · 27th January 2012

Just to add you are sitting pretty much in the middle of the room which is most likely the worst (besides sitting in the corner) place to be. You can use the following program to test the room and find the best location and monitor set up.
REW - Room EQ Wizard Home Page
You can use the following as a guide for set up.
http://www.gikacoustics.com/room_setup.php

iyakin · 28th January 2012

Thanks for the tips guys.

I could move my desk to the bottom part of the room and turn it so that I look out of the window, and the monitors face back in. I'd just move the sofa to the top left corner. I considered that initially. The only problem is, there is a pre-built air conditioner slot/cavity under the window, and by putting my desk there I would block it. It gets really hot here in the Philippines, so I'd prefer not to do that, although I wont rule it out. Is the main issue that the monitors should be facing the longest part of the room? Would pushing my desk up a little further into the room (top of the drawing) be a decent alternative? Or is the concern to do with window reflections, so it's better for the monitors not to face that way?

I read somewhere about the "38% rule", being that the supposedly best listening position in a room is 38% from the front or rear wall? So I tried to place myself near that mark in the main room (62"). Is it that the room dimensions are too small for that rule to be of any concern? My position does seem slightly central. Again, could I just push further towards the top of the drawing to mitigate this problem?

Also, when I start placing the acoustic panels, does orientation (ie horizontal vs vertical) and height (higher or lower on the wall/ parity with speaker height) matter very much? or is it more about maximizing wall coverage (after covering the first reflection points of course)?

My apologies again for any silly questions. I really appreciate the advice.

Thanks!

27th January 2012	#1
iyakin Gear interested Joined: Jan 2012 Posts: 2 Thread Starter	Studio/Acoustic panel setup Hi all, I recently moved to a new apartment (which turns out to have a lot of echo) and need a little help/advice with how best to set up my recording environment. I've spent the past few days reading up on the forums trying to get a grasp of what I need to do, but my knowledge is extremely basic (if that!), so apologies in advance for anything I say or ask that might be ridiculous Anyway, I want to build and install some acoustic panels for my studio room. I'm in the Philippines, so the availability of rockwool is limited. I managed to get 12 slabs of Roxul Rocktech s350 from a local insulation company. These are 2", 60kg/m3 dense, 48" X 24" firesafe panels, and are unfortunately all I have to work with at this time. Here is a quick sketch i made of the room I am working with. All walls are concrete, and the floor I believe is laminate: Please note that the drawing is not to scale - I threw it together quickly using google docs I guess what I'm looking for is some advice on how best to utilise the limited materials that I have (other than for frames and required materials to make the panels, I would prefer not to spend any more money). I'm primarily concerned with reducing echo, both in the monitoring room, and in the smaller room which is connected (no door). I was thinking of turning that into a vocal/recording booth. Would making 2" panels mounted with 2" air gaps from the wall (12 of which would cover pretty much all of the wall space excluding corners) be sufficient? Or should I stick 2 slabs together to make 4" panels, and be more selective with placement? I understand that thicker panels are better for low frequency absorption, but with my main concern being echo, does it matter? Especially in the vocal room? Thanks in advance for any advice. All help is greatly appreciated Attached Thumbnails

27th January 2012	#2
Ethan Winer Gear Guru Joined: Oct 2002 Location: New Milford, CT, USA Posts: 12,334	Any chance you can change your setup so you look out the window at the bottom of the drawing while sitting at your desk? That will give you better results than your current layout. You need 4 inches thick for bass traps, and 2 inches is thick enough for reflection and general ambience control. --Ethan The Acoustic Treatment Experts __________________ Ethan's audio book is now available!

27th January 2012	#3
Glenn Kuras Gear Guru Joined: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 11,994	Just to add you are sitting pretty much in the middle of the room which is most likely the worst (besides sitting in the corner) place to be. You can use the following program to test the room and find the best location and monitor set up. REW - Room EQ Wizard Home Page You can use the following as a guide for set up. http://www.gikacoustics.com/room_setup.php __________________ Glenn Kuras GIK Acoustics USA GIK Acoustics Europe 770 986 2789 (USA) +44 (0) 20 7558 8976 (UK) See the NEW Scopus Tuned Trap

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28th January 2012	#4
iyakin Gear interested Joined: Jan 2012 Posts: 2 Thread Starter	Thanks for the tips guys. I could move my desk to the bottom part of the room and turn it so that I look out of the window, and the monitors face back in. I'd just move the sofa to the top left corner. I considered that initially. The only problem is, there is a pre-built air conditioner slot/cavity under the window, and by putting my desk there I would block it. It gets really hot here in the Philippines, so I'd prefer not to do that, although I wont rule it out. Is the main issue that the monitors should be facing the longest part of the room? Would pushing my desk up a little further into the room (top of the drawing) be a decent alternative? Or is the concern to do with window reflections, so it's better for the monitors not to face that way? I read somewhere about the "38% rule", being that the supposedly best listening position in a room is 38% from the front or rear wall? So I tried to place myself near that mark in the main room (62"). Is it that the room dimensions are too small for that rule to be of any concern? My position does seem slightly central. Again, could I just push further towards the top of the drawing to mitigate this problem? Also, when I start placing the acoustic panels, does orientation (ie horizontal vs vertical) and height (higher or lower on the wall/ parity with speaker height) matter very much? or is it more about maximizing wall coverage (after covering the first reflection points of course)? My apologies again for any silly questions. I really appreciate the advice. Thanks!