Another DIY bass trap / absorbing panels thread...

[Akoppenheffer]

Here's my take on it. I bought (12) 2'x4' OC 703 panels. These were for eight panels hanging on the walls to generally absorb sound and two 8' tall bass traps.

I used 1"x2" studs to build the frames. I also used some supports on the back to make the frames a little more solid. After I laid the fiber glass into the frames, I didn't want to cover them with the typical burlap, so I ended up with the same fabric that is used to cover speakers. It worked fantastic and looks even better. I think they came out great! The difference in the room is huge. I'm with the majority of this board now, screw the foam and do the 703. Thanks to everyone with their DIYs and helpful information.


And for the pictures...

[Akoppenheffer]

And in the room...

[mikecorwin]

Kudos, dude...I just made a couple 3x2 gobos stuffed with OC 703 myself. Pretty satisfying when you DIY!

[Akoppenheffer]

Hell yeah man, feels good doing it yourself, even though my mom helped with the fabric part. She's all about sewing and knitting, haha.

[jwl]

wow, looks great man! Good job!

I definitely agree, there is a certain set of people for whom DIY is incredibly satisfying. I count myself among this group.... most of the time. Sometimes it's easier to just get something that works.

[Akoppenheffer]

Thanks! I'm really happy with the result. I have two rooms there that are similar and it's literally like night and day. I feel really comfortable in there now and can trust my speakers more so than before. I have one panel that's left over and I think I'm going hang it above my desk, caddy corner to where the wall meets the ceiling. Hopefully it will focus the sound even more.

[delasoul]

hey brethers.. just want to ask a question.. are those panels flush against the wall? im pretty sure i read somewhere that its good to leave about an inch between the wall and your sound panel. well.. maybe not an inch.. but some distance.. some of the doods on here will tell you.. just tryin to help

[Akoppenheffer]

They are flush against the wall. I could probably benefit from them being out a little bit, considering they are not faced... The room is already quite small so I need all the space I can get, haha. I'm not sure if I would notice a difference if they were spaced, they already do such a great job. I'm interested to know about this question though...

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by Akoppenheffer

They are flush against the wall. I could probably benefit from them being out a little bit, considering they are not faced... The room is already quite small so I need all the space I can get, haha. I'm not sure if I would notice a difference if they were spaced, they already do such a great job. I'm interested to know about this question though...

You should space the panel off the wall the thickness of the panel. So a 2" panel should be spaced 2" and a 4" panel, well you get what I am saying.
I will point out that after spacing, it is not like your going hear this HUGE difference as really bass trapping needs to go in the corners, to deal with the room modes below 100 hz. But, it will help and most small rooms need all the help it can get in the bass range.

Good job BTW, would have loved for you to have bought our product, but just glad to see people treating there rooms.

Glenn

[jwl]

Yeah, adding that extra space will basically lower the bottom frequency at which the panel absorbs. So it won't affect the highs, but it will make them absorb to a somewhat lower frequency.

I'd personally space them out, especially in a small room. That extra 2" of space is a good sacrifice, small rooms need all the bass trapping they can get.

But, Glenn is right, it's not a huge difference. We're talking about optimizing, not make-or-break performance here.

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by jwl

Yeah, adding that extra space will basically lower the bottom frequency at which the panel absorbs. So it won't affect the highs, but it will make them absorb to a somewhat lower frequency.

I'd personally space them out, especially in a small room. That extra 2" of space is a good sacrifice, small rooms need all the bass trapping they can get.

But, Glenn is right, it's not a huge difference. We're talking about optimizing, not make-or-break performance here.

Believe it or not it will pick up a little more high end also, due to (IMO) sound coming in from the side. I saw this first hand at Riverbank lab when we had testing done.



Glenn

[Akoppenheffer]

Good to know, I think I'll space 'em...

[jwl]

Originally Posted by Glenn Kuras

Believe it or not it will pick up a little more high end also, due to (IMO) sound coming in from the side. I saw this first hand at Riverbank lab when we had testing done.

Ahh, makes sense. I hadn't considered sound reflecting behind the panel, but that is sensible. It would depend on the spacing of the traps though, if you have several traps right next to each other, like covering the entire wall, it probably wouldn't make a difference since there is no additional sound reflecting behind the panel.

Learn sumpin new every day....