Owens Corning 703/705 VS Duct Board

[Cheech]

I am pretty new to the acoustics of a room, but from everything I have read I have decided to not spend another dime on equipment until I get my listening environment more accurate. I am looking into building some bass traps for my room. Can anyone tell me the difference between a product such as Owens Corning 703/705 and Duct Board?

The reason I ask, is because a local supplier can get the Duct Board pretty easily, but I don’t want to purchase it if it’s not going to get the job done correctly.


Thanks

[Ethan Winer]

Cheech,

> Can anyone tell me the difference between a product such as Owens Corning 703/705 and Duct Board? <

They're the same, and you can compare what your supplier has by its density. 703 is 3 pounds per cubic foot, and 705 is 6 pounds. As long as the duct board you're considering is basically "rigid fiberglass" it will work.

--Ethan

[Cheech]

Awesome My search is over!!!!!!

So correct me if I am wrong...... The 705 or 6lb per Cubic Ft would be better for the lower end trapping?

Also when mounting the insulation inside the frames, should I place both 2" pieces together for a total of 4" ? or do I leave space inbetween them?

Thanks so much Ethan!

[Ethan Winer]

Cheech,

> The 705 or 6lb per Cubic Ft would be better for the lower end trapping? <

Yes, see my Density Report:

www.ethanwiner.com/density/density.html

> Also when mounting the insulation inside the frames, should I place both 2" pieces together for a total of 4" ? or do I leave space inbetween them? <

No space. You don't need glue either. Just place them adjacent and it's the same as one piece four inches thick.

--Ethan

I think one thing you may be overlooking is......


While duct board may be easier to find, it is much more expensive.



www.insulationworld.com can hook you up int the US with mineral wool @ 30-40 a bail. If 2" then 6 pieces in a bail 4"= 3 a bail, and so forth....



Good luck!


David

[kpc]

Originally Posted by Cheech

I am pretty new to the acoustics of a room, but from everything I have read I have decided to not spend another dime on equipment until I get my listening environment more accurate. I am looking into building some bass traps for my room. Can anyone tell me the difference between a product such as Owens Corning 703/705 and Duct Board?

The reason I ask, is because a local supplier can get the Duct Board pretty easily, but I don’t want to purchase it if it’s not going to get the job done correctly.


Thanks

Have you actually looked at the room through a scope? I was going through the same thoughts with my studio. I thought I needed to add some bass traps and diffusors around the room. I have a friend who does acoustic treatments for a living and he came in with his scope and we measured the room. To my great suprise, the room is really decent, and pretty flat along the range save for a few boosts in the 45-140 Htz range - something we can change with either a decent EQ or a little bit of acoustic treatment. I was very surprised.

I had just assumed that the room needed treatment - when in fact, not nearly as much as I had told myself i was going to have to spend. Just a thought...

[midigod]

Originally Posted by kpc

I have a friend who does acoustic treatments for a living and he came in with his scope and we measured the room. To my great suprise, the room is really decent, and pretty flat along the range save for a few boosts in the 45-140 Htz range - something we can change with either a decent EQ or a little bit of acoustic treatment. I was very surprised.

Don't use an EQ to get those frequencies out - it doesn't work. you need to absorb the peaks with treatment. And did he measure the reverb time, or just frequency response?

-Craig

[Cheech]

Ethan: I read the density report. So it looks like I would be better off covering more area with 2-4" thickness than to treat less of the room with thicker pieces.
Thanks so much for your help. I am going to try and get a diagram of my room with dimensions up here soon. Maybe you can make some suggestions on where my room would most benefit from the traps.

Thanks again!!!!

dpasch: I have a friend here who just bought a lot of that Duct board for what sounded like a pretty good price, and he is about to buy a bunch more, from a wholesaler/supply house. I am going to look into the price and compare to the link you sent. Thanks for the heads up on that!!!!!! I greatly appreciate it!

Like I said hopefully I can get a diagram of my room up with some measurements, so you guys could make some suggestions on placement of the traps for the most benefit.

[Cheech]

I have not had my room scoped or any other type of test, but I know my mixes are always hit or miss in the low end.

What would be a good way to test your room out without spending a fortune?


My room is 36 x 22 with 10' Ceilings.

[Acoustic Cloud]

Man, the mineral wool I just bought must be one pound then!!! This stuff is like cotton candy density, ....nice. I have 10 premade traps 703 4in. from 2 different doodz in the studio right now, but I wanted to DIY a few more. Ill just it to death and make it denser e...you need serious eye and nose coverage with this stuff though!

Sometimes its better to buy them than DIY, even if you have the ability to do it....

[Cheech]

Yeah, I would much rather buy them, but I dont have the extra dough to cough up. If I can get good results DIY then thats the route I have to go. I have some pretty good craftsman friends that do awesome work, so I am going to run this by them as soon as I settle on what I want to do. Prolly gonna be making a trip to the Depot this weekend to check out what sort of materials are available for framing.

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by kpc

To my great suprise, the room is really decent, and pretty flat along the range save for a few boosts in the 45-140 Htz range - something we can change with either a decent EQ or a little bit of acoustic treatment. I was very surprised.

I'm more than surprised.

How big is the room? And how was it measured? At 1/3 octave spacing, or with a high-resolution system like TEF or ETF etc?

Also, I agree with the advice to not use EQ - it doesn't work and usually makes things worse.

--Ethan

[Cheech]

Sorry I am posting this again.

What would be a good way to test your room out without spending a fortune?


My room is 36 x 22 with 10' Ceilings.

[Ethan Winer]

Cheech,

> What would be a good way to test your room out without spending a fortune? <

Clap your hands?

I use ETF (Windows) which costs $150. There's also FuzzMeasure for Macs ($100 I think), and the Room EQ Wizard for Windows, Macs, and Linux which is free.

> My room is 36 x 22 with 10' Ceilings. <

A room that size needs a fair amount of treatment. The surfaces affect how much you need, as does the intended purpose. That is, a live room with a wood floor will be treated differently than a control room with carpet. But all rooms need as much broadband bass trapping as possible, and the mids and highs can be adjusted to taste, or even changed on the spot as needed. My one-room studio is similar in size, and I have 17 8-foot tall bass traps, 12 4-foot bass traps, and a fair amount of mid/high frequency absorption. And I use it as a live room as well as a control room, so that gives you some sense of what you'll need.

--Ethan

[Cheech]

WOW!!!!!!

I was planning on starting with the 12 4 ' traps already, but had no clue I would need that much. Well, gotta start somewhere.

I'll look into the FuzeMeasure since I am on a Mac.


Thanks Ethan!!!!

[Wlouch]

Sorry to bump such an old thread but I have a density related question.

As I am based in the UK all densities are kilograms per metre cubed, what sort of density is the equivilent of Owens Corning 703 or something of that sort of specification?

The options are 45kg, 60kgs, 80kgs, 100kgs and 140kgs all per metre cubed, respectively.

Thanks slutz

[Old Goat]

Originally Posted by Wlouch

Sorry to bump such an old thread but I have a density related question.

As I am based in the UK all densities are kilograms per metre cubed, what sort of density is the equivilent of Owens Corning 703 or something of that sort of specification?

The options are 45kg, 60kgs, 80kgs, 100kgs and 140kgs all per metre cubed, respectively.

Thanks slutz

Multiply Kg/cu m by 0.0624 to get lbs/ cu ft.

[Wlouch]

Much obliged. Will have to note that calculation down


Thanks