Treatment FAQ

where to put acoustic treatment

by Dr. Luisa Balistreri I Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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  • Treat The First Reflection Points. Start by treating the first reflection points on the horizontal axis. ...
  • Pay Attention To The Weak Areas. You should consider placing some acoustic treatment between the speakers and your front wall. ...
  • Don’t Forget The Corners. If possible, mount some of your acoustic foam across corners of your room. ...
  • Build An Acoustic Cloud. This next recommendation is easiest if you have a drop-down hanging ceiling. ...
  • Use Furniture. Acoustic treatment can also be placed directly behind you on the back wall of your room. ...

Part of a video titled How should I position my acoustic panels? General ... - YouTube
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Room corners for better base response. But most of your treatment. Will likely work best at ear.MoreRoom corners for better base response. But most of your treatment. Will likely work best at ear. Level if you want a better idea of where exactly in your room you should place your acoustic.

Full Answer

How do I know where to place my acoustic treatment?

An easy way to test where you should place your acoustic treatment is by using a mirror or the camera on your phone in selfie mode. Get someone to help you hold it on the surfaces where you think there may be reflections and then if you can see your monitor speakers that’s how you find the reflection points.

Where can I buy acoustic treatment for my guitar?

I have dramatically improved it though and thats the important part. You can go to websites like www.auralex.com, or www.sweetwater.com and buy some acoustic treatment packages, but they can get a little pricey. If you are like me and like to do everything DIY, you can find some material at hardware stores or home improvement stores.

What acoustic treatments should I add to my room?

The first and most important element of acoustic treatment to add to your room is bass traps. If you can only afford 1 thing now, get these. Though commonly thought of as specialized tools for absorbing bass frequencies… Porous bass traps are actually broadband absorbers, meaning they’re good at absorbing mid/high frequencies as well.

What is the typical setup process for acoustic treatment?

The typical setup process consists of 4 basic steps which I’ll show you now. Since bass traps offer the widest range of broadband absorption… It makes sense to put them in the areas where they can have the greatest impact. Which is why the first step in setting up your acoustic treatment is to mount a bass trap at each of the tridhedral corners.

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Where do you put acoustic panels?

Place acoustic panels at the first place on the wall where sound waves tend to hit before reaching the listeners ears. 2. Place 3' to 6' up from the floor in areas where much of the sound is produced by people sitting or standing in enclosed spaces.

Where should I put acoustic foam in my room?

6:417:39Mounting and Placement of Acoustic Treatment - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBehind the speakers and to either side.MoreBehind the speakers and to either side.

Where does acoustic treatment go in studio?

Apply treatment to the ceiling and all walls of your room, if you can. To prevent slap / flutter echo you usually want to avoid any large areas of bare wall or ceiling. Aim for left-right side wall symmetry whenever possible.

How do I add acoustic treatment to a room?

3:4631:59How To Acoustically Treat A Room | Studio Hacks - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipWe're looking stron do is get a combination of diffusion. And absorption. So diffusion is theMoreWe're looking stron do is get a combination of diffusion. And absorption. So diffusion is the dispersion of sound. So that's going to stop certain reflections. And just kind of scatter the waveform.

How high should I hang acoustic panels?

If you're looking to place acoustic panels around the office, where people are sitting for the majority of the day, you want to place your panels at the height of four to five feet. Placement at this height will capture most of the sound generated in the room, as it is the average height of a person when sitting.

How do you acoustically treat a ceiling?

0:403:27How does my ceiling affect my room acoustics? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBut the lower our ceiling the less room we have for acoustic treatment diffusion also becomesMoreBut the lower our ceiling the less room we have for acoustic treatment diffusion also becomes ineffective on low ceilings without the space needed for the diffusers to properly scatter the sound.

Where should you put a diffuser in a room?

The most common placement for diffusers is at the rear of the room where direct sound coming from the monitors can pose problems by creating powerful reflections. For great results, most designers will gang several FlexiFusers together that will span the entire work area behind the listening position.

How do you acoustically treat a living room?

PERFECT ACOUSTICS You can completely eliminate the reverberation in a living room by adding both acoustic wall panels and acoustic ceiling panels or ceiling elements. The number of ceiling panels should cover 30% of the ceiling area. We recommend that these are evenly distributed across the ceiling.

How do you put an acoustic panel on the wall?

0:331:24How to Hang Acoustic Panels on Walls and in Corners - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou'll need two anchors. You want to set them roughly 14 to 16 inches from the corner. Then use wireMoreYou'll need two anchors. You want to set them roughly 14 to 16 inches from the corner. Then use wire to connect the eye hooks on the frame to the anchors.

Do you need to cover a whole wall to soundproof?

If you covered every square inch it would knock down some of the sound from getting out, but not as much as you would think. And nothing like your concrete wall is going to do. Basically absorption in the room is to help control the "room sound" not for "sound proofing".

What is the cheapest way to acoustically treat a room?

5:348:21Studio Acoustic Treatment on a Budget - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd know different donation centers and just poke some holes in the top and then stick some curtainMoreAnd know different donation centers and just poke some holes in the top and then stick some curtain rods in there hang a curtain rod over some windows.

How do you set up a listening room?

We recommend starting with an equilateral triangle where the distance between the speakers is equal to the distance between each speaker and the listening position. Usually you want the speakers either right up on the front wall as close as you can get them, or at least 3-4′ away from the front wall.

What is acoustic design?

Andy Munro, acoustic design specialist, remarks, "acoustic design is the science that restores a neutral sound balance”. Applying that science means interfering with the path of sound to control the sound energy. Jorge Castro, chief acoustician at Vicoustic, says that "in the case of affordable treatment, we need to control the energy ...

How to keep early reflections on a tight leash?

To keep early reflections on a tight leash, the 'mirror points' of the room should be identified and treated . To do this, sit in the listening position and 'guesstimate' where a mirror would have to be placed to enable you to see each monitor cone from the sweet spot. Then apply absorption to these points.

Do acoustic products have a consultation service?

Most manufacturers of acoustic products also offer a consultation service, and they often have free on‑line calculators to help you decide on a suitable treatment option, too, so even if you choose the DIY route this can be a sensible place to start.

Is it bad to mix acoustic instruments?

It isn't just an issue for mixing, though, because any recordings you make of acoustic instruments will bear all the hallmarks of the space in which you record them. That may be a good thing if the space in question is Ocean Way or SARM West, but probably preposterously bad if it's your living room or bedroom.

Do you need to pay attention to the space in which you use your recording equipment?

No matter how much you spend on instruments, amps, speakers and recording gear, you still need to pay attention to the space in which you use them. The treatment of home studios is tricky, because of their size and the construction materials used, not to mention the budget of the average home‑studio owner.

What is acoustic treatment?

Acoustic treatment is one of the most essential parts of your music studio; it allows you to trust your ears. An untreated room will color the sound produced by your speakers in various ways, which means the mixing and mastering decisions you make may be misinformed.

What are the problems with acoustics?

These issues include comb filtering, flutter echo, room modes, and excessive decay time.

How do you know if your speakers are working?

First, you hear the direct sound coming straight from your speakers, then you hear the early reflections that have bounced off boundaries like your desk, walls, floor, and ceiling. Finally, you hear the sound’s reverberant field, which is a complex network of reflections created via the original sound interacting heavily with your room.

What happens when sound waves come in contact with a reflective material?

When a sound comes in contact with a reflective material, its energy is redirected. In practice, some of this energy will likely be absorbed by the material the sound wave comes in contact with, but most of the energy will be focused into a new direction. Hard, organic materials like wood do a great job of reflecting sound. Reflectors also tend to be unique in their shape, often with jagged designs meant to diffuse the energy of sound waves throughout rooms.

Why is sound pressure different in a room?

This is due to the way the sound produced by your speakers is reflected off of boundary surfaces like walls, floors, your ceiling, and even your desk. The issue that arises is that certain spots in your room will potentially be more resonant within specific frequency ranges than others; these resonances are referred to as room modes.

Can standing waves be flutter echo?

The back wall and the front wall in your studio are also parallel with one another, so flutter echo is a potential issue yet again. On top of this, standing waves are of particular concern. Having moved your desk around, you should have already minimized the effect of standing waves to the best of your ability, but there is acoustic treatment you can apply to the back wall of your studio to further reduce the adverse effects of standing waves.

Where is the problem area in a studio?

The four most problematic areas in your studio include the ceiling above your desk and the walls to the left and right of it, the corners of your room, the parallel walls to the rear of your room, and the back wall of your studio.

The Difference Between Soundproofing & Treatment

This is probably the most common misconception about acoustic treatment, and it’s an understandable one. The fact of the matter is, soundproofing and treatment are both trying to accomplish entirely different things.

Your Invisible Enemy: Acoustic Distortion

Okay, so you’ve seen me reference distortion and early reflections a few times already. Now it’s time to dive a little deeper into what exactly you’re fighting against. In an effort to explain this loaded topic a little better, I’ll break up every type of common distortion individually.

Where To Start Treating Your Studio

Now that we understand our enemy a little better and we’ve taken an in-depth look at all the forms of sonic distortion, it’s time to strategize our defense.

Advanced Treatment Methods

I know that some of you are itching to know what to do after these basic first treatments. Let’s get into some more advanced tactics to take as you progress on your treatment journey.

Finding A Balance

The key to tending to your studio acoustics is not to overdo it! Let me tell you, it’s definitely easy to go a little overboard with acoustic panels, bass traps, and diffusion panels.

Conclusion

So, you know your enemy. You know the enemy’s plan of attack. You also have your own strategies of defense. Luckily, this is a battle that can be won over a period of time, so there’s no huge rush.

How to test acoustic treatment?

An easy way to test where you should place your acoustic treatment is by using a mirror or the camera on your phone in selfie mode. Get someone to help you hold it on the surfaces where you think there may be reflections and then if you can see your monitor speakers that’s how you find the reflection points.

What is rear wall acoustic treatment?

Rear wall acoustic treatment. Traditionally in professional recording studios, you would actually have diffusion on the rear wall but that’s really expensive to do, generally diffusive panels are expensive to make and manufacture.

How to get rid of bass resonance?

The easiest way to treat bass resonances is by using bass traps in the corners of your room because this is where the bass builds up where two boundaries meet. So where the two walls and the ceiling meet you’ll have three different points meeting and it therefore creates big bass build-up. So you’ll want to put bass traps (thick acoustic treatment) in the corners of the room. This can really effectively absorb that low-end and hopefully get a flatter response across the frequency spectrum. When you’re working with the corners of your room you generally want a kind of triangular shape where you use loads of treatment that goes right into the corner and the easiest way to do that is by buying bass traps.#N#The Bass traps I would recommend are the Tri-Traps from GIK which are triangular shaped floor to ceiling traps that you can just add to the front and rear corners of the room. The GIK panels are triangle shaped and they’re full of material going from floor to ceiling. This is the most effective way to treat the corners, but you can also use air gaps. By just adding air gaps of about 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) behind the absorbers whether they’re a flat panel, corner trap or ceiling panel you can absorb a lot lower frequencies than you would be able to, compared to if the panel was just flat on the wall.

Why is it easier to hear EQ tweaks?

It gets so much easier to hear small EQ tweaks because you’re in a much flatter sounding room. Also, your mixes are going to translate better because your room isn’t tricking you into thinking that there’s too much or not enough bass for example.

Where to put bass traps?

So you’ll want to put bass traps (thick acoustic treatment) in the corners of the room. This can really effectively absorb that low-end and hopefully get a flatter response across the frequency spectrum. When you’re working with the corners of your room you generally want a kind of triangular shape where you use loads of treatment ...

Is a control room a good sounding room?

It’s just a good sounding room with a bit of treatment. Whereas the control room (where you do the mixing) we’re trying to create a reflection free zone. To do that we need lots of absorption around the mixing area. So generally in a home studio environment if you’re working in one room you treat it for mixing.

Is acoustic treatment good for home studio?

Acoustic treatment for home studio. If you’re going to do anything to improve the sound of your recordings and make mixing easier and more enjoyable then doing room acoustic treatment is the way to go. It’s worth spending a bit of money on your home recording studio acoustic treatment to get a professional standard.

Where to put acoustic treatment?

Acoustic treatment can also be placed directly behind you on the back wall of your room. It can also be extremely helpful to place a couch at this location−recall that any soft porous material will absorb sound.

Why is acoustic treatment important?

Proper acoustic treatment is essential for any environment where critical listening is desired. Home theaters, recording studios, music rooms, and even general living spaces can benefit from acoustic treatment albeit to different extents. Unfortunately, treatment is commonly misunderstood and therefore, misused due to its complexity and a lack ...

How does acoustic foam work?

Acoustic foam works by reducing the amount of sound energy within a room. The sound energy does not disappear, rather, it is converted into other forms of energy. Recall that sound is micro-vibrations within air. As those vibrations pass through foam, the material membranes vibrate as well.

Why is sound so complex?

Sound becomes very complex in rooms because it bounces and reflects off walls, floors, ceilings, and any other surface (including you). There are also strong resonances that form in all rooms based on their length, width, and height. These reflections and resonances create the sound of your room.

What is the sound of a guitar?

Sound is simply our perception of vibrations in the air. When a guitarist plucks a string, the back-and-forth movement of the string creates micro-vibrations in air that spread out just like ripples in a pond. We are graced with the sound of music when those back-and-forth ripples reach our ears.

Can you put acoustic foam on the ceiling?

Don’t Forget The Corners. If possible, mount some of your acoustic foam across corners of your room. This can be done between two horizontal walls or even the ceiling and side-wall. This will inherently create a large air gap behind the foam.

Is it better to mount acoustic foam on the wall?

Thicker foam, however, is more efficient at absorbing a broader range of frequencies. Therefore, mounting your thin acoustic foam even a few inches off the wall can drastically improve its benefits. The effect is twofold in that: You will improve the lower frequency ranges affected by your treatment.

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