Bass traps for a lounge

[Covenant]

My IPL transmission line speakers are superb but have to sit close to the rear wall of the lounge. 95% of the time there is no bass boom but played loud and with certain types of music there is a little. I would like to experiment with acoustic treatment but most products I have seen are just not suitable for domestic use. I would get horse-whipped if I bought that egg-crate stuff home.
Any suggestions?

[brian2957]

Good thread Jerry . I think that many of us are in that kind of situation . I have to keep mine near a rear wall because of a door which would hit the speaker if I move it 6 inches away from the wall . Like you my wife wouldn't let most of this stuff in the front door . What is required is an elegant solution . I hope some of the experts on here have some ideas :)

[Rothchild]

By the nature of bass trapping they are unlikely to ever have much WAF

http://gikacoustics.co.uk/ have taken a big slice of the market over the past few years, I have a couple of their mega corner traps and a 242 panel hanging over the listening position in the studio.

If you're even moderately handy then they're very easy to make yourself, a simple box frame filled with the heaviest/most dense rockwool you can find (like this: http://www.insulationexpress.co.uk/Multi-Purpose-Slabs/Rockwool--RW3-Acoustic-Insulation-Slabs.htm) and covered with a porous fabric. Placing them across the corners of the room (with a gap behind them) will yield the greatest effect.

If you know there's a specific frequency you need to target you'll probably want to look at tuned 'membrane' panels.

[Rothchild]

You could also build in some corner traps, which whilst taking up some floor space could be made to disapear (or not look so obvious) through clever choice of covering, some ideas here: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/bass-traps-acoustic-panels-foam-etc/472582-how-i-built-my-corner-bass-traps.html

[The Black Adder]

The Vicoustic panels are by far the most elegant. Pricey for the traps though. I'm thinking of getting some myself but need to be convinced that they will work first.

[Covenant]

Sticking a massive toblerone in the corner of the room just isn't going to happen :lol: I read something a while back about breaking up first sound reflections-maybe ordinary furniture may help.

[The Black Adder]

all you are trying to do is get rid of the 90 degrees angles where the floor meets walls, walls meet walls and ceiling meets walls. So anything you can put in the space will change the way the sound accumulates/acts so experimentation is required. None planar surfaces such as pictures hanging at an angle will also help. Just try to avoid anything perpendicular to the walls themselves.

[Covenant]

all you are trying to do is get rid of the 90 degrees angles where the floor meets walls, walls meet walls and ceiling meets walls. So anything you can put in the space will change the way the sound accumulates/acts so experimentation is required. None planar surfaces such as pictures hanging at an angle will also help. Just try to avoid anything perpendicular to the walls themselves.

Do you think a big plant may help?

[tubehunter]

I found this a good read


http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LGGXvXdloNE/Learn/learningcenter/home/speakers_roomacoustics.html

[The Black Adder]

Do you think a big plant may help?

Maybe, yes... you just need to try it and anything else you can find really. It's not a simple thing to cure. Even the very best sound studios have some problems. Plants are great on side walls for early reflections too.

The problem with bass traps lies in that low frequencies follow up to the ceiling so unless you can put a bass trap up to the full length of the ceiling and then across the ceiling you won't be treating the room as well as you can.

If you have a room with cornice edging along the ceiling and walls then that's a good thing.

In domestic areas, full length bass traps are not good. lol

Once you have your bass sorted though, be ready to treat the rest of the room as what I've found is that once you treat one problem another pops up.

btw... i'm far from an expert... lol so if anyone correct me then please do so. :) What I've done so far has worked great but need to find a 'nicer' way of doing it.

[The Black Adder]

I found this a good read


http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LGGXvXdloNE/Learn/learningcenter/home/speakers_roomacoustics.html

+1 yes, a very good read.

Sound on Sound has a great article about treatment too.

[Rothchild]

Do you think a big plant may help?

A plant may scatter some 'bat level' frequencies about but will do nothing for bass, a 30Hz wave 'unfolds' over something like 13 meters and carries a signficant amount of energy (compared to higher frequencies). If you can't use any proper trapping something that might be acceptable would be a bigger sofa.

As you move up the frequency range you'll want a balance of diffraction and absorbtion, with the ultimate goal being an even RT60 (reverb decay) time across the audio spectrum. You should be able to work out in advance where your problem frequencies will be by using one of the many room calculators available online, it's a pretty straightforward bit of maths.

Midband absorbtion is easier to make domestically acceptable because you can wrap rockwool panels in canvas and paint them then they just look like artworks on the wall, good for this early reflection stuff - which should improve phase coherence and consequently 'imaging'

[hifi_dave]

Marc has explained this well.

To be effective, a bass trap has to be large and therefore, probably not acceptable in a room shared with the family. Bass traps can be cheaply and easily constructed from rolls of Rockwool or rolls of loft insulation. There is no need to even unwrap them as the low frequencies will pass right through. Trouble is, they are an eyesore but if you want to absorb bass, something has to give..:eek:

If you want to absorb HF reflections, then curtains, cushions and wall hangings will do the job effectively and cheaply.

[Hipper]

Firstly you should identify the offending frequencies.

You can download test tones here:

http://realtraps.com/test-cd.htm

Play these and note which are louder, and softer, then the average. I suspect you will find them all over the place.

Without using bass traps or being able to move the speakers at all I can only think of two possible solutions that may help.

Firstly, can you move your listening chair forwards or backwards. Try this in moderate increments (15cm say) and note any changes. You may find some locations better then others.

Secondly, an equaliser, particularly a Parametric one, could help. Something that only changes the bass frequencies but can target an individual frequency accurately.

[YNWaN]

It's inherently difficult to tame bass frequencies with passive treatment because of the energy levels and frequency length. To do it successfully you need masses of treatment and this is going to be very intrusive in a domestic sense. First reflection treatment etc isn't addressing bass issues. The only thing I have found that really addresses this problem is to tune out the room gain with DSP.

[mikmas]

If you want to absorb HF reflections, then curtains, cushions and wall hangings will do the job effectively and cheaply.

I would second the curtain approach, particularly for room corners, as these provide a domestically acceptable solution. Long time ago I worked for a firm specialising in theatre decor and we regularly hired out heavy duty velour drapes to conference venues to improve PA and music acoustics and they were very effective. These were fitted by us using a temporary system we had developed for the purpose but obviously can be more permanent with appropriate rails. Big advantage is the range of colour matches possible ... downside is the expense :(

[tubehunter]

I'm also currently running some IPL's, though the larger S4TL's

I've found in my room by raising them off the floor by 150mm cleans the sound up a lot.

I've used some heavy duty chrome steel legs as out riggers, very stable.

http://i514.photobucket.com/albums/t350/halx00/IMG_0531_zpshfxvfy9l.jpg (http://s514.photobucket.com/user/halx00/media/IMG_0531_zpshfxvfy9l.jpg.html)

[Covenant]

Thats interesting Duncan. I have mine on timber plinths which are hollow and have sand inside. I might experiment with raising them a bit more. Maybe put some Sorbothane under the feet as well.

[The Black Adder]

I can concur with that, Duncan. I think a speaker that has the ability of huge bass should be raised from the floor. This is what I found with my previous Lockwood speakers.

[Reffc]

Perhaps consider moving your listening position as you'll find that depending on the offending bass frequencies, you can position yourself in a trough which will loose you around 3dB at that frequency. That or try moving the speakers. Just a thought as to be efficient, bass traps are rather intrusive.

[Audio Advent]

DSP on the bass is a good solution if you have bi-ampable speakers. Will require a doubling up of amps of course but who would turn down the opportunity of buying more kit?

Or... make circular bass traps look like old rocket lamps via some LED strips.

Or... move yourself to the back of the room as a listening position to experience more bass but move the speakers out from the wall as much as you can.

[tubehunter]

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