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Sound studio and bass traps?

category: offtopic [glöplog]
punq. yeah. it was like choosing between a walk in closet for my wife or a walk in studio for me :-)
added on the 2013-08-10 13:17:08 by maytz maytz
nice room. really weird tho. a load of interference. the only things resonating with bass and pressure are probably the wooden doors. there's another one at the camera point of view? everything else is just reflecting. and what about symmetrizing the table and speakers in the middle of the room. perhaps you can play with frequencies and get some pseudo surround from the "room echo" using the walls and doors. you might twist speakers alil so the highs distribution comes of a lil different. altogether this is not really a nice listening environment. it is pretty small.
added on the 2013-08-10 13:35:50 by yumeji yumeji
logged out: yes, there is a second door "behind" the cam. So the table has to be where it is, otherwise I can't open the door :)

Check this foto:
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Almost nothing is optimal for using this room as a mini studio, but it has to do :)
So this project of mine, is all about getting the best possible sound with out spending a fortune.
added on the 2013-08-10 13:45:37 by maytz maytz
yeah. i get this. about the bass you can't do much to get the pressure out. and it is pressure based. with the doors as resonator/blocker. you open the door a notch to lower it. leak it. this is probably it. or lower the output after mixing. to compensate the rooms acoustics.
added on the 2013-08-10 14:13:57 by yumeji yumeji
My wife just decorated the door :)

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added on the 2013-08-10 16:06:06 by maytz maytz
Use some online room mode calculator to figure out which frequencies are going to be problematic. With the help of these, you can then start looking for a bass trap to match.

You didn't mention whether you have a subwoofer. Your speakers look small enough not to emit any _REAL BASS_, but having them right next to the wall like that will give a bit of bass boost (afaik +3dB per surface within 50cm from speaker).

But really, with a room like that I'd rather focus on learning the environment, adjusting your ears to match and preferably checking mixes elsewhere (a lot!) :)
added on the 2013-08-10 17:26:37 by el-bee el-bee
What has already been said: there's not much you can do with that room right there. Just learn it to know when it fools you. :)
added on the 2013-08-10 17:31:59 by gloom gloom
Also, perhaps a correction system like KRK Ergo would fixing the problematic room modes.
added on the 2013-08-10 18:12:04 by el-bee el-bee
..would HELP..
added on the 2013-08-10 18:12:22 by el-bee el-bee
El-bee: Will do (with the freq.) and no subwoofer, yet. But I'm planing to get one.

Right now I have some terrible bass vs. none-bass zones. I need to level those zones out some more, otherwise it's like working in total darkness/deafness.

Still too much to "learn" about the room - I would like it to be less complex, before I use it :)

I guess this takes a bit longer than I expected it to, but that okay - it's an interesting experiment :)
added on the 2013-08-10 18:13:23 by maytz maytz
Quote:
Right now I have some terrible bass vs. none-bass zones.


The more I think of this, a room correction system would be the ideal "easy fix" to address your problems. It won't solve _everything_, but should certainly help with some of the bass issues. Adding some high-freq dampening materials is still recommended.

One other important thing to keep in mind: When looking for articles / guides about sound proofing, distinguish between the intended use. Don't go with anything that's intended for treating a room for recording live musicians.
added on the 2013-08-10 19:00:22 by el-bee el-bee
El-bee: Check.
added on the 2013-08-10 19:03:19 by maytz maytz
I wish I had the money to implement something like this:
http://www.rationalacoustics.com/smaart/about-smaart/
Ofcourse one can do a lot with a DIY-approach. I did some googling as well and I think my setup could be improved a lot.
added on the 2013-08-10 20:05:36 by numtek numtek
no sub? then it's all audible. rough at 250hz lowest generic. 1.3 meters distance. atleast removes a lil bit of duplication, interference and nullification of sound. that way the rockwool might be helpful to cancel the echoes partially. the doors slighly eat. the damped rear wall might do a bit. but it's just a wild guess. this is heavy audio vis. :D
added on the 2013-08-10 20:57:57 by yumeji yumeji
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added on the 2013-08-11 00:20:51 by trc_wm trc_wm
el-bee: I haven't tried it myself, but I have it from people in the audio and studio building industry that those types of systems for home use (including the KRK you linked to) are a complete waste of time. Just a tip. :)
added on the 2013-08-11 15:51:48 by gloom gloom
A few links - the best thing is just to read and understand the theory and then apply your knowledge as best you can to the room you have.

http://www.realtraps.com/art_room-setup.htm (good walkthrough of the theory, including the proper maths and graphs)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar02/articles/monitors.asp (a simple "getting-started" article, with lots of good basic tips)
added on the 2013-08-11 15:58:34 by gloom gloom
Nice articles Gloom. Will go through them and use whatever is possible in my little box :)
added on the 2013-08-11 16:48:00 by maytz maytz
in a room as small as that you will totally get interference from overlapping reflections. so its most important that your monitors are suitable for that situation and you need diffusion.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/articles/acoustics.htm
added on the 2013-08-11 17:10:39 by wertstahl wertstahl
What he said. There is no way to avoid reflection'o'rama, so your best bet is to try to diffuse as much as you can. I don't think you'll need bass-traps per say, given those monitor's ability to create truly low frequencies.
added on the 2013-08-11 17:25:51 by gloom gloom
But I will get a subwoofer :-)
added on the 2013-08-11 17:27:16 by maytz maytz
At that point, you might need to do something, yes. But at least the subwoofer won't be directional, so you probably won't suffer from phase issues too much. Though - I guess I shouldn't say that. That room of yours... :)
added on the 2013-08-12 10:41:14 by gloom gloom
cheap but ugly as hell solution i've seen used (in a restaurant :D) - carpet the walls as well as the floor. Then cover walls with egg boxes.
added on the 2013-08-12 10:44:34 by psonice psonice
My set up at home is a part converted single garage . (four fifths of it are my studio/den/man cave) its detached from my house but adjoined by am enclosed conservatory style walkway a previous owner added.

The garage itself is mostly brick, where it joins the neighbours its breeze block. I isolated all vertical walls by putting the stud frame 20mm from the real wall and put in a raised floor (about 200m iirc) its all packed with rockwool throughout. i also used 12mm plasterboard throughout.

Along with my PCs I've got a 5.1 + dts full surround set up in there can watch movies cranked really loud, or turn my guitar amp right up wiith hardly any sound leakage outside, much less than i expected. the neighbours have never heard me in there, and i never hear them any more.

at the time of construction my goal was more about heat insulation then noise reduction. however in my reading i did notice that the "room within a room" is the best way to isolate sound as isolation then density (making it hard to pass through things) are the key factors.

I reckon all in the whole thing cost me between £600 and £800 to do.
added on the 2013-08-12 12:32:29 by Canopy Canopy

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