Auralex Vs. PartsExpress acoustic foam

NickSo · 12-29-2004, 05:34 PM

Just wondering if Auralex foam is much MUCH better than the stuff they sell at Parts Express:
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage....ctGroup_ID=333

My home theater isnt a super high end one, but we'd like to optimize the room to make the gear sound as good as possible. The auralex stuff is pretty pricey, just wondering if this partsexpress stuff would suffice.

Also, how would one find out where to place these acoustic panels in the HT room? As a rule of thumb should it go at the first reflection surface?

chris_everett · 12-29-2004, 06:17 PM

Well, the parts express ones are about the same price as auralex, The Bass trap corner peices are $27.50 from auralex through sweetwater, and $29.65 through parts express, it's just that you can order small boxes through parts express. Given the number of colors available from auralex, and the fact that their foam is more fire-retardent than most, would seem to me to be reason to buy from them.

I don't think that the first reflection "system" is all that valid in a surround setup, seeing as most all surfaces are first reflection from one speaker or another. I treated my ceiling, and a strip around the wall at ear level. You can see pictures by clicking on my gallery icon.

NickSo · 12-29-2004, 08:31 PM

Edit: Nevermind, i should learn to read... it is a box of 12...

Thanks for the info chris... how are the items priced on the sweetwater site (per box? how many sheets per box?)? because the auralex 2" studiofoam costs $250+, but for the same looking thing at partsexpress a box of 16 4'x4' is $44.

Also, should i strictly be using the sound absorbers in an HT, or are diffusers needed as well? How do know where to use absorbers and where to use diffusers?

Whcih would work better, the pyramidal foam, or the horizontal blades?

Thanks

ChrisWiggles · 12-30-2004, 01:40 AM

OTHER!

Acoustical foam is very expensive compared to rigid fiberboard, and less effective. Buy some fiberboard and make a simple panel and you're good to go!

Read Ethan's website for more info, etc. You'd have to spend many many hundreds more in foam stuff to try to get the same impact as one cheap batt of fiberboard!

NickSo · 12-30-2004, 02:00 AM

Fiberboard? like, MDF?

Any websites elaborating on how to make them?
something like this perhaps?
http://www.avscience.com/acousticpannel.htm

Thanks

**HTF Ads**

ChrisWiggles · 12-30-2004, 02:20 AM

No, not *anything* like MDF. MDF is like plywood, but denser. Fiberboard is fiberglass shaped into a board-like form. Think a batt of loose fluffy fiberglass insulation, smashed down so it's not all fluffy, and is more dense. MDF would be a terrible absorber, to absorb you need porous material like cloth, open cell foam, or fiberglass. Fiberboard is excellent, cheap, and super-easy to put into a panel. Foams are usually very thin, and you need more thickness to absorb deeper into the low freq.

Look:

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics....d%20fiberglass

Read the whole article too.

It's easy to wrap some fiberboard in fabric, make a simple frame, stick fiberboards in it, staple gun fabric over it, voila. You can put some more effort and craftsmanship to make em nicer if you want. I paid about 120 bucks for two batts of fiberboard, which is enough for 6 2x4 ft panels 4 inches thick, and corner absorbers in the rear floor to ceiling. God knows how much foam you'd have to buy to do that! Those little 1 inch thick foam squares are really pretty worthless in comparison.

ChrisWiggles · 12-30-2004, 02:22 AM

search this form for fiberboard, or 703 or 705 and read up, this has been explained a lot, also dig up Bob Gold's website for a giant list of absorption coefficients for various thicknesses/spacing of absorbing material, etc.

ChrisWiggles · 12-30-2004, 02:28 AM

Your linked panel is a lot more complicated and probably not as effective.

here's Bob's site:

http://www.bobgolds.com/AbsorptionCoefficients.htm

This is like what I did, super easy:

http://www.bobgolds.com/TrapMartin/home.htm

chris_everett · 12-30-2004, 12:07 PM

Sweetwater sells buy the box. You have to look at the detailed product descriptions to see how much is in a box, as it varies. The "wedges" absorb more than the "pryamids" because they have more mass.

The thing I like about the foam is that it is very forgiving and easy to work with. The fiberglass panels, while effective and cheap, seem to break into the world of lots of measurement, and a lot of differing opinions on what worked best.

ChrisWiggles · 12-30-2004, 01:37 PM

Quote:

seem to break into the world of lots of measurement, and a lot of differing opinions on what worked best.

No not really. The problems you are trying to solve and functions of foams and fiberglass are the same in trying to absorb sound. The differences are in cost/performance, aesthetics, and ease of use.

I suppose foams may be a little easier to deal with, but they are doing the exact same thing as the fiberboard, albeit less effectively (unless you are getting very thick foams, which is $$$$$).

NickSo · 12-30-2004, 07:28 PM

well i printed out the article and read it today... good stuff in there...

If i can find the fiberboard locally, i am definitely gonna go this route now.

Thanks a lot guys...