Acoustical Treatments in Large, Reverberant Room (1 Viewer)

[Jerry Parker]

I have a large living room, the dimensions are approximately 20 feet by 25 feet. The ceilings are vaulted, and approximately 15 feet tall at the top. My dining room is directly attached to the back of the room and open, so it extends another 12 feet, and is around 15 feet wide. All of the flooring is porcelain tile. The walls are covered with wood paneling that has been painted over. The ceiling is sheetrock.

As you can see, all of these factors contribute to a very live, reverberant space. I just purchased this house recently, and before I moved any furniture in, it was pretty much an echo chamber in my living room. Now, with furniture and a rug, it is slightly better, but still way too reverberant for serious music/movies listening.

I was thinking about purchasing some acoustic panels, these actually: ATS Acoustic Panel 24x48x4
They are made from mineral wool, and are 2 feet by 4 feet, and 4 inches deep.

I was going to purchase 6 of them, but is that even enough to make a difference in such a large room? Their 'calculator' says I need approximately 75 of them, but I figure that is for a veritable anechoic chamber.

Will 6 of these panels make an easy to hear difference, or am I better off spending my money on something else?

 

[Leo Kerr]

You're in trouble.

You also need to treat your ceiling.

You're not trying to make a dead space, you're trying to tame it, but as long as you have that ceiling, it's going to be... a challenge.

Will six panels make a difference? Yes, depending on where you put them.

Initially, I'd suggest putting them in the direct bounce-paths between your speakers and your ears. All of them centered at the ear and speaker level. The first two are easy to place: on the left and right walls, where, if you had a mirror, you could look to the side-wall and see the speakers in the mirrors.

Lacking the back wall also makes things a challenge, unless you don't mind continuing the "look" through the second room. Where might your surrounds go, or are you not doing surround?

Or, use the initial two as a guide, and space the rest around and hope?

Good luck; your space sounds more difficult than I'd prefer to work in...

Leo

 

[Jerry Parker]

Thanks for the info, Leo. What I might end up doing instead is build my own panels out of 2"x4" or 2"x6" frame lumber, putting a 1/4" MDF backer, then filling them with Fiberglass insulation. I would then cover them with a fabric cover.

I figure I could create 4 foot by 8 foot panels this way, perhaps make 4 or 5 of them.

Would that significantly improve the acoustics?

Perhaps one panel on each side wall, 2 on the ceiling, and one at the back of the room?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Wall to wall carpeting will take care of that echo, especially once the furnishings added. Probably cheaper than all those acoustic panels, and nicer looking, too.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Jerry Parker]

Wayne, I agree, that would work well, except the tile in the house is only a few years old, in great shape, and looks really nice. Honestly, the panels wouldn't really bother me too much. I would put at least 2 on the ceiling, and I think they would blend in pretty well if I used white fabric.

 

[Leo Kerr]

Your biggest problem may be echos. Something that might work is if you tried (first, quick and dirty) a couple of big pieces of 1" thick styrofoam. Big, light, easy to work, easy to move around. If you can start getting some of the room under control, then you can quick wrap it in fabric, and it's light and easy.

Sound absorption is much harder, and a 3" deep rock-wool box isn't going to do much for a whole lot of the audible spectrum.

Leo