Existing control room treatment

Hi all, I have recently moved to a new location, It was an existing studio and I would love some ideas on treating the control room. My first issue is that the room is asymmetrical, do you think the room will be workable as is( i would really like to keep as much space as possible) or should I add walls to make it symmetrical? At the moment I have the speakers mounted on shelves on the wall either side of the studio window, they are genelec 8040's and i'm not sure if they can be soffit mounted. However I might be able to buy some new speakers for my main monitors that are suited for soffit and use the genelecs as near fields The construction is particle board on a frame with the cavities filled with sand and it doesn't need further sound proofing. I am looking at doing all the work myself over a period of time so the budget isn't really an issue. I am going to start from scratch with bare walls and ceiling. I really look forward to your suggestions. Please keep in mind i cant extend outwards from the existing walls i can only build inwards...? hope that makes sense :| I will post again soon with my ideas. Thanks in advance Matt Sanctum Studios Newcastle Australia.

Ok, :idea: This is the easiest way to make it symmetrical. Plus some bass traps also the doorways can't be moved.

The door by itself in the back corner could be built over ....slot resonator??? Geez i really should sleep!!!

you need to consider that if the isolation walls are asymmetrically, that simply adding some treatment walls may not be effective since the modal activity may not be changed enough. plus adding isolation walls internally could introduce third leaf effects. you might just keep the approx position in front of the window but move the position (along with the monitors) to find a spot where you listening position is good. then add a corner bass trap on the vertical corner plus bass trapping along the top of the room. on the two flat walls add rigid insulation absorbers. consider some widely spaced slats to preserve some high frequencies. otherwise, i think you'd need to consider tearing down some walls and re-doing them and the feasibility (costs) of that may be dependent on the overall configuration of rooms - i.e. opening a can of worms...

Thanks Gullfo, What if the wall in the second post was a solid condtruction then working from there?

i looked at potentially adding a wall across the corner and then turning the desk to face that so effectively the window wall and opposite wall angled away but the room asymmetry is still problematic. so having just the treatments as described is really a first step to leaving as much room volume as possible and trying out the absorption approach to balancing things. worst case, you need to pull the corner bass trap and some off the ceiling and add the wall. this approach just tries things in a least disruptive set of steps...

Thanks again, I agree this is probably the most sensible approach, Ill get started and see how it sounds. Matt

"The construction is particle board on a frame with the cavities filled with sand and it doesn't need further sound proofing." Please explain or show proof of this construction. I ask only because I understand what gravity can do to fine loose particles with much "limp mass" as this I would expect the cavities that actually have sand, you say it like it is in fact the vertical wall assemblies, to bulge. Even if it does not bulge, I would like to see so I could get my head around the machinery it took to lift a wall that has a material that weighs in @ 100 pounds per cubic foot. A simple 8'X8'X3.5" wall (I assume coupled two sided since decoupled would be out of the question), would weigh in @ approx. 1800 pounds.

Hi, yes its a crazy feat isn't it. I didn't build the walls but can tell you how it was done, The walls were built, just studs sandwiched in between thick particle board, and stood in place first then holes were drilled in the top plates and the sand poured into the cavities through a funnel. Two of these are used for each wall and I must say the isolation is pretty good. Ill get some pics on the weekend. Mind you there was a few leaks when we moved in so they'll probably need a top up.

Mind you there was a few leaks when we moved in so they'll probably need a top up.

To be honest, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Whoever built that doesn't seem to have much of a clue as to the physics and masses involved. If you ask me, that is a really dumb way of building a wall, not to mention dangerous. There are huge forces involved, and it wont take much to cause a disaster. Sooner or later, something is going to give. I'm surprised that your building code and the inspector even allowed such a thing. But that's just my opinion, so feel free to ignore it! :) - Stuart -

Soundman2020 wrote:

Whoever built that doesn't seem to have much of a clue

I agree, hence my reason for this post in the first place. Another room (thats now storage) was insulated with straw for (profanity's) sake i can hear cockroaches scurry'ing out side. I'll have to replace the power cct due to a fire risk The integrity of the studio appears to the eye to be fine, all the walls are dead flat no popping screws all the doors open and close and I cant hear the joinery workshop thats in the same shed, plus I'm only renting...for a minimal fee. The place has been there for 25 years. So the structure is what it is, and its what I have to work with. That being said, Any suggestions on treatment? Thanks Matt

There a few photo's here in varying stages of treatment of the studio. There is now full length bass traps in the main room and I haven't started on the control room. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sanctum-S ... 084?ref=ts