help requested with a control room

Hi everyone, I hope I've filled out the necessary info in my profile...let me know if i havent. Here is my situation - I have this room, its not great i know, buts its all i can use for now. Dimensions are as follows... length - 4.86 mtrs width - 3.67 mtrs internal vert wall - 2.13mtrs (LHS looking at console) external vert wall - 2.31 (RHS .... ) center vert point - 2.72 plasterboard walls & ceiling, glass windows on 2 sides (front and right side), 4 doors (2 wood, 2 wood with glass windows), wood floorboards. I'll post photos also. I can get more exact measurements if needed. The speakers and console are setup close to the front wall/windows, this is because the door on the left hand side gets used constantly (it goes into the laundry/outside to the pool). Most of the equipment racks are usually placed along the right hand side (the other window wall). I think this is the best option i can use at the moment. What I have already is - 8x Vicoustic Corner Bass Traps (http://www.vicoustic.com/vn/MusicBroadc ... .asp?Id=22) 2x home made traps. they have 2" rigid fiberglass wrapped in cloth with wooden panels on the front. see pics. 3x absorber/diffuser panels from scu uni. they are the ones behind the speakers. they also have 2" fiberglass behind a thin wooden front face with lots of little perforations. the rear wall has a home made attempt at treatment, which consists of some acoustic tiles which came from the roof of a local school, screwed to some supports about 1" off the wall, with tontine behind them, and access to a few bags of rockwool, left over from another project, and Bunnings, power tools and a bit of a DIY attitude. My questions - what are my main areas (top 3) of concern, and some ways i can try to tame these issues with a limited budget of $500 - 1k. I am also in the early planning stages of pouring a slab and starting a building from scratch, so id prefer to save for that, but I'd also like to make this room a bit more usable. Please excuse my poor attempt at a floor plan, im still a sketchup novice, and am constantly amazed by some of your skp designs.. Many Thanks, Steve.

have you made any acoustic measurements? have you any specific things that are troubling? in general work on the first reflection points and the front corners and put a cloud overhead not just ceiling absorption. this means something over some of those windows on the side and the wall opposite. get the front corner stacked floor to ceiling with the bass traps. a 4'x6' cloud hung down about 12-20" on an angle low in the front near the ceiling in the back. then work on taming the sounds from the back of the room. you might be served by building some free standing absorbers and sort of wall off behind your seating position.

Thanks Glenn,

gullfo wrote:

have you made any acoustic measurements? have you any specific things that are troubling?

I have made some measurements with a 414 in omni, some pink noise, and taken at the mix position, and found a lot of energy at around 125Hz. I reckon 150Hz and down is the most problematic area as mixes i do are usually light on the bass when played back at mastering, or on other stereos. Im keen to explore the hanging cloud, Ive seen quite a few of them on this here forum. Is there a depth i should be looking at.?? Ive got a few bags of rockwool, and could make the cloud 4" thick. Would this help for bass absorbsion too? Im guessing the thicker the better... Do i make the first reflection points for absorbsion or diffusion..or both?? Ive got a few movable partition things which are filled with polystyrene foam, but I can fix some acoustic tiles, or make some diffusor type things to use, like this... Cheers, Steve.

ok.. i think im going to make some bass hangers to put in the corners, under those existing foam traps. Is there a size/spec i should aim for..? Im trying to treat from 125Hz and down..> thnx.

you could go with either absorption or diffusion. you might start with some 4" absorbers on first reflection points and a good sized cloud. then if you find it too dead, add some diffusion - small panels to bring it back a bit.

if you are a starter engineer and maybe have not trained your ears, what are some ways to tell if your room is too dead?

if the room sounds like you have pillows duct taped around your head, it is too dead. in general you want the room to be balanced all around so you can easily hear HF and its not just coming from the front speaker. a dead room has kind of a creepy sensation to it because your ears feel like there is completely empty space around you.