School Control Room Treatment layout

Started by Tyler FJ Page on 10 August 2011. 2 replies.

Originally posted at johnlsayers.com, topic 16669.

Hello, my school has purchased surround sound speaker system for its control room among other major equipment upgrades and has asked me to help with consultation on the types of treatment and layout of the treatment to make the room sound good. There is no budget to knock down walls or do any kind of real construction and I have been asked to keep the treatment recommendations as modular as possible. Given this we are not concerned with isolation, just treatment. Some info about the room, it has a false ceiling that has mostly normal ceiling tiles but some have been replaced with real traps. This false ceiling is 8' above the ground and I do not for see us being able to take that down as that would require construction type work. Regarding money, I was told to come up with the best modular design possible and not to worry about money. I am assuming there is around 5 to 8 thousand for the actual treatment though, but that should not put much of a limit on Building DIY treatment. I have attached a Screen Shot of the dimensions of the Bare Room as well as the sketch up file. So far my questions are as follows: How do I solve the problem of the asymmetrical nature of the room... the 12.4 degree wall will throw off the stereo image if left as is correct? Should the room be oriented with the desk facing the windows or facing the video wall? Given the request for modular treatment what types of treatment should I use? All help would be greatly appreciated. That said I would love to get some suggestions from John. If I end up needing a lot of help with this project we may be able to work some payment out with the school for your consultation. Also for those who may remember the mastering suit that I posted about (this goes out to Glenn and Rod, and thanks for your help there!) this is at the same school, but the school decided to scrap the mastering suit project and focus its money on upgrading its existing control room.
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maybe add a small extension wall to even out the symmetry on the front of the room. use absorption soffits around the edges of the wall and ceiling, a large soffit on the floor under the windows. scattered absorption all around including the ceiling (although the drop ceiling will help lose LF out of the room - good) and some absorbers on the doors.
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Wow, many thanks Glenn! :D I have tried to search for absorption soffits on the site and off and from what I have gathered they are basically square superchunks. They typically have a 2x2 frame with fiberglass inside and fabric stretched around. Am I correct? Should we fill the soffit with Thermafiber SAB insulation or would a 2" layer of Thermafiber surrounding a R30 core be sufficient? I like the extension wall Idea, however this sort of construction may not be doable. If it is not possible, could I simply make 4 tall (say 5 to six feet) free standing hard backed absorbers with slats on the front? Would the hard backs along with HH front make it act as a wall at least somewhat? Finally, how thick would you suggest the absorption panels be, if made of Thermafiber SAB? I can get it in 2" or 3.5" thicknesses. BTW is that sort of sketchup lighting and texture only available in Pro or can I do models like that in the free version?
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