Total n00b PLEASE help!

Hey guys, Im moving all my gear into the spare room of my place to try create a better sounding room. Basically I know pretty much nothing about acoustics, basstraps, calculations, positioning, room mode calculations etc. So I really need some help on how to go about this, my budget isnt huge but im willing to make the effort. I made a really shocking drawing on ms paint- LOL just so u can see the room size and how it looks, sorta my gear list is as follows: Event Electronics TR8XL nearfield monitors Core2Duo Quad Core PC Presonus firebox Access Virus TI Desktop Roland JP8080 Novation Remote LE Cubase 4 i basically need someone to say put your stuff like this! PLEAAAASE!

Let me say welcome, although I'm also quite new to posting here. First you should edit your profile to add your location info, as mentioned here.

Edit your profile to include your location. This is very important, because this is a worldwide resource, and as such, material costs and availability vary widely. For example, masonry is cheaper than gypsum in some parts of the globe, whereas it's the exact opposite in other regions. We're not asking for your address or credit card number, just a country will do. Nothing says "I didn't bother to read or follow these instructions" like leaving your profile location blank!

I'd suggest reading the stickies as they contain much of the information on these things. All that said, the exising room ratios would be 1:1.17:1.32, which is pretty close to one of the ideal room ratios. Is the shelving and cupboard staying? I've got a basic idea for layout in my head that I can probably get drawn up later today, but this depends on what you're really trying to do. Check out some of the sticky threads and provide a little more detail.

Hey thanks so much for caring and replying! another note, the floor is carpeted with a thin to medium carpet, the cupboard and shelf are joined and built from the floor to the ceiling they cannot be removed, well they could but you would have to break it down and my parents would kill me! haha. Any way its cool to hear the room is almost ideal, and if you could help me out with advice that would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!! like I said my budget isnt big so DIY is the order of the day. I dont mind buying some materials if you tell me what to do with it! i make Electronic music by the way Psy, electro, house so recording isnt gona be taking place

OK, so you're looking at a mixing/monitor room then. So, here's a quick & dirty layout idea for you, assuming you put the nearfields on the console or on stands right behind it. This is also assuming minimal changes to the existing room and no additional isolation measures. Obviously, it's just a quick modification of the drawing you posted, so it's not to scale. I don't have a CAD program on this machine, it's on the one in my 'studio.' :) This adds corner bass traps and splayed slat resonators. For additional bass trapping I would probably utilize the cupboard area, replacing the doors with a slat face, but that may not be possible in your case. If you can put some absorbent material (ie. fiberglass, 703 attached to the inside of the doors) in the cupboard it may be effective for trapping. Someone with more knowledge than I could provide more details on this. Additionally, I'd add a hanging cloud over the console. For some details see this thread For an idea on a portable corner trap see this thread. This could be used in front of the door, and you may want to do something like this rather than making them built-in to the walls. Loading the shelving with books can add some diffusing. Exactly what you will need for acoustic treatment would have to be figured out. I've included the output of a room mode calculator for your room dimensions. For more on figuring out the trap sizing based on frequencies, etc. here's some miscellaneous threads, and of course the stickies in the Acoustics part of the forum are helpful. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9309 http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9268 http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7011 http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7900 The standard listening position is 38% of the room dimension facing the speakers, which would be just about 4 foot from the window for your room based on the layout I've provided. This happens to be a not-so-ideal position based on your room modes, but with enough trapping I would think it could be acceptable. Other than that, speakers are typically placed on a 30 degree angle and make up an equilateral triangle with the listening position. So speakers three feet apart would also be 3 feet away from (and pointed at) your head.

seanpace wrote:

Hey thanks so much for caring and replying! Any way its cool to hear the room is almost ideal,

With an 8 feet tall ceiling, a better shaped room would measure closer to 8' x 13' x 21'. Better shaped, not ideal. Your room at 9'6" x 10'9" is almost square. Might want to look into that.

Cool I got an Idea of what to do, Im gona shop around for the Fibre glass insulation and build some traps n place them in the corners, I made some changes the the drawing which i think shows what you were saying? I also added some pics of the room. also, what are those angular things on the side of the traps?

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more pics

seanpace wrote:

Cool I got an Idea of what to do, Im gona shop around for the Fibre glass insulation and build some traps n place them in the corners, I made some changes the the drawing which i think shows what you were saying? I also added some pics of the room. also, what are those angular things on the side of the traps?

Fiberglass, Rockwool, mineral wool - they're all relatively equal so whatever is most commonly available / least expensive. Those would be angled slat (or Helmholtz) resonators. Take a look at these: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8778 http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=226 http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8210&start=45 http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9101 The main thing a Helmholtz does is absorb certain frequencies (low to mid) which depend on how it is built. Angling them and being in that position serves a couple purposes. First, it directs early reflections from the speakers further towards the rear of the room. Secondly, it helps to some extent to reduce flutter that is caused by having parallel walls. Ethan Winer has a very good article on acoustic treatment on his site that I'd suggest reading. It should give you a better idea of what you're trying to accomplish.

xSpace wrote:

With an 8 feet tall ceiling, a better shaped room would measure closer to 8' x 13 x 21'. Better shaped, not ideal.

Or 8'x12'-10"x18'-8" (1:1.6:2.33) depending on what ratio you use. It's certainly not an "ideal" room, and many people would not consider a room with 8' ceilings to be anywhere near ideal. A ratio of 1:1.14:1.39 is generally considered marginal. But what you have is close to that and if that's all you have to work with then hey, it could certainly be worse. :wink:

Does it matter what size the trap is or can it be any size? I plan to do floor to ceiling and at the angles shown in the pic, if you look closely you can see i marked it out with brown tape on the floor

Aloha, Try here - http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm Hope this helps, Aloha 8)

ye man this helps alot thanks!, its just Im so clueless when it comes to frequencies bouncing off walls and all that, I can make music I just want it to sound better. so I got the just of how to build these things Im just not sure on messurements so i dont wana go out, build it and its all a big mess up cuz they not the right size or something and once again thanks to all of you guys for replying and taking the time, the response has been absolutely amazing!

Aloha, Glad that helps. Here are a couple more links that might also prove helpful - SAE Institute Reference Material Center – John Sayers http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html Be sure to click on the “acoustics”, “absorbers”, and “construction” tabs at left, and then tabs that show up at the top. Reference Area – Useful Links – Steve Knightfly http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2125 Happy reading! :wink: Aloha 8)

cool thanks I edited the Pic to how I think my room will be, a question on the traps thou, are they supposed to have slats in the front because the other ones i saw didnt have slats, and the wall resonators must they be angled or square like it is in the pic or are the angled its just the frame that makes them look square in this pic

Aloha,

a question on the traps tho, are they supposed to have slats in the front because the other ones i saw didn't have slats

If you are referring to the front corner traps, yes, you can use slats. If you are referring to the front absorber (center section), no, it does not need slats.

and the wall resonators must they be angled or square like it is in the pic or are the angled its just the frame that makes them look square in this pic

The side wall absorbers in the wall units plan have slats that are angled. The purpose of the angled slats is to direct the reflections to the rear of the room to be absorbed. If you care to do a little reading before building, here is a link to one person's build of the wall units layout described - http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4091 Note: It's been stated that

Monitors should NOT sit on the console but behind, placed on heavy decoupled stands - console placement causes early reflection problems in most cases, unless the console is slanted down in front a LOT. Steve Knightfly

Hope this helps, Aloha 8)