My name is Jon and I live in Sweden. I was referred to this place by a friend who told me you definitely got the knowledge to help me with a couple of questions.
I've got a space which is far from ideal concerning the measurements. The biggest problem is the height.
Anyway, the main use for the room is mixing, producing, songwriting etc. so I need to treat the acoustics in it. I'm pretty sure you can't make this room perfect and that's okay. I just wan't to get rid of the biggest problems
So my questions is, where do I begin? What kind of acoustic panels do I need?
I'm planning to build these panels on my own.
About the room
The measurement of the room is 6295mm x 3560mm x 2050mm. Plastered brick walls (my english might fail me here, bricked walls with a thin layer of clay/cement on it) and the flooring is concrete with carpet.
Thank you and cheers!
EDIT: Just saw that the height in the pictures says 2005 mm, tha's incorrect, the height is as stated above 2050 mm.
Your room is not as bad as mine (3,1m (W) x 2,7 (D) 2,2 - 2,5 (H) and under construction) and I'm using John's design for flush mounting a pair of Dynaudio 15BM's and it's actually not as bad as I had feared and the 15BM's sounds better and better from every absorber/component getting in place.
Your room is long which is good (space for absorbers in the back/sidewalls/corners). Suggest you think about turning the room around and consider flush mount).
Suppose you'll be sitting down a lot, so you need to be creative about how to threat your ceiling (not a lot of space), but I would tilt it down towards listening position and up again from there.
but I would tilt it down towards listening position and up again from there.
Really, macmadsen? Why?
Why would you do that? Tom Hidley tried compression ceilings 30 years ago, for a few studios, but never did again. What new acoustic information do you have about them, and why do you think they would work now when they weren't successful in the past? Yes, Jon does have a problematic beam close to the mix position, but a compression ceiling isn't the answer to that.
Also, you are violating one of the basic rules for posting on this forum. We don't have many rules, but the one you are violating suggests that you haven't read any of them so I'd urge you to read the forum rules for posting (click here) before you post again.
but I would tilt it down towards listening position and up again from there.
Really, macmadsen? Why?
Why would you do that? Tom Hidley tried compression ceilings 30 years ago, for a few studios, but never did again. What new acoustic information do you have about them, and why do you think they would work now when they weren't successful in the past? Yes, Jon does have a problematic beam close to the mix position, but a compression ceiling isn't the answer to that.
Also, you are violating one of the basic rules for posting on this forum. We don't have many rules, but the one you are violating suggests that you haven't read any of them so I'd urge you to read the forum rules for posting (click here) before you post again.
- Stuart -
Sorry Stuart - did read them, but maybe it's just because my native language isn't english that I didn't understand all of them! Was just trying to encourage Jon to dig into the forum like I did and valued a lot!
But the reason for suggesting the "turned around room" was that if turned around and with flush mount Jon would be able to add much more absorption in the "low" end of the room (he will need some in the ceiling) and still be able to "walk" into the room. Totally agree with Jon that the height is not ideal.
Hi there "birdinatree", and Welcome to the forum! I had completely forgotten to reply to your original post, and I only just saw it again, so sorry about the delay!
Firstly, your room is very long and narrow, and has a low ceiling. That's not a good combination, and in fact it fails two out of the three "critical tests" that the BBC has defined for deciding if a room can be used as a control room. I would suggest that you make the room quite a bit smaller, by building a wall across it, to cut down the length. There are several possibilities, starting at a length of about 5.6 m, but the best ratios start once you get down to a length of about 4.7m or shorter. Try using these two room mode calculators until you find a good ratio, then build the wall at that distance. The space that you cut off with that wall could probably then be used as a vocal booth (if you need one) or amp isolation booth, or maybe just storage. If it works out that a good ratio allows you to put the wall where that cross beam is right now, that would be great as it would eliminate that problem too.
Next, you need to get your room geometry set up correctly, which refers to the positions of the speakers and the listening position. Your speakers need to go on stands that are up against the front wall. The stands must be massive (very heavy), and set up so that the acoustic axis of the speaker is 1.2m above the floor, and about 1m from the side walls, in your case. Angle the speakers inwards at about 30°, then set up your listening position so that it is about 20 to 30 cm in front of the point where the acoustic axes of the speakers intersect.
Then put large "superchunk" style bass traps in all four vertical corners, thick insulation across the entire rear wall (about 15 cm of OC-703 would be good), absorption panels at the first reflection points on the walls and ceiling, and also between the speakers and the front wall.
That's the "standard" basic treatment for a room such as yours. You will probably need more than just that, but that's the initial start. Use the REW software to do an acoustic analysis of your room before you put any treatment in, then again after the treatment is in, so you can see what is working, and what still needs to be fixed with the second round of treatment.
