John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi,

I have a small question regarding the acoustical treatment for my room. I am currently trying to treat my small room and would like to build some basstraps. However, I was wondering what kind of design would be best suited for my small room: John's corner traps, or Ethan's panel traps? Or could I combine them?

My room is fairly small (2.4mx3.2m) and low (2.15m) so I would like to keep as much space as possible.

What do you guys recommend?

Many thanks for all your help.

Kind regards,
Berre

Berre,

> My room is fairly small <

In a room that small I'd just use rigid fiberglass across the corners. Wood panel traps work great, but they're not appropriate for a room that size.

--Ethan

ethan, what would be the minimum size for a wood panel trap to work effectively?

Brad,

> what would be the minimum size for a wood panel trap to work effectively? <

Two feet wide, from floor to ceiling, all around the room. Exactly as explained in my article. You can make them smaller, but why? The smaller you make them, the less bass trapping you'll have.

--Ethan

Ethan, I think he might have meant room size, not trap size - Brad??!?

Hi Ethan,

Thanks for your reply. That actually saves me a lot of work (and a bit of money)...

I am also interested in knowing what the minimum room-size (roughly) would be for panel traps to work effectively...

Kind regards,
Berre

Berre,

> I am also interested in knowing what the minimum room-size (roughly) would be for panel traps to work effectively <

It's not that wood panel traps don't work well in small rooms because they do. But each panel absorbs over only an octave or so, so you need three types to cover the whole range. And that's less effective when the wall is to short to accommodate more than one or two of each type.

I can't give you a firm minimum size. In my last house I had panel traps all around a room that was (guessing) 14x16 feet and they worked really well.

--Ethan