Soundman2020 wrote:shows the great benefits of insulation in the cavity!
Yup!
Sometimes people don't realize how important it is, or what it is really doing. The overall difference in isolation for a typical wall can be as much as 16 dB, when comparing
"empty cavity" with
"full cavity fill".
It's the single biggest thing you can do to a wall to get a major difference in isolation. Adding an extra layer of drywall will get you a few dB, increasing the cavity depth will get you a few dB, increasing the stud spacing will get you a couple of dB... but putting insulation in there will get you at least ten dB, and maybe 16 dB (or more, under some circumstances).
Fill every square inch of the MSM air cavity with fiberglass insulation, got it! That's great information. 16dB+/-, wow.
This concept seems similar to filling a glass bottle with sand; no more resonance (well, little).
It's funny, every time that I start feeling like I'm making progress, the weight of every small decision I make seems to make me feel like an immensely top heavy drunk.
Isn't acoustic design FUN! It's amazing then things you learn.... Now everybody knows that if you want to feel like an immensely top heavy drunk, all you have to do is to try to design a studio!
On a more serious note: it's a huge subject, and there's always more stuff to learn. It's a moving target, too: just when you think you are getting a good handle on things, some darn scientist goes and publishes a new research paper, or writes a new book!
Sigh....
- Stuart -
Absolutely, Stuart. I've been studying acoustics (on the sidelines) for years, and I've said it before, and will say it again, the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know, and as you pointed out, that also goes for the 'experts' who create these very standards we so intently rely upon, among other things, obviously, as well.
To be completely, honest, the satisfaction that I get each time I finish a task, or have one of those acoustic lightbulb moments, make all the trouble and frustration worthwhile; in the end (if I don't die first, haha), I'll be able to work full-time from my home studio, in peace and solitude, without having to pay studio fees, drive through Chicago traffic, or waste time doing setups/tear downs each day and night, among the other one million benefits of working for oneself at home.
Studio45 wrote: Yep! I feel you pain man! I've been in the planning stage for a few years now and still am trying to make sense of it all. I've even done worst where I've actually framed some walls and started putting things together all to realize that I was doing it all wrong. Thanks to Stuart I've gotten a reality check with everything and especially with my HVAC design. He isn't lying when he says it's the #1 thing that most people don't do right in the first place. It's a lot of math and a lot of figuring out but staying alive in the studio is probably important right? haha
Don't give up man...you're on your way to a great build!
I'm still figuring out my own HVAC design and hoping to find more answers to finalize my plan.
Cheers!
Thanks 45, sympathy is clearly the acoustician's most shared emotion, hahaha!
...there's been so many before me and will be so many after, who begin building their dream palace only for their plans to wither up and fold, usually quickly. That's how difficult this field is. It's not for the poor, it's not for the weekend warrior, and it's definitely not for the faint of heart. Over the years, how many posts have you read here at John Sayers, looking for answers, only to find that the thread just suddenly died? For me, a whole sh*tload, thus why I needed to start my own thread (admittedly prematurely,
but if Stuart and Greg aren't pissed, then hey, I'm glad I did) because I will not give up or be defeated, until the very moment that I am making a comfortable living doing audio work, and audio work only, from my own, personal, home recording studio!
I'm very happy to have finally gathered my bearings on this build, though, I will undoubtedly have more struggles/questions in the very near future, obviously. I say bring it on.
Cheers!
That sounds like you are wasting 12" that could have been on the OTHER side of the leaf, inside the room.... I'm trying to imagine a situation where you would need to leave 16" between leaves....
