Looking for ideas on what to do for the ceiling. Trio band, amps, drums etc. Not trying to soundproof just trying to help echo / reduce noise leakage to the upstairs. How effective would it be to hang carpets on the ceiling or heavy blankets? Thanks!

Anechoic Garage

It was amazing how quiet this parking garage was with some sort textured ceiling. It was obviously sprayed on. There was no echo, just completely dead. I was thinking it would be a great place to a test speaker response. I would love to spray my unfinished basement ceiling but pretty sure it would not be good to breathe in and would not be easily applied with it getting everywhere. Does anyone know of the material and process use to apply the absorbing texture?

I recently moved into a cheaper apartment building. Upstairs neighbor plays music like 10-12 hours a day. I can't hear the music, but the lower frequency bass comes through, just loud enough to be an annoying persistent background noise. I went up and talked to him recently, he was a nice guy, tried putting towels under the speakers, which are already on a stand. unfortunately it is just a shitty old building and even at a reasonable volume the bass comes through. Couch is right under where he has his speakers. I simply have no desire and am not in a position to ask him to stop playing music in the apartment he pays for. I have gone through some other posts and it seems that the consensus is there is no way to stop these lower bass frequencies without massive alterations which I obviously cannot do in a rented unit. Is that true? Even if I could get 20% sound reduction I'd be pretty happy.

Not looking for suggestions about talking to my landlord, moving my couch to the other side of the room, or wearing noise cancelling headphones. just seeing if anyone has had success with any product to cut down on bass from speakers in an upstairs apartment. thanks :)

Correctly identifying acoustic panels is one of the essential steps before purchasing and installing them, because choosing and installing the wrong acoustic panel may not only fail to improve the acoustic conditions of a space, but may even make the acoustic situation worse.
During our several years of activity at Part Ava Foam, we have observed many mistakes regarding the identification and selection of acoustic panels. However, one of the most obvious mistakes, which is also very common, is confusing two different types of acoustic panels: absorbers and diffusers.
This is despite the fact that these two types of panels have many differences, and their functions are fundamentally different.
Acoustic absorbers are panels that are usually manufactured from open-cell materials, and their purpose is to absorb sound frequencies and reduce reverberation in a space. Some of the most common examples of these panels include egg-crate acoustic panels, pyramid acoustic panels, and Part Foam Flexi panels.
On the other hand, diffusers are panels whose purpose is by no means to absorb sound frequencies. They are designed, and their materials are selected, in a way that allows sound frequencies to be diffused in different directions.
These types of acoustic panels are usually manufactured from reflective, dense, and closed-cell materials such as EPS foam, wood, and plastic. In addition, the design of diffusers is usually highly precise, and their wells or geometric elements are designed and calculated in such a way as to help diffuse sound frequencies in different directions.
Which of these panels is more suitable for a particular space depends on various factors, including the conditions of the space, the type of environment, the architecture of the building, the sound source, the purpose of the acoustic treatment, and other considerations.
However, in many professional music studios, an optimized combination of diffusers and absorbers is commonly used.

Hi all, what is the best way to to calculate how much acoustic treatment is needed for a large hall (500+ people)? Is there a way to calculate what type of material would be needed for the acoustic treatment, how much is needed, where it should be placed, etc.

My initial thought was to use REW and based off of some calculations using the Sabin equation, it could help me determine how much treatment is needed, and then to create a design of the hall using EASE 5. Would this be the correct approach?

Ahoy! I’m moving next month into a new home and my home studio has been relegated to the DEN. Looking for some advice if this was your studio. I have sound panels and will be placing them on the first reflection points - among others. Rather low ceilings at around 9ft. The door and closet swing open, a window on the left wall. I was considering putting my production desk on the bottom wall with the speakers on stands left and right of it.

Would you do something different? Maybe consider putting it on the left side? Or the right? I can take the doors off the closet…..

Other things that will be in the studio are; Vocal booth (ROOM Solo phone booth), Roland e-drum set, my large uplift desk, guitars, two keyboards, and a vinyl stand with vinyl.

Open to all recommendations.

Cheers.

I'm a college student living off-campus, and my room is pretty small. My biggest passion is music production, but the space is my biggest concern. I have a queen-sized loft that my equipment will be under, and this will be tucked into a corner. I was wondering what problems may arise from recording under there? I'm looking to deaden the sounds from the drywall immediately surrounding the loft, and maybe using a sound dampening blanket as a curtain to fully enclose the space.

I'll be using a condenser microphone for my recordings, and at the moment, my biggest concern is the trapped bass that will arise from such a small setup. Since it is a loft, the ceiling is going to be a mattress and the floor is carpeted, so that should be no issue I hope?

I'm pretty new to all this, so any advice will help!

hello! i’m trying to turn this room on the first floor of my house into a music studio where i can record drums, piano, and vocals together with a balanced mix. i’d also like to be courteous to the neighbors as right outside the room is their property. does anyone have suggestions? i was going to do a full carpet but i read online that it would dampen the low end too much. any ideas on good wall dampeners?

Hello. Building custom panels, seems like Duvaltex Anchorage 66” fabric is the to go to, but it’s pricey. Sprite 2671 is 30% cheaper for example. I’m buying about 50yards.

I’m not concerned with color as much as durability and ease of installation. Curious, what has been other people’s experience with their products.

Please note; I’m not looking at shopping around. More specifically curious which products from the Duvaltex fabrics for panels you prefer and why.

Thank you

Yoo guys. I really need some advice from the pro nerds on here. I am usually the type of guy who chases the absolute best bang for buck endgame gear but I decided to go a different route this time.

Setup + Wiring

I just sold my Focusrite Scarlett and dbx unit to grab a Wave XLR and I am also picking up a pair of Edifier Studio R1280DBs 2.0. I am mainly just going to use them for casual listening or when I have friends over ( I pretty much just use my IE900 or my AKG EO-IG955 anyway ). The Bluetooth feature is honestly clutch for when we play Switch together and just want to hook everything up wirelessly.

For the wiring my PC audio goes into my CalDigit hub and I need the other RCA cables for my turntable. I dropped a picture of my wiring plan below so feel free to roast it or give me some critique. All of that is sorted but now I am stuck with a huge problem. ( its ai slop , but you get it )

The Problem ( Speaker Placement )

Putting them directly on the desk doesn't work very well because there's a screen in front of it

I currently run dual monitors. I am planning to upgrade to a super ultrawide monitor soon but that will not actually solve my placement issue. I literally have no idea where to put these speakers.

I cannot mount them to my Kallax shelves either since they are mostly hollow inside and will not hold the weight ( and the Tild ). Wall mounting is also out of the picture because I am putting up COB LED strips on my acoustic panels soon and I guess the wires would totally get in the way of any wall brackets.

My best idea was getting extra tall desk stands to put the speakers above the monitors and angle them down. Since I use a Vernal standing desk this would be perfect because the speakers would move with the desk and stay angled right at my ears whether I am sitting or standing.

But here is the catch. The desk wobble is real. The taller the speaker stands are the worse the wobble gets especially when typing heavily. I am already dealing with some annoying monitor shake even though I bought expensive heavy duty monitor arms.

If anyone has dealt with this or has some smart ideas on how to make this work please let me know. I would really appreciate any help!

Photo of Setup Standing

Photo of Setup Sitting

Wiring Plan

If you had to buy a sideboard, shelving unit or cabinet, whats the most acoustically sound one you have seen or would you always DIY?

Currently trying to figure out if it would be better to try to soundproof an approximately 500sqft 2nd floor room for my band’s rehearsal/studio space, or just move everything in the basement. As you can see, much of the room is still unfinished so I have some things to work with.

There’s a couple problems with the basement, that we do plan on fixing- the biggest being that the electrical is ungrounded, so once I get that fixed, it should be okay. The other issue is that the floor slopes towards a drain, so there is a concern of fitting all of our gear/everyone comfortably. We are a 4 piece death metal band w 2 guitars, bass, drums, and synths.

Some questions:
Would it be worth looking at a dampening material or something to put on the floor before we install new flooring? Put up another layer of drywall and seal windows/cracks with green glue? Or just scrap the idea altogether and do this in the basement? Only caveat with basement at the moment is the whole room needs rewired/grounding issues fixed, plus there is a space concern.

I am a noob at this kind of thing, and unfortunately renting a rehearsal space big enough for our needs is just not in in the cards right now. Any help, tips, ideas, advice would be much appreciated!

The above drawing shows my listening room. Speaker and chair locations are approximate to show the configuration.

No acoustic treatments have been applied and the REW waterfall model show this:

Since I'm lacking experience and just learning the field I've been using Gemini. It recommends I start with 2lb MLV 3'x5.5'x9" internal depth traps placed flat on either corner of the front wall. I can fit 2' wide traps on the rear wall corners.

This is the first step to control the mode around 33hz, other treatments - first reflection etc - would come after the initial base traps.

Am I being naive trusting Gemini here?

I am living in an old house that's split into two rental units. I'm on the first floor and there's a tenant above me on the second floor. I don't generally hear any airborne noise from upstairs like talking or yelling or television. I do hear a lot of physical contact (impact?) noise like walking/running/bed and floor creaking. That's annoying but I'm kind of used to it at this point.

I sometimes work from home and also play videogames in the evening and talk to my buddies on the chat. I watch my TV sometimes too. That can get a little loud sometimes.

I was wondering if there is anything I can use (without major construction) to contain that kind of noise in my room so it doesn't go upstairs?

I see there's acoustic foam (polyurethanme)/acoustic panels (felt/polyester fiber) on Amazon like TroyStudio Acoustics.

Currently trying to treat this outdoor studio space for recording and mixing. this room is 11'W x 23'L and is 8' tall. I plan on having acoustic panels over the windows as well very soon (I'll use rock wool safe n sound but any other ideas to soundproof and treat them better is appreciated)

I have a PA system with a sub and I plan on getting an hs8 sub for monitoring soon as well. my issue is that I am trying to plan out and make the bass traps for the corners of the room but as you can see, the ac unit on the right leaves space for the trap to be only 15' deep. I need these bass traps to be adequate for the space and truly trap those long bass frequencies. I'll use Owens corning fiberglass insulation packed loosely into the bass traps.

I have been experimenting with a triangle that is longer towards the window in the center than it is deep (slide 2), and also a diamond shape that gives the trap more depth while taking up less wall space (slide 3). the back of the room has adequate space for 2 isosceles right triangles with both legs being 24'' long (shown in both slides 2/3) so its just the front I'm stumped with.

Slides 2/3 are the mockups I've created for the right triangle and diamond shape traps. Is a 24" x 15" right triangle on both front sides of the room adequate for the space or should they be the diamond shape shown in slide 3? Could I go even longer towards the window in the center or is that unnecessary?

The house is from the late 1800s and is build primarily out of stone. Doors are custom sizes. The ceiling is very high so potentially some kind of roof-panneling if that's an option?

The room has a staircase inside with a small landing on top which is where the door for the room is. The room is on ground-floor level.

Sound travels very easily throughout the house in general, but this room is especially important to have some decent level of sound-proofing. Looking decent would be nice but isn't a requirement.

Coming from the neighbor above me(almost certain).

Building: Apartment in a reinforced concrete building

Flooring: Click-lock laminate

Constraint: No access to neighbor's ceiling below (must be solved entirely from my floor)

Problem: Airborne noise (voices, TV) from downstairs

I’ve received two vendor proposals to put directly under the laminate planks:

• Option 1: 8mm EVA foam + 3mm MLV + 8mm EVA foam + 3mm MLV
• Option 2: 13mm Barrier-backed rebond foam (Bondex with MLV) + 3mm MLV

Will putting these flexible/soft layers directly under click-lock laminate destroy the joints, and what specific subfloor layers/materials should actually be used over a concrete slab to block downstairs airborne noise?

I'm moving into a new house and have the room shown above to use as a dedicated studio and home office. Use is mixed between hosting webinars, video/content creation (inc voice over) and music production.

Sound treatment will follow. Audio monitors are getting an upgrade too, ideally to a pair of Genelec 8040 - I currently have Yamaha HS5s and would like some bass.

[ETA: I'm now also looking smaller speakers and a sub: 8020+7040]

Which desk position would you prefer?

If it influences your decision, there is a great view from the window ⛰️

A) Is my current preference as it allows for wall mounting of the speakers, side lighting from the window to avoid silhouetting or glare. But it means the speakers are facing the shorter dimension of the room.

B) Offers a great view, natural front lighting that can be controlled with curtains, speakers facing the longest dimension. But no option to wall mount the speakers and less acoustic control of the wall in front of me. Also, there will be a large radiator (not shown) under the window so the desk will need to be away from the wall.

C) Has the speakers facing the longest dimension, allows for sound treatment of the wall in front of me (albeit behind the displays) and speakers could be wall mounted. But it would be backlit in daylight and is constrained width wise by the door opening and the wall to the staircase.

All desk positions would be asymmetrical to the side wall to some extent.

The door and cupboard in opposite corners would limit the bass trap options. How much of an issue is this likely to be?