# DIY Rockwool Adsorbers (Pics)



## Chester (Feb 19, 2007)

I recently built some rockwool adsorbers, I am in the process of determining the optimal positioning in the room in PTC Creo however the actual adsorbers are finished. A part of the design intent is to have the panels easily movable and to have near 'infinite adjust-ability' (with relative ease) wherever I want them on the walls.

The 2" thick rockwool panels are 'framed' in drywall edging from Home Depot, this gives the edges structure and should help keep them from crumbling or getting messed up over time. There are two pieces of 1" x 1/2" wide edging per side of the rockwool, taped together. This also made the rockwool much easier to work with.









The PVC tees are arranged every 60 degrees from the center of the panel.









The PVC was hammered down as the glue was setting so it holds in the middle of the thickness of the panel.









Panel with the three wall anchor tees attached: attaching it this way allows me to easily set the distance of the panel from the wall by changing the pvc pieces between the tees; I used three anchor points so that it would always sit 'evenly' (three points define a plane). When determining how they should be placed rotational about the center, I calculated the placement that would maximize (sum of all 3) the distances between the center and the tees. this would imply the 'widest possible stance', it turned out that one PVC tee should have been as close to a corner as possible on the longer side, the benefit was only ~3% further than an evenly spacing though, to keep things simple I chose to make it symmetrical.









The threaded steel rod (3/8") helps to hold the weight of the adsorbers, they are ~10-12 lbs each. There are up to three points where I use 3M command strips to keep the assembly from rotating/falling: the steel rod stand, even being just one foot, makes a HUGE difference in the force the command strips need to apply.









There is a bit of flex in the steel rod, I used nylon string to tension it to help things to stand straighter.









I used electrical tape at the bottom of the rods to keep them from slipping (tape past the end of the rod and then folded over), each pvc tee has 2 washers and 2 nuts holding them in place.









With the 'legs' this tape is capable of holding up the panels, will be switched to command strips when final placement is determined.









I used the 'picture hangers' which velcro together, so I can remove/clean behind the adsorbers easily.









Rear wall adsorbers final placement.









My daughter Alia listening to music - our morning ritual 









Picasa Web Album (a few more pictures)


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## Chester (Feb 19, 2007)

*Finalized Placement*










I used paper-towel halves (2 ply bounty -> 1 ply) to keep any rockwool fibers trapped.









This shows my method for finding the reflection points where the rockwool (or other adsorbption) should go - pretty simple geometry.









Highlighted in red are the final points where I want adsorption to cover.









Placement of adsorption.









This is a bed comforter which I am using on the door to adsorb the reflections from the 'entryway cavity': whch happens to be the most a-symmetrical part of the room.









Right side rockwool.









Left wall placement, it is moved forward a bit relative to the right side of the room to account for the room asymmetries introduced by the door entryway. With this placement, when listening to music in mono, it sounds as though it is coming from dead center of the computer screen across all frequencies.









I am using two memory foam dog beds to adsorb the reflection off the floor.









Final rockwool placement in the front of the room.









Rear rockwool, the couch and bed also add to the adsorption within the room.









I have found 1/4" thick Sorbothane squares to be very effective at damping vibrations/rattling caused by low frequencies. Additionally, I took the vent covers off and used wood glue on any areas that rattled when striking the cover.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I like how you fab'd yours! We wrapped ours in Japanese Kimono Silk, but I have no frame work. I am going to have to try you metal and PVC method out.


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## Chester (Feb 19, 2007)

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/home-audio-acoustics/60915-genius-trap-design.html
^this is a bit more elegant than the way I did it actually - very similar idea, but they found the metal pieces I wished I found! 

depending on if you want to use nails or not, the 'steel rod support system' works quite well I have found.


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