# Shoji Treatments



## hgoed (Mar 22, 2010)

So, I had this thought about having a set of Shoji sliding door/dividers which could act as a diffuser and/or absorber when closed on the back border-wall of my living room which will be used as a home theater in less formal times (most of the time). I'm no expert, but it seems that diffusion on the back wall would be the better option. Could I get away with 6" thick with good results? Would I be better off leaving the area open (to a kitchen with pretty much all reflective surfaces)?


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

A couple of things. 

If going for diffusion, then the thickness won't matter - that's a function of absorption.

Diffusion is a carefully calculated set of a specific width and depth cavities in a certain sequence to provide even distribution of sound both in time and space. Simple angled, repetitive surfaces won't do this.

Whether absorption or diffusion is a better option will depend on what else is in the room, what the overall decay time looks like, and whether you have any specific anomalies in the bottom end created by bass wave cancellations off the rear wall.

Bryan


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## hgoed (Mar 22, 2010)

Thanks for the reply. I don't have measurements yet as I was just working through my mic/card options just yesterday. Also I don't have any furniture in there yet, but I'm working on that too.

Regarding the diffusion, I was thinking about setting up some of those 2d ones that look like cityscapes within the framework of the door and covering them with a relatively acoustically transparent outer lining. I just wasn't sure that 6" (max) would be deep enough to allow for enough variation in the block depth.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Covering a diffuser will degrade the high frequency scattering a bit. 

6" may or may not be OK depending on the range you're wanting to diffuse.


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