# Testing front wall with new GIK 244 Bass Traps. How to face them?



## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I have a new sound card on the way but before I test with REW how the 244 traps effect my front wall, I would like to be sure these are sitting right. I have them behind my mains and they face about the same direction as the drivers face. They are almost strateling the corners like corner traps. I could also face them forward but they would be further from my front wall. I am currently trying to figure out if I need some custom sized ones on the front wall between my DIY traps and my screen. Which way should they sit while I am looking for the correct type of result or do I look at both? Will I need to test with a folded blanket on the wall to get a more accurate result than if I sit them away front the wall facing forward, or facing in a diagonal position like they are? There is allot of space behind them.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Based on how the room is laid out up front, I think what you have is probably the best layout. You get maximal front wall coverage and still some extended absorbtion by covering part of the corners with an air gap.

If you're going to do custom ones, it should be for under the screen and finish off killing the front wall.

Bryan


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

Thanks Bryan. I have one more question. This may seem strange so bear with me on this please. 

I don't like my sconces. They got the wrong ones because the ones I wanted were not at the store. As a result the ones I did not pick out shine on my screen. It is possible for me to hang them directly on the sconces and they do not get hot as the bulbs are pretty far from them. I am worried that I may be violating some kind of code by doing so first off. I could make something else on the wall to hang them if that is against code. I would need some type of other additional hanging system, mostly bellow to extend them out further, to actually to get them to hang closer to the screen anyways since light still gets on there. I notice that when I tried hanging them on the sconces (higher up) that the problem even in the back of the room seems to be better. We plan to add more lighting later.

If I find with my testing that in fact this is the case, (with added benefit of light not on my screen) could I do this and repeat in the back of the room with smaller ones. Then I could get custom ones for the front and another set of 244's for the back maybe. I plan on two subs going somewhere so there will actually be allot more later on. 

I have to ask because it looks REALLY cool this way and solves my problem of not being able to have the lights on. I think my folks would like it. This is just an idea and I can get a photo if needed.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I think that might not work. I am going to see if there is some other way to keep light of the screen.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

Great news! I put a blue party bulb in and I can dim it without shining light onto the screen interfering with the picture so much.

I can't wait to finish bass traps now that the screen wall works. :yes:


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

If getting them up helps, you may find that moving them down will also help. It's a matter of hitting the tri corners. If this is the case, you may later want to move these to the center of the rear wall and sit something like a pair of Tri Traps on the floor up front.

I wouldn't hang panels over the sconces. Regardless of code or heat, I don't think they'll phyiscally fit that way - but I could be wrong.

Bryan


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I updated to the latest REW and got a new external sound card. The setup looks like this.:nerd: I don't have a tripod that works very well. I'm doing something wrong somehow.:dontknow:




















I did some testing with the new version as setup above. You can see the photos here. My AVR was at -10.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tns29/sets/72157604094123171/

The 244 traps seem to be doing a very good job sitting on my stage area. I found that if I moved them closer to my screen it helped but if I placed anything behind them or changed the angle, it made for a less flat response. I did an A/B comparison with and without them on the front wall and with or without them on the back wall. 

Here are test results with the previous version of REW I did but am somewhat lazy to do again with the new one. I like the traps where they are and don't want to have to reposition them again.










center back row purple with and blue without traps sub and mains -traps on rear wall









center front row black with and green without traps mains and sub -traps on front wall

I think I will have to go equalize my sub later on but I would like to get the most from treatments I can. 

I should finish treating under the screen which makes since. Does that mean I need three custom pieces? One behind the subwoofer and center channel and one on each side to cover the rest under the screen? What about the back wall? I didn't see any difference for the front row except very low and not much change for the back row. Should I place something larger, try moving them away from the wall further to allow more air behind them? Are there any other treatment options that I should consider then based on these test results? There is no compromises but bookshelves I have been told by one individual within our household are not going to look good. I was thinking about adding more panels on the ones I have already but I'm not sure about that yet.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I woke up today and tried testing again and it said my level was to low. I changed settings, used the REW calibrate SPL from left channel in REW and gave it another go.

Here is a new test today.

blue with and purple without 244 panels on front wall - test center front seat









blue with and purple without 244 panels on front wall -test center front

I will order some more bass traps etc tomorrow...need more funds.

In the meantime I think I have more testing to do with ceiling. I would really like to pull insulation out of there for the back of my room (mostly empty of insulation) and stick something else up there to replace it. For now, I'm trying to pull out the "back panels" on top of the ceiling tiles to see what happens. I started on the sides of the room and so far it has seemed to smooth out the 80Hz area some and raise 25Hz and bellow.:blink: 

I still need to figure out if anything else up there (besides laying R42 across the joist) will help and if I will need different side absorption panels.:scratch:


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