# Cheap foam as absorbers



## Skylinestar (Oct 19, 2010)

Will this cheap foam act as good absorbers to reduce the over liveliness of my room (plain brick walls and tiled floor)?
















Dimension of the whole piece is 90x90x7.5cm, density of 30kg/m3.
The purpose is just to control slap echo and some simple absorption for HT purpose. I don't expect this to do anything in bass region. 

I'm planning to stick a few of these on the front wall and side wall.

Since it's just cheap China foam, I'm wondering will it degrade in the future, perhaps turn to dust.

Any guys using cheap foams out there?


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

People with more experience may offer more/better advise; I got mine from a recording studio that closed. :R I got permission to take them from the property owner and took as many as I could carry.

It may be difficult to predict the exact frequencies and how much they will be reduced, but I don't see why they would not work.

As for the foam degrading, that may be a problem. If it does degrade into dust, you may want to remove it _asap_ as the dust may not be good for you. If the room is fairly dark and cool, degradation _shouldn't_ be a problem, but direct sunlight and heat may pose a problem.


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

Will probably only affect high frequencies, not even midrange.


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## donalds (Dec 12, 2012)

I have bought the foams that are really good absorber. I got it online and paid really less for it.


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## jim1961 (Apr 8, 2011)

Way too thin to help im afraid.


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

Thin plastic acoustic foam, in general, is not an efficient absorber of anything other than high frequencies and one runs the danger of making the room sound dead but not fixing any of the fundamental problems. 

Random chosen (or obtained) plastic foam panels are even less likely to be useful.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

How cheap is cheap? For a very small investment you could invest in 703 or 705 rigid insulation board and make your own!


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## pmcneil (May 29, 2010)

The best solution is to get the best available equalization system, e.g. audessy xt32 (yep, that foam won't get anything except the very highest frequencies, and will therefore bias the sound). 

Not only will the sound be better, your room will look better!


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

It would probably help to know more information. What does your system consist of... and do you have any pictures of the room that you can share with us?

I remember how much carpet made a difference in our room, as well as the seating. Each addition made a drastic reduction in the liveliness of the room. Perhaps a large rug would help some... and it does sound like you need some type of acoustical treatment. I think it would take stacks and stack of that foam to do any good and it probably would be hard to make it look right, whereas the proper acoustical material will do a much better job and can look good. Did you have a limit on what you want to spend?


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## pmcneil (May 29, 2010)

"I remember how much carpet made a difference in our room, as well as the seating. Each addition made a drastic reduction in the liveliness of the room. Perhaps a large rug would help some"

No doubt, these would alter the sound, for better or worse.

What matters most is if you can monitor the sound, and alter it. Recent receivers/processors offer this help, which goes beyond anything one can do by manipulating room acoustics with rugs, etc.

OK, I'm saying you should go for electronics!


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## miwi (Jan 8, 2012)

I agree that "cheap" foam will affect mostly high end and probably not really solve any acoustic problems. If you have parallel walls and your room dimensions are like most homes, you should put room treatment above any other sound system investment.

I have a small recording setup at home in a room about 14 ft. x 11 ft. Before treatment, I had a huge hole at about 85 Hz and overall uneven response throughout the sound spectrum. I added a combination of bass traps, high end absorbers, and diffusers which have solved nearly all my acoustic problems. I have combination bass/high absorbers on the front wall, a "cloud" consisting of 4 ft. x 4 ft. x 4 in. bass trap suspended from the ceiling above my desk, bass traps on the back wall, and diffusers on the sides. The reflection points on the side walls have also been damped. To find the reflection points, put a mirror on the side wall so you can the speakers from your seat - that is the point that needs either damping or diffusion. All of this cost less than $600 and was worth every penny. It took a bit of work on my part, though.


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