# Help with accoustic panel placement



## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

Hey everyone, it has been awhile since I have posted anything. But I recently found a local source for OC703, well an equivalent according to Bob's gold website and the spec sheet that came with the insulation. It is Johns manville Spin Glass board, at 3pcf in 2" and 4" thicknesses. Since I found a local source I decided to start building more acoustical panels.

When I first setup my room, I bought 4 real traps. As you can see in the pictures two are hanging in the front two corners, 1 is center on the front ceiling / wall corner and one is installed in the back of the room corner. I recently install 4" panels at my first reflection points this past weekend. My question is what should I do next?

My room is 94.25" tall, 152"W (as you can see in the picture there is a bump out that makes the half the wall 161"W) and 190"L (This same bump out is on the front wall so half of the wall is 199"L)

I was thinking of adding bass traps on the left and right ceiling corners, probably 2 per side. I think I can add 2 - panels to the left of my dvd/projector tower and then possible build a bass trap that I can place in the corner by the door when watching a movie. Should I add more panels on the side wall? What about the front wall? I appreciate all of your input! Let me know if you need anymore information.


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

I know Bryan will chime in because he is the one with the best knowledge of treatments but if it were me I would treat the back wall and then reflection points on the cieling. Also it would depend on what kind of problems you are having because you can overtreat a room. And welcome to the forum.


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

Thanks! I have been a long time lurker. In all honesty I am not sure what problems I am having as it sounds pretty good. I always thought a few more panels could help. Do you think adding two panels to the back wall would help? Would it matter if it was 2" or 4" material? I can only really add it to the left side of the tower, I guess I could add a panel inside my equipment closet if needed.


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

I would put 2'' panels on the back wall. That will help with reflections. And yes you could put a panel inside that cabinet. Like I mentioned you can talk to Bryan P. because he is the guru of sound treatments. Hopefully he will see this and give his opinion. You could also get him here...http://www.gikacoustics.com/


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

The first thing I would concentrate on is filling in the bottom of the 2 front corners since your speakers are basically in the corners. That will help with boundary interaction as well as giving additional broadband bass control. 4" panels or triangular chunks would work best.

Also, I'll pretty much guarantee you that you're not far enough back with side wall panels to catch all of the reflections on the opposite walls to the seating (right speaker off left wall and opposite)


Bryan


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

Thanks Bryan,
If I create bass traps for the front corners I will have to move my front speakers out a bit more, This will put them even more ahead of my screen, would this be an issue? I could do a bass trap that is 1 foot wide instead of 2 if I needed. I planned on making more side wall reflection points but was not sure on how far I should move them on the walls. After I take care of the side reflections and front bass trapping should I then work on the rear wall?


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Having the speakers away from the front wall is a good thing. 

I was mentioning the 2' trap so it would closely match the Real Traps you already have up there.

Rear wall would be after front corners and side walls. These are primarily to address bass cancellations off the rear but we don't want to kill the surround field. So you'd use something like 4" with an FSK facing on it to minimize the upper mid and high frequency absorption to keep the surround field more lively and diffuse rather than dead and absorptive.

Bryan


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## MatrixDweller (Jul 24, 2007)

Moving the speakers out from the wall, like Bryan said, will enhance the sound. I can see where you are concerned however in that you're probably thinking the speakers will be less tied to the screen. That is not true.

I have mine out a couple feet and there is no loss of perceived imaging. In fact it's better. If possible put them out from the side wall as close to the screen without blocking your view and pull them forward the same distance or more.

I would do the same with your center channel and maybe put a treatment behind it below your screen. You might even consider hanging a 2" cloud, or several at the first reflection points on the ceiling.

Also be sure to rerun your speaker config or Audyssey setup if your AVR has that feature to set the distances etc after moving your speakers and/or adding treatments.


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

Picking up 4 more 4" panels today. Two of them will be used as bass traps in the corners and the other two will be added for my side wall reflections. After that I will probably wait a month or so before adding to my rear wall and ceiling. I will probably end up building a tall movable bass trap for the corner where my doors is. I can set it in place when watching a movie.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

You really don't need 4" at the reflection points. I'd save that for the corners and rear wall. 2" will be fine for side wall reflections quite honestly.

Bryan


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

The problem is that I already started with 4" on the side walls, If I only need to add one more per side to reach the reflections I would like to keep it consistent. I moved my speakers away from the corners and away from the front wall and noticed a huge improvement. I also moved my subwoofer further away from the sidewall. I think it helped.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

OK. It's not a problem at all - just trying to save you some money. The 4" won't hurt anything certainly.

Bryan


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

Thanks


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

Alright, my insulation is not covered yet (fabric store was out of grill cloth, I was surprised this was in so much demand!) but I placed it in the corners. I know I need to get get my speakers away from the walls by about 1 to 2 feet but does the insulation count as a wall or is it alright to have them closer to that.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

The 703 will not act as a boundary but the speakers still need to come out a bit.

Bryan


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

Any suggestions on how far they should come out? Right now the speakers are about 2 feet from the side wall and 2 feet from the back wall. Pictures do not show dept very well.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

I'd like to see at least another foot but the final position would be best addressed via measurements to see where response is smoothest and blend with the sub is the best.

Bryan


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

Alright, I will give that a try tonight. I need to pick up some more speaker wire at lunch in order to move my speakers out a bit more. I watched a movie last night and I was amazed by how much better things were sounding. The bass was incredibly tight, imaging was spot on and voices coming out of my center channel are full and easy to understand. $140 worth of insulation was the best investment in my theater so far, that and the help on this forum!


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Good deal. It's hard to describe what treating a room will do until someone has actually heard the difference. 

Bryan


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

Speakers should be placed at the distance recommended by the manufacturer. The distance will be specific to the speakers internal crossover design. :T


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## Diesel 48 (May 11, 2010)

I have Ascend Acoustic speakers, the manual suggests 1 - 2 feet from the walls.


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