Ceiling tiles using rigid fiberglass


So I'm in the process of finishing a basement to include a dedicated audio space, which will be 35' x 23' x 8'6". Walls framed and electrical mostly done. I am trying to determine the most effective method of creating an acoustically absorbent ceiling while maintaining a nice look.

I have looked into 'acoustical' ceiling tiles but the data is obviously not promising. The idea that I favor right now is to buy the rigid fiberglass, cut it into 2' x 2' squares, wrap them in an acoustically transparent cloth, exact type TBD, and drop them into a standard grid. In effect, I'd be creating my own ceiling tiles, the benefit being that they'd actually be of acoustic benefit, instead of the off-the-shelf tiles which don't work all that well.

The main questions I have are:

(1) Is this a reasonable approach? Has anyone here tried this?
(2) If so, what to do with the gap between the rigid fiberglass and the main level floor (joists are 2x10s)? Is it best to use 1" rigid and stuff the rest with fluffy, 2" and stuff, 4" and stuff, or will they yield similar acoustic results? If I use 4", will stuffing the gap even make a difference? I think the 1" rigid plus fluffy is the least expensive option, but performance is more important that cost here.

I'm also very open to ceiling tiles which are acoustically transparent enough to let the incident waves penetrate to fluffy fiberglass underneath. This would be a very attractive option, as it may yield great performance with less effort (I'm doing all the construction work myself, so anything that saves time is welcomed!).

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but I searched for quite a while.....

Thoughts?
cathode

Showing 1 response by kijanki

Cathode, I'm making twelve 2'x4' 2" panels using Johns Manville 817 rigid fiberglass panels http://www.jm.com/insulation/performance_materials/products/ci9_800series_spin-glas.pdf

I considered Corning 705 but sound absorption coefficient at 125Hz is only 0.16 (almost not working) while Johns Manville 817 is 0.38 - much better. 125Hz absorption is important to me on the walls but I'm not sure if it applies to ceiling. I had an option to go to 4" panels (much better at low frequencies) but there is WAF.