Acoustical Foam


Curious whether others have experimented with acoustical foam. I ordered 1.75" foam tiles and foam corner kits. I have installed them tonight in the room that I'm preparing. There is no equipment in that room yet. I have 1/2 the foam tiles up on the walls. I will not be putting any on the ceiling as my wife has already commented that this is insane looking as is. I have been testing the acoustics by clapping my hands in the room before, during, and after the foam has been installed. So far, it has definately lowered resonances / echo, however, the room is not dead like a recording studio. Perhaps, once all the foam is up, an area rug is down over the wood floor, and there is equipment in the room, the room may be more dead sounding. That is certainly my hope. If it works, I will post more about exactly what I bought, the cost of the tweak, and my feedback on the cost/benefit of this change. Alot of the systems that incorporate acoustical treatments have big budgets for panels and other expensive room treatments, so my tweaks are certainly more budge oriented than aesthetically pleasing. I just purchased my first home, so my housing costs have nearly tripled. There definately is not as much money to play with these days, so I definately won't be purchasing expensive equipment as upgrades. That is why I'm trying to find tweaks that can have the sonic benefits of upgraded equipment at a much lower cost.
firecracker_77
You are headed down the wrong path. A stereo system in a room that is "dead like a recording studio" sounds like crap.

Check this out.
Herman,

I don't think the room will be dead sounding. I worked at 2 radio stations in my younger days, and the recording studios that were dead sounding had heavy steel doors and purpose built walls that could withstand artillery fire. This room is not that solid in construction, so it won't be completely dead and I'm not treating the ceiling so that will still provide some reflection. I bought the following:

http://cgi.ebay.com/24x24x1-5-Thick-Studio-Acoustic-Soundproofing-WedgeFoam_W0QQitemZ260065468799QQihZ016QQcategoryZ15199QQcmdZViewItem

Worst case scenario is that I don't like the foam, and I tear it down wasting about $300 that I spent.