Another room treatment convert

Acoustat, You're right of course!

But, then again I found that killing first side reflections with 7ft bookcases filled with stuff worked just fine, as do wall hanging tapestries, or acoustic foam. I've also found that plants in front of glass windows can act as excellent diffusors, just as drapes can act to deaden sound off the wall behind the speakers, even if there are no windows behind it. Hell, you can even hide acoustic foam behind light curtains so you will not communicate your audio affliction to your unappreciative friends. Depends on your actual needs by virtue of room acoustics, set up, and of course speaker design.

FWIW, I'm still trying to figure out how to put bass traps on ceilings or to kill the cathederal effect of high vaulted ceilings, or for that matter flat lower ceilings unless your decorator allows you to install fake support beams on the ceiling to break up the first reflections off the ceiling. I don't think I could get my decorator to allow me to plaster my ceiling with acoustic foam.

Now if I didn't have others to consider and no budget constraints I would use RPG diffusors, acoustic foam deadeners, and, maybe, bass traps if I thought they would solve a problem I was experiencing in the bass frequencies that they affect.

The only thing we disagree on, I think, is you statement that "all surfaces need treatment". There are highly reflective surfaces in a room which are, as a pratical matter, meaningless so long as the frequencies they reflect efficiently are blocked on the surface that recieves the reflections. Simply put, for reflection control of 2d reflection points you would only have to treat alternating walls, not every wall, the floor, and ceiling. Sort of like live end/dead end room set up, sort of. Anyway thats my take on it. I'm just a Newbee, in acoustics anyway. :-)

Acoustat6 is right of course. Fortunately my wife is very accepting of acoustic treatments ;-) RPG Treatment

Newbee,

If you listen to Eric Winer he suggests that virtually all people have bass problems whether they realize it or not. Typically bass traps are best placed in vertical corners or horizontal corners at the ceiling...or the tri-corner at the ceiling. You can 'protect' the mids & highs from being impacted by bass traps by placing a porous, but reflective surface on part or all of the front of the bass trap.

With respect to your last paragraph...I'm not completely sure of what you're trying to say...but my gut says it doesn't 'sound' right...so to speak.

Picked up the mineral wool tonight. Now if the weather will break so I can cut the stuff outside.

Fishboat, I was trying in my last paragraph to address Acoustat6's comment that "all surfaces need treatment". I thought that was an over the top statement.

FWIW, I'll try to explain the basis for my last paragraph. I'm sure you are aware that sound waves from the speakers can reach the listener directly from the speakers and bouncing from the walls on either side of both speakers from both speakers. Without attenuation they will screw up sound quality substantially something we will all agree about. For example the original signal from the right speaker will be direct to the right wall (1st reflection point) and the left wall (2d reflection point). Ditto the left speaker and both side walls. So its no secret that you want to deaden the 1st reflection point, but the 2d reflection point can also be a problem if not treated. In addition to those signals which most folks will treat for, each speaker will be putting out signals which strike other portions of the opposing side walls, bounce off the back wall, back to the side walls and back to the listening position. Untreated the room seems to have become an echo chamber.

Now all you have to do to prevent those signals from bouncing off the side walls is deaden the side walls. If you deaden the side walls you don't need to deaden the wall behind you to eliminate this signal from reaching the back wall and bouncing back to the listening position.

If you treat both walls you will never have any signals bouncing off the side wall reaching the listening position.
Or you can get most of the same effect by simply treating the wall behind the listener position in addition the the 1st and 2d positions on the side walls. (That was the reason for my rejection of the all inclusive statement by Acoustat regarding 'all' surfaces. Perhaps I just took his statement too literally.)

Now all you have to do the reduce wall reflections to an appropriate level is determine what density of materiel you need to kill/reduce those frequencies that are bothersome.

I'm not at all sure that I have effectively communicated my thoughts on this, but if I've still not cleared up for you what I meant in my post to Acoustat6, sit down with some paper and reduce this all to geometry, it might make more sense this way. I realize its not that simple but it illustrates the fundamentals regarding bouncing sound waves.

Hope that helps, if not I had fun trying to focus my fragile mind. :-)

Newbee,
Can't disagree with the second explanation. The first go 'round sounded to me like you'd treat the right side wall(reflections..), but not the left..etc. That would be a little twisted..so to speak.

The partial treatment approach may fail when it comes to ceilings & a carpeted floor as the carpet won't help the first reflections there.

In the end, treatment is all relative to the listening position...whatever makes sense.