Acoustic foam treatment

[Nebulous]

Hey guys.
I'm new to this particular forum, i now visit regularly as im studying Audio Engineering with Moonlapse.
Now my thread is about treating studios- namely controll rooms, with foam to aid acoustics. I will eventually have some diffusion and insulation happening because i know it works, what i haven't heard much about is foam "speaker stands", which are designed to seperate monitors from a desk and provide more natural response.
This does sound appealing, but since most people who listen to music dont have that sort of "natural response", so we as sound engineers need/ want it?

All help/ opinions appreciated, especialy if you stop me from wasting $60.

Thanks guys.

Keep it real

Daniel\m/

 

[Nebulous]

Appologies for the fact of similarity to the similar thread, but i do think this is different enough.
Thanks

Daniel\m/

 

[_RiseInside_]

i know China Cones - http://www.chinacones.co.uk/index.html?index=tech.html

They´re not cheap but i guess one can make similar stuff with bricolage materials and save some money

 

[black sugar]

Jeez, can I have a cheap Auralex products endorsement already?

Yeah, the desktop MoPads definitely make a difference in terms of clarity and accuracy (are those different? -- I dunno.) How much of a difference is probably relative to the quality of your monitors, your monitor setup, and the acoustics of your room. I'd go so far as to say that they're much better than using nothing at all, though.

I don't have any experience with the China Cones, but some dudes on Gearslutz that probably buy $2000 power cords for their coffee makers seem to like them!

 

[Andy Sneap]

$2000 power cord lmao, tell me about it, bet they'd have little arrows showing the power which way to run also!!

I've put strips of neoprene under my speakers, seems to work

 

[Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral]

You can pick up neoprene stuff at any hi-fi store for pretty much peanuts too. \m/

 

[Kazrog]

I've heard if you turn your master fader up to 6, you don't need foam. :Spin:

 

[black sugar]

$2000 power cord lmao, tell me about it, bet they'd have little arrows showing the power which way to run also!!

What, you can't taste the difference? Phil Taylor can.

 

[Ermz]

Does this Neoprene stuff generally come in strips/sheets?

Dan, you seriously gotta wonder whether they bothered with any of this at JMC, man.

 

[black sugar]

Ok, I just did a Neoprene vs. Auralex shootout on my coffee machine, and here are my findings:

Neoprene: Robust flavor with a nice, silky warmth. Very accurate taste, but it seems to be a little more murky and acidic towards the bottom of the cup.

Auralex: This really brought out the vintage flavor of my NOS beans. However, the steam has a more flat response and doesn't seem to project as much -- less sparkle. Maybe not great for metal, but it would be a good choice for jazz or classic rock.

 

[Nebulous]

Moonlapse: JMC wouldn't know acoustic treatment if it bit them on the ass. I mean, would they realy bother with $60 speaker "stands" (MoPads as stated above- i couldn't remember the name before). I realy don't think so, i mean, where would all our money go? Better facilities, doubt it.

Thanks to all who replied. Guess i might give the MoPads a go, along with other proven bits and peices to acompany them in my "control room" (not much of a room tho).

Peace

Daniel\m/

 

[Kazrog]

In all seriousness...

I own MoPads myself and they are the best investment I've made in my home studio. My monitors are Event PS8s, which I've been very happy with, however...

I definitely want to pick up a room kit next, because my room has some serious problems in that it is awkwardly shaped, has mirrored closet doors AND two windows!

 

[Ermz]

Man, I got a huge window to the right of me in a \ shape.
|
/

I might give the Neoprene stuff a shot though. Sounds like the sort of quick-fix budget solution that is so characteristic of your average engineer

 

[_RiseInside_]

i´ve been checking and i found out these:

http://www.musicstorekoeln.de/englisch/shop/produktinfo.asp?info=REC0003645-000

they look like the auralex don´t they ? much cheaper, indeed

 

[Ermz]

Actually I've been meaning to ask... do speaker pads help reduce standing waves? There is a certain freq. that just THUMPS in this room. It totally obliterates the consistency of listening. It's almost like there is a bass trap in between my two monitors and the actual monitor (yknow, the visual one).

 

[black sugar]

It's possible that your speakers are coupling with your desk and exaggerating some low resonant frequency. You might be able to solve some of that by putting the speakers on stands/neoprene.

Bass traps are supposed to prevent what you're describing by eliminating standing waves when placed in corner areas.

If the bass exaggeration is at a somewhat consistent frequency through a fair portion of the room you probably need bass traps. If it's mainly when you're sitting at your desk, you need to get your speakers off the desk (hell, do that anyway). If it's across the entire low end everywhere in the room, you need to turn off your subwoofer.

RiseInside -- yeah, those are pretty much dead ringers for the Auralex MoPads. What, are they Behringer BoPads or something? Heh.

 

[Kazrog]

It's possible that your speakers are coupling with your desk and exaggerating some low resonant frequency. You might be able to solve some of that by putting the speakers on stands/neoprene.

This is exactly what was happening to me, and what the MoPads solved!

 

[Ermz]

Awesome, thanks dudes. I might even pick up some pads today, provided I have enough cash on my savings account, haha.

I understand what basstraps do, but I think the problem is mainly confined to this desk area. My room isn't ultra small or anything, that it would accentuate all low freqs. to such a degree. I think it's just certain ones that really resonate with the desk.

 

[black sugar]

Yeah, just get the Behringer BoPads already!

Shit, I put my monitors on a few layers of freakin' bubble wrap for a week or so because I didn't have time to go out and get the MoPads, and that even helped a little. How's that for ghetto audio?

Anyway, Kazrog and I had totally different problems and the foam helped us both.

I have a very sparse glass/metal desk, so that might be why I didn't really have the bass problem, but I found that the imaging really improved with the MoPads. Without them, the upper mids were kinda mushy and the ultra highs seemed un-focused.

But I bet a nice boxy wood desk would give you some interesting bass response if you didn't get the speakers off of it, especially if it's crammed right up against a wall or something.

 

[Ermz]

Yep, haha, the last paragraph nailed the situation right on the head. As well as getting the MoPads I'll probably have to foam up the back wall.

Working off a glass/metal desk sure must have been interesting. Speaking of imaging, a lecturer of mine apparently threw a diffusion board up at the back of his mixing position and that increased the imaging a heap. Think it was home made too...