Acoustic Treatment Questions

[M-1000]

I am finally making the investment in treating my room. I am on a somewhat limited budget though. Here are the challenges and questions I have.

-The left corner of my front wall has a door in the corner, preventing me from installing a bass trap that floats the corner (it would block the door from opening).

-I have thought about flat-mounting a trap on the wall and one on the door in such a way that it doesn't block the door, but that will not be as effective as something with some air behind it.

-I have access to some Clearsonic Sorber panels. When folded together, it creates about a 6'X2'X4" thick panel. Could I just place that in the corner when I'm mixing? Then I could move it when I need the door to be functional. Plus, my studio is also my office, so it would be nice to be able to move the panels when necessary. On that note, would it work for the regular panels to be set in a portable fashion?

-If I was to do this on the left side, but built an installed trap for the right right side, would the lack of symmetry create issues?

-When placing bass traps, is it best to place them tight to the floor? Tight to the ceiling? Split the difference between the two?

-Because of my room situation, I am forced to have my monitors right up against the front wall. Currently, they are on top of my desk. Would it be a significant improvement to scoot my desk back a foot or two and buy some decoupling stands to put my monitors on? I could put some absorption panels behind them to help with any issues created by proximity to the wall.


Because of my limited funds, my plan is to start off by doing the two front corner bass traps, panels at the first reflection points, and panels directly behind my monitors. I have a big couch in the back of my room (which isn't an ideal absorption solution, but better than the block wall behind it!).


Does this sound like a good plan? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[chrisrivalry]

you for sure want to pull your desk out, your monitor position should be somewhere near 30-33% away from the front wall if at all possible, getting them on stands will also help to decouple the monitors. focus on the corners and your main reflection points, and I would highly recommend diffusers, the block style are fairly easy to make apparently. what type of flooring do you have?

 

[heshian46]

-I have access to some Clearsonic Sorber panels. When folded together, it creates about a 6'X2'X4" thick panel. Could I just place that in the corner when I'm mixing? Then I could move it when I need the door to be functional.

Since you have a door in the corner, it would be better than nothing. Is it possible to put your desk on the opposite wall? That way you could trap both corners? A diagram might help.

-If I was to do this on the left side, but built an installed trap for the right right side, would the lack of symmetry create issues?

Yes, it will cause issues. But they may not be noticeable to you. Any trapping is better than no trapping.

-When placing bass traps, is it best to place them tight to the floor? Tight to the ceiling? Split the difference between the two?

Best case scenario would be to have them go floor to ceiling, like a super chunk type of trap. If that's not a possibility, split the difference to put as much coverage within the main listening height as possible.

-Because of my room situation, I am forced to have my monitors right up against the front wall. Currently, they are on top of my desk. Would it be a significant improvement to scoot my desk back a foot or two and buy some decoupling stands to put my monitors on? I could put some absorption panels behind them to help with any issues created by proximity to the wall.

you for sure want to pull your desk out, your monitor position should be somewhere near 30-33% away from the front wall if at all possible

Do not place your monitors 30-33% away from the wall. Yes you do want them somewhat away from the wall (a foot or so), but the ideal situation is to have them positioned so that your listening position puts you sitting at about the 38% point in the length of the room. Also, position the monitors so that they form an equilateral triangle with your head. The tweaters should be pointing just behind your head. Stands can help decouple them from your desk. Auralex Mopads also do a great job doing this. If you have both stands and mopads, you'll be in good shape.

These are just things I've picked up over the years and implemented into my mixing space. In the end, you have to maximize your space to fit your needs. Rule of thumb is always, if it sounds good, it is good. Also, theres lots of information all over the internet, do some research and find what works for you.

 

[everybody's x]

I didn't catch how big your room is but you could hang a poly diffuser on the door at earlevel and have that diffuse into your absorptive panels. If the diffuser will be more than 6.5' from your listening area.
Polys are simple, make a third of a circle radius say 2'x2 and 5" deep. One dispersing horizontally one vertically. Then put your traps where the diffusion will throw.

 

[everybody's x]

Oh yeah, fill the back with insulation so it doesn't sit there and rattle on the door at the room's resonant frequency

 

[everybody's x]

Here's a pic. The polys are left of the mix position. I have them all over the studio. They have helped a lot. But you'll also notice tons of bass trapping. Including immediately behind the ns-10's, ceiling clouds etc.

sorry if it's a huge pic, I'm on my phone

 

[M-1000]

Forgive my crude paint drawing, but this is my current room set up. And the door is no longer an issue, as I have made it so that what was my main entry is now obsolete and the double door is my main entry/exit. So I shouldn't have any issues in that corner anymore.

 

[M-1000]

Oh! I forgot to post the height. The ceiling height is 7' 6", but it is a drop ceiling, so it is not very reflective. Also, the front, right, and back walls are all painted block while the left wall is dry wall.