i got this stereo when i was living at a different place so i had a feel for its post break-in sound. last august we bought a house finally, and the basement minus a guest room and storage was mine make my man cave. it was already finished and painted in yellow which i didnt like in the beginning but has grown on my allot, mostly because it brightens the place up nicely given its subterranean lack of light...and it gives that feel of Steelers colors which are ingrained in my soul, but i digress. But unfortunately as soon as i turned the stereo on in the new room i was disappointed. first off the room is considerably larger, its 12'8"W X 25'L X 7'4"H while the original room i got to know the system in was 12'x12' but had a drop ceiling and some favorable qualities for a small room, plus my listening seat was in the perfect place. the new room has 2 walls that are painted concrete(foundation) with the rest finished sheet rock. the echo was ridiculous while the bass was boomy and muddy as hell, i had the dreaded one note bass effect. it was almost an unusable room it sounded so bad, the highs caused listener fatigue so dramatic my listening was cut way back.... i was not a happy boy. it was like i took a step backwards sonically and i had no choice but to take action, so i did.

it has been quite the project, much bigger and more work than i originally expected. It has been 100% DIY and low budget enough that i thought i would share with others in case anyone else is interested in doing this for themselves. all told i guess ill have about $400 in the whole thing....minus buying a house that i can do this too. it could have been done cheaper but i made the mistake of buying my first batch of panels online and paid way to much. i found a local supplier for everything after that which saved me a ton of $$, plus i rocked the jo-anne fabric sales catalog and never got less than 40% off all my fabric. to buy all the bass traps and HF traps as finished products from a vendor to do all i have done would cost a fortune. Long live DIY!

after a ton of research i decided used a combination of theOwens Corning 703 (3lb p/sq' fiberglass for mid-bass absorption) and the 705 (6lb p/sq' fiberglass for deeper bass absorption) in both reflective and absorbent facing, making a variety of low FQ bass traps and absorbent broadband traps. my goal was to attempt to get as close to 100% corner coverage as possible. (Low FQ and undesirable sound in general live in the corners, that is why band shells and good theaters have rounded corners everywhere with a giant sloping front wall) all the traps were also made in a variety of 2" and 4" thicknesses in both density panels to get a better over all frequency control from 35-500mhz. everything over 500mhz is then handled by the high FQ absorbers at the first reflection points plus the evenly placed unfaced traps through out the room too. my goal unlike high school is flat.

here are some pics from the start of the project:
2 OC 703 panels 2' x 4' 2" thick


the corner of the 2 concrete painted walls


first reflection point on left


first panel i finished
[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_2665.jpg?t=1253948698[/img]

front of the room with the first few panels in their possible new homes, proped up of course


this HVAC that was finished around was a huge challenge. symmetry is key to a good room so it really presented a problem.


as you can see i had quite the puzzle in front of me


[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_2712-1.jpg?t=1258007601[/img]

here is how i made one of my low FQ bass traps, but all traps and panels were made in the same basic way. the only difference was the thickness or size i cut the panel to, and whether or not i used the membrane for facing to reflect high FQ sound waves. the membrane serves 2 purposes, on the higher density panels it helps causes them to reach a lower FQ response while reflecting all high FQ waves making them a true bass trap and it keeps the rooms lively feel allowing me to maximize the bass trapping while not over deadening the room. all the traps were covered in a waffle weaved muslin fabric i got at jo-anne fabric. its not the cheapest muslin available but i had to keep in mind that i could be looking at this stuff for a long time and so i spent the extra cheese on aesthetics. all that really matters when choosing the fabric is that it is acoustically transparent.

panels, fabric, and work space + rear wall before any treatment




i used multiple strands of phone wire because i have an unlimited supply of it for free and i really tried to keep this as low budget as i could, but any strong wire(or doubled up like i did here) will work. I threaded it through the middle of the 2 glued together 2" panels to suspend them. amount of wire varied by weight of the trap or panel, on these i used 4 because the high density panels are heavy enough plus the muslin isnt the lightest fabric either.

this is the membrane that reflects high frequency sound waves while allowing the lows to pass through and be absorbed. i used 3mm gardening plastic + the heavy plastic the fiberglass came packaged in. the point of reflecting the HF waves is to keep the room sounding live and while still sopping up and absorbing all the deep or muddy lows, which additionally the membrane helps to absorb to a lower FQ then without the membrane(down to 35mhz!). this is mostly effective in corners where the air pocket behind the trap is maximized, therefore not nearly as effective on a flat mounted panel with minimal or no air pocket.

the muslin underneath it is glue on using a can of spray adhesive. any brand works as i tried them all as they came up in sales. theu muslin went on much like wrapping a gift.

and this is a finshed low FQ reflective basstrap, corner mounted for maximum effect
[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3261.jpg?t=1256978381[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3262.jpg?t=1256978400[/img]

I did the whole thing on my weekends by necessity, but found it to be a good measure of my progress sonically. each weekend would render another amount of change that i got the rest of the week to evaluate. my biggest fear was to kill the room, kill it dead!

the rest are my progress in steps

this was my first try

this was a huge improvement over the original sound of the place but after a taste of what tuning could do i wanted to go farther. i quickly decided that the small thin traps in the corners were not going to cut it and that flush mount treatments to the front wall were better served else where since boxed speaker primarily send waves away from that wall except the bass which is ported out the back, so i revised my plan and found better suppliers. the rest is the result...

again in stages of finished legs
front





Rear

left side with the evil duct work treated


and the opposite wall



another thing to work around, its the only window so i had to adapt

my desk and listening seat ive managed to get almost at 38% each from their closest wall be it front or back for best case positioning. my seat on the couch is dead nuts on, but the desk has that rolling seat so im not perfect...


this wall has first reflection points for both my listing seat and my desk covered while the other wall has just the couch covered since the open door way doesnt reflect.

finished this mess up today

before>>>>>>>>>>>
[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_0283-1.jpg?t=1258086966[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_0273.jpg?t=1258087066[/img]

after>>>>>>>>>>>
[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_0306.jpg?t=1258086945[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_0302.jpg?t=1258086842[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_0301.jpg?t=1258087106[/img]


Im almost done, but still need to hang some framed stuff to keep the wife happy. she thinks im off my rocker btw, but cant argue that it sound fantastic down here now. its extremely flat. the bass is so smooth and tight, and i can bring more lows in without it becoming muddy. my highs are very crisp and clean without being fatiguing or overwhelming.

im happy boy, hubba hubba hubba!

OMG!! What can I say... GO STEELERS.

LOL, if I did that to my listening room, I'd probably wake up the next morning with a steak knife protruding from my chest. Your wife must be very tolerant...hehe

my wife is very cool. she isnt very happy about, but hasnt insisted anything get torn down either.

she cant argue that sounds terrific down here so...

update on the WAF:

last night we had a dinner party, after dinner i caught her explaining some of the science behind the treatments to our guests, and even later caught her alone after they all left sitting in the sweet spot listening by herself. the room has sold itself.

audiophile preferred, wife approved!

some follow up, its finished. these are with my SLR, a little better than my wifes point and shoot.

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3283.jpg?t=1258700517[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3298.jpg?t=1258700593[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3301.jpg?t=1258700623[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3308.jpg?t=1258700673[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3338.jpg?t=1258700833[/img]

this is stealy, he hangs with me as he must be a fellow music lover.
[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3340.jpg?t=1258700860[/img]

How much did all the traps cost? Is the material expensive?

all told im going to have about $400 in all the panels, fabric, and glue. keep in mind that i used a muslin that was $5.99 per yard when there was some @ $2.99, and i made the mistake of buying some of the panels online which was almost double what i ended up paying for the rest from a local supplier. this could have been done for easily for $325-350. the tiles were not in the equation, but as cheap as i got them i said why not.

budget is my eternal struggle so this room had to be reasonable or it wasn't going to be. hell, budget is why i dont graduate to a higher rung on the ML ladder...but all things considered im very happy with the Preface. its sounds damn good right now!

this morning i sat on the couch with coffee and listened to Radiohead - Kid A and let it wake me proper. Life is good.

also i installed track lighting today since home depot is having a sale:

i have to say, I love these speakers!
[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3350.jpg?t=1258787593[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3356.jpg?t=1258787677[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3349.jpg?t=1258787705[/img]

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3355.jpg?t=1258787739[/img]

they love the blues...
[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_3358.jpg?t=1258787768[/img]

Rocking out to Zappa Halloween in 24/96! Its no set of large panels but the sound down here does not offend the ear at all.

sorry for not keeping up with the thread.

here is an update, ive made some changes(hence my lack of internet time):

now as you can see i moved all furniture but my primary listening seat out of the front of the room, made a set of plinths for my speakers which are finished, and created the wife friendly "social area" behind my desk with the couch and chair that used to be up front by the speakers. now my speakers are 4' from the front of the box to the wall behind and 2.3' from the side walls. i also removed 6 HF panels which has brought better balance to the room over all, none were bass traps though. I still need to build a rack to sit the TV and gear on but think ill wait until im more sure of what my needs are after i get my new amp. over all im very happy with the improvements, the sound is noticeably better in both image and sound stage, a performance bump indeed just by opening the buisness end of the room for sound waves....











the speakers seem to really benefit having the plinths in the low end. i have them spiked on the stone so they are as solid as a rock, thats for sure. the centers are concrete, with a rubber dampener between the concrete and the stone toppers. the wood is just cosmetic of course.











and this fossil was free with my purchase of the cut stone
[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/westfaliamama/IMG_4786.jpg[/img]

once i replace my amp i plan to find a better preamp. i liked the idea of the all in 1 DAC/pre, but after this i think ill look for a stereo pre and a separate DAC since the combined unit in a stereo box is very pricy vs the separates.

...but man do i love my mancave.

Nice job on the room! Cool plinths too.

I've always thought that dealing with an issue directly rather than indirectly, when possilbe, was a good idea, for instance dealing with room issues by treating the room, as we see Jimna has done.

Recently I noted this video on YouTube. There is a dark-colored square horizontal surface with a light colored sediment sprinkled on it. The surface is stimulated by a slowly rising audio frequency. The sediment tends to settle where the surface vibrates the least and leaves the most active regions largely devoid of sediment. It is a wonderfully visual demonstration of standing waves on a surface memabrane which is very much like standing waves in a rectangular room.

Science Fun on YouTube << (click link)

The patterns are in some ways facinating. Take a few moments to pick one spot on the surface and note what happens at that spot as the frequency changes. If at one frequency that spot is covered with sediment while at another frequency that spot is in the middle of a dark zone, that would be like a point in a room where one frequency is nearly nulled out while another frequency may be heard four or more times the sound pressure level. Now imagine the surface is vibrated at six different frequencies at once. Depending on where one would wander within a room with strong standing waves, one might have a greatly varying listening experience.

Now note the very beginning of the video, say from two seconds to four seconds in. The sediment is beginning to show some variance in coverage, but except for the edges and corners, there are no harsh demarcations. If a room can have most of the standing waves greatly reduced, then there may be some gentle variance among listening positions, but nothing too drastic.

Enjoy.

Nice looking setup Jimna. I really like the plinths too they seem to add a nice touch to the room.

I just scoped some of your concert photos. I am a jealous man!

thanks! i take a ton of pride in my photography.


well in my room/stereo too, but its all about me, the photos are to share.

Seeing how your tast in music runs, check out the music schedule at nojazzfest.com. We try to go every year for the 2nd weekend, but had to include most of the first weekend as well this year.

PS The photos are awesome. I love the colors in the Mule shots.

i know. jazzfest has the best lineup in yrs IMO. i am heading to Orange Beach to see Panic in may which was planned before the JF lineup was out. i might have skipped that if i would have known, but its to late now.

if you like the lighting on the Mule, check out the Umphreys McGee pics too, their lighting guy is one of the best in country right now. but thanks for the kind words.