I finally got around to finishing up the acoustic treatment in my mix area. There were a couple of unusual things I discovered setting it up.
Usually, the 4" thick RealTraps on the front wall work best straddling the corners, with nothing really necessary in the middle between the speakers (though some folks use diffusors on the front wall too), but every room's different. This room needed a combination of bass absorption and reflection control off the front wall.
In my room, things sound the most balanced with the traps flat against the wall in the corners (i.e. not straddling them at an angle), with another 4" thick trap in the middle front. I spent hours with lots of music, and sound pressure level meter, confirming this. The corners on the rear wall have round ASC Tube Traps as bass traps, and that works well to control the rear wall. Diffusors weren't necessary on the back wall because it's 33 feet from the front wall, though I do have diffusion available when desired via the ASC Tube Traps that I have - they can be moved around as needed.
The two side RealTraps are the thinner Microtraps. These were recommended for the first reflection points, and placement was calculated via the mathematical formula on the RealTraps site using the measurements at various points in the room, as well as by the old standby "tweeter in the mirror" test. Using both methods, the center reflection points between the two were only an inch apart! Since the trap is two feet wide, the difference didn't matter.
The thinner traps are recommended for side walls because the thicker ones also diffuse, and for the side wall first reflection points, you want to have absorption of high frequencies, not diffusion.
I didn't feel the need for a ceiling cloud, because the acoustical tile I have is fairly absorptive, and I have a layer of fiberglass above it.
The nice thing is that the room doesn't sound dead, the low end is very well-controlled, and mixes are translating pretty darn well. It's hard to balance things out in a room that isn't designed by an acoustician, and especially a basement room with concrete floors (and in my case, three concrete walls under the drywall, but a framed wall on one long side). Yet it sounds really well balanced. These RealTraps are the real deal, and I find them more effective than the ASC tube traps as a practical matter because they have more wall coverage. The ones on the front wall absorb bass very effectively down to about 50 Hz (depending on how you set them up of course); they're several times more effective than foam up to even mid frequencies.
Pic of completed installation:
Usually, the 4" thick RealTraps on the front wall work best straddling the corners, with nothing really necessary in the middle between the speakers (though some folks use diffusors on the front wall too), but every room's different. This room needed a combination of bass absorption and reflection control off the front wall.
In my room, things sound the most balanced with the traps flat against the wall in the corners (i.e. not straddling them at an angle), with another 4" thick trap in the middle front. I spent hours with lots of music, and sound pressure level meter, confirming this. The corners on the rear wall have round ASC Tube Traps as bass traps, and that works well to control the rear wall. Diffusors weren't necessary on the back wall because it's 33 feet from the front wall, though I do have diffusion available when desired via the ASC Tube Traps that I have - they can be moved around as needed.
The two side RealTraps are the thinner Microtraps. These were recommended for the first reflection points, and placement was calculated via the mathematical formula on the RealTraps site using the measurements at various points in the room, as well as by the old standby "tweeter in the mirror" test. Using both methods, the center reflection points between the two were only an inch apart! Since the trap is two feet wide, the difference didn't matter.
The thinner traps are recommended for side walls because the thicker ones also diffuse, and for the side wall first reflection points, you want to have absorption of high frequencies, not diffusion.
I didn't feel the need for a ceiling cloud, because the acoustical tile I have is fairly absorptive, and I have a layer of fiberglass above it.
The nice thing is that the room doesn't sound dead, the low end is very well-controlled, and mixes are translating pretty darn well. It's hard to balance things out in a room that isn't designed by an acoustician, and especially a basement room with concrete floors (and in my case, three concrete walls under the drywall, but a framed wall on one long side). Yet it sounds really well balanced. These RealTraps are the real deal, and I find them more effective than the ASC tube traps as a practical matter because they have more wall coverage. The ones on the front wall absorb bass very effectively down to about 50 Hz (depending on how you set them up of course); they're several times more effective than foam up to even mid frequencies.
Pic of completed installation:
