2. misc-audio
  3. 1270422156

Soundproofing and room correction for apartment?

Hey, was hoping to get some help on wife-friendly sound-proofing and room correction options.

I just moved to a new place and have a dedicated room, which is roughly 12' x 12' with 10.5' ceilings. I have neighbors above, below, and on the wall where my speakers are--not ideal. My system already sounds good (tremendous depth!) but there is definitely a little more reverb to the sound, a bit of bass slap and maybe too much depth, so voices sounded a tad recessed.

I was thinking of bass traps in the corners behind the speakers, and canvases lined with acoustic batting on each reflecting wall and on the ceiling, with a thick tapestry on the wall behind my head. I have a rug on the floor, and am going to put wall-to-wall carpeting with acoustic dimple pad underneath and corner mounts.

Am I missing anything? Is there a better approach? I can't obviously build another room in the room, and my wife draws the line at canvases on the wall, as WAF is an issue here, so it's gotta look nice, whatever I do.

Thanks!

BTW: My system is Devore Nines, Luxman L-550A II, MHDT Havana DAC, Mac MIni, and Clearaudio Performance TT all fed by Audience Adept Response AR12.
brookjoo
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Tall shelving in the corners where the speakers are near.
I stuck together (glued/screwed/stacked) cheaper self assembled shelving that winds up 88" tall on sides in corner. I have windows behind with full drapes. The shelves really cut the echoing. and the bass booming. i would try a live end dead end with furniture. shelves. pictures. wall decorations nearer speaker end...
Stuff to alter the square shaape problem.
Use normal stuff instead of wierd audiophile stuff. Shelves, pictures. (Even pictures with deep frames and sand inside!!)
Furniture on side walls...
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
Elizabeth makes some great comments. Go slow, one object at a time so you can sense the change. As to the WAF 'canvases on the wall', best to try some ceiling to floor lined drapes in key spots. If you pull the drapes out from the wall two inches, things like echo busters etc. can be mounted behind them so all that is seen is the drapes. JC Penney makes some great look drapes that are very inexpensive. Hey, you could even use that hideous foam carpet padding on the walls, covered by the drapes.

Also, measure the sound in your room, step by step. There are some great free software programs that can be used so you can 'see what your hearing'.
schipo
1,267 posts
 
Soundproofing and room correction are two different animals. Soundproofing a room deals with adding mass such as adding another room inside a room. That of course would be somewhat costly. So unless you own the apt it would not be worth it. Now sound correction is much easier on the pocket book and there are many ways to accomplish this. The problem right off is your room is a perfect square with high ceilings.The rug will do very little with controlling sound. The best move would first to tame bass with upper corner traps and bass traps where the walls meet. You should use no less than 4" panels as long as WAF gives you the nod. Use panels in white.I say in white because the room is small so not to close it in. Once the bass is taken care of, most things will fall into place sound wise.Buy her a nice piece of Jewelry. That will give you a stronger handle with room acoustic.
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