What's better for spoken voice recording: Realtraps PVB or room treatment?

charles b

New member
Hey guys,

I need to record people speaking for research purposes and would like to know if RealTraps Portable Vocal Booth (or something similar) would do a good job for my limited needs or if I'd be better off treating the room with Auralex foam squares (or something similar).

The room is 10'4"x5'10"x10' (a walk-in closet, essentially) and has a 7'8"x3'11" window on one of the walls and 2 doors leading into the room. It is on a 2nd floor. There wouldn't be much, if any, noise coming from the rooms surrounding this room, but there would likely be some noise coming from the street below (mostly cars, some trucks and buses). I'd like to (1) Eliminate the echo/reverb/room sound/etc. as much as would be needed to get a clear and dry spoken voice track and (2) Block out any other excess noise. Would the PVB cut it? Or would I be better off treating the room? Or should I use the PVB AND treat the room? I know that treating a room properly is always the best option, but I'm just trying to figure out if it's overkill for my purposes.

Thanks in advance for your input!
 
I'd like to (1) Eliminate the echo/reverb/room sound/etc. as much as would be needed to get a clear and dry spoken voice track
I'd be surprised if you need anything at all. Just stand a foot or so away from the mic.
and (2) Block out any other excess noise.
Now you're talking thousands of dollars and structural changes to the walls themselves. The PVB and foam will do nothing for that.
 
Thanks for the input! Unfortunately, I think the closet will be too boomy and boxy without treatment. I also now realize that it will be impossible to cut out ALL excess noise without spending a lot.

After reading and asking around a bit more, I've got a few more questions:

Is it better to treat a walk in closet than use a PVB in a larger room? The best thing to do, it seems, would be to treat the larger room- However, it may be prohibitive, in terms of expenses and time, to do so. My larger room options are as follows:

Room 1: 11.5'x10.5'x10'. Room is carpeted, has stucco walls, 1 window and 1 heating radiator.

Room 2: 12'x15'x10'. Room is carpeted, has stucco walls, 3 windows (2 facing a somewhat noisy street) and 1 heating radiator.

If I were to treat one of these larger rooms, which one should I choose? How much time and money would it take to effectively treat it?

Thanks in advance for your reply!
 
I would not use the closet at all.

Use whatever of the larger rooms is quieter.

And I really, really, really don't think you need to treat it if you stand close enough to the mic. Like a foot away or so. The room sound only really hits you from much farther away.

Record some test voice before you go spending money.
 
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