Acoustic Foam Hype

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tone_aot

tone_aot

Owner of ToneJonez.com
Well, i've been reading many different opinions on acoustic foam. I've read about how foam by mail lies about their nrc ratings so i tossed that idea out the window. So now, i've thinking of either purchasing auralex or hsf foam. With Hsf, i get 2 foam bass traps along with 24 2 inch panels for 115 bucks. With auralex, i get a few little panels for $100. Is auralex really that good or is it a bunch of hype? I'd like to try the foam/fiberglass bass trap combo for my acoustic needs(closet booth). So, is auralex better than the rest or would i be okay with hsf?
 
Innovations said:
Skip the foam entirely and go with 703 fiberglass.
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Faom absolutely has its place. It is not the whole solution, of course, it cannot do what bass traps do, but it is good at doing what it is meant to do.
 
Agreed.

Auralex is absolutely the best foam out there.

For bass control, you can buy a pair of GIK 244 panels for the same price as your foam bass absorbers - and they'll do a MUCH better job.

Or, if you want to DIY, then you can look at 6" of 703 or 4" of 8lb mineral wool straddling a corner. Either of those will also smoke the foam solutions.

Bryan
 
Oh ok. So basically, i really don't need foam bass traps. I can just either buy the real ones, or make em with fiberglass. Ok, well i think i'll just make the fiberglass traps and get some 3 inch wedge foam for my booth. I gotta check and see how much i can get tho. Is this any good: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Auralex-Studiofoam-Designer-Kit?sku=422602. I was debating whether i should get this 1 inch foam, or get like 32 3 inch foam wedges from HSF acoustics.

Also, i'm still lost on how to actually frame fiberglass and cover it.


One more thing. I have like 48 pieces of foam by mail foam that i ordered two years ago. I would sell it but it has glue marks on the back. Should i just trash it or is there something that i could use it for?
 
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tone_aot said:
Also, i'm still lost on how to actually frame fiberglass and cover it.
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Ah, sorry, I never did send you instructions for how I made mine, did I? I'll try to get that done and out to you tonight.
 
fraserhutch said:
Faom absolutely has its place. It is not the whole solution, of course, it cannot do what bass traps do, but it is good at doing what it is meant to do.
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And for what it was meant to do you could just as easily do an inch thick fiberglass midrange absorber.

That's why I keep on recommending fiberglass. Get a bale of unfaced 703 and you can use some for midrange traps, some for bass traps, whatever. It gives you the flexibility to experiment. Foam does not.
 
I use both, and I'm not so sure it's as cut and dried as you're making it.
 
anybody on this board would probably kill me, but imho I think the 3'' foam by mail is a deal. Look at it this way. From Auralex you are getting a High Quality Acoustical Foam. 24 wedges for 100$. From FBM, you are getting 48 wedges for 80$(includes shipping). Now FBM is not Auralex by any means. I have boughten 2'' and 3'' from FBM. The 2'' doesn't do much, but the 3'' foam suprised me. You can use it just about anywhere (except corners) and it does a great job of killign echo and stopping some frequencies from bouncing around. Also, from FBM you are getting double the foam you get from Auralex. These means for every 1'x1' foam piece from auralex, you get a 1'x2' piece from FBM. I was also in your shoes before buying this foam. I'd say either purchase is good. The FBM purchase gives you more foam and it does it's job. Auralex is higher quality and the name brand foam. Bottom line, you get what you pay for/quantity for quality. I'd recomend either solution.
 
i've heard from acoustic pros that FBM stuff is vastly inferior to auralex. tests done with FBM products don't match up to the numbers they advertise. FBM might not even have fire retardent!

dollars to decibels, your best money is spent on mineral wool or 703. you can use it just like foam on walls to break up echos, but it will have vastly superior absorbtion to foam. you can build panels and lay them accross corners for bass traps, again, vastly superior to LERND or any of those other ridiculously priced items.

a few threads regarding FBM:

http://forum.studiotips.com/viewtopic.php?t=1743
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3913

here is a link to a company that sells MW and 703: http://www.spi-co.com/
 
Ok. Guess i'll just skip the foam. But won't it end up being expensive since i have to build frames and cover them with cloth?

Also, i still don't know what to do with all this "cheap" foam that i still have.
 
I chose foam even though i had a few absorbers framed and built. They were too bulky, but performed well. Frames per panel = about 7-10$ a piece once u include the wood strips and burlap. It gets expensive. 2 bass traps cost me about 130$ they yare 2'x7'. I just used foam on reflection points and on the ceiling. Its not a permentent studio. it is just my place untill i move out.
PICT0701.jpg

that's how it turned out.
 
tone_aot said:
Ok. Guess i'll just skip the foam. But won't it end up being expensive since i have to build frames and cover them with cloth?

Also, i still don't know what to do with all this "cheap" foam that i still have.
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Well let's see,

you could stuff a pillowcase with and and use it for a throw pillow on your sofa.......

of course throwing it away is a viable option..........

if it's eggcrate you could always use it to safely store eggs......

and then there's always throwing it away..........



Rod
 
yes, it will cost more to build frames. how much more depends on you. the cool thing about 703 is that it doesn't need frames, just needs to be wrapped in cloth (fire retardent preferably, you can buy it this way - made for curtains - or you can buy a wash-in solution). mineral wool will need a frame, wood or drywall cornerbead will work. then cloth to cover those.

yeah, it takes some initiative to pull this off, but in the end you'll get a far better environment to work in.

if you've already got the foam it can be used for minor treatment, it will treat high frequencies a bit. hopefully it's not flamable though (see: great white).
 
btw, listen to Rod, or buy his book even. nice book Rod, hope you got a few of my dollars out of it!
 
tone_aot said:
Ok. Guess i'll just skip the foam. But won't it end up being expensive since i have to build frames and cover them with cloth?

Also, i still don't know what to do with all this "cheap" foam that i still have.
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Frames are optional and the cloth does not have to be expensive stuff. Felt works excellently.

The thing is that the panels you build can be easily taken to another place while the foam usually gets glued to the wall and is a mess to take down.
 
xistenz said:
btw, listen to Rod, or buy his book even. nice book Rod, hope you got a few of my dollars out of it!
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xistenz,

thanks, very nice of you to say that.

Sincerely,

Rod
 
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