Mineral wool, Ultra Touch, OC703...

johnnypraze

johnnypraze

Hip Hop Head
I'm getting ready to treat my room via 2'x4' panels to hang on the walls/corners.

I'm on a budget, so price is a factor.

I'm looking at:
6 - 2" 703 Panels - $140
9 - 4" Mineral Wool Panels - $144
30 - 5.5" Acoustic cotton Compressed to fit 4" frame. - $134

Now I'm not going to actually make 30 panels if I decide to get the Cotton, thats just a reference of how much product I would have in each scenario.

Does more equal better?
I've read that all three are pretty close in terms of absorption.

I'm looking for some more info before making my decision.

Thanks in advance.
 
I'd recheck the pricing on the cotton. That's just a silly good price on it.

How much you need depends on your room. The cotton is about 1.5lb density and can easily be compressed for higher density if desired.

One other thing to consider is shipping if they're not local to you.

Bryan
 
bpape said:
I'd recheck the pricing on the cotton. That's just a silly good price on it.

How much you need depends on your room. The cotton is about 1.5lb density and can easily be compressed for higher density if desired.

One other thing to consider is shipping if they're not local to you.

Bryan
Click to expand...

Those prices are from you...

Cotton Bulk Pack (This shipment comes in 2 boxes and contains 4 pcs - 24"x94"x5.5" thick. Price includes shipping in the continental United States.)

That's a total of 2' x 31.33'. Am I confused or missing something?

I'm slowly ruling out the Fiberglass as it's going to be above my budget. I am going to need at least 9 panels.
 
johnnypraze said:
Those prices are from you...

Cotton Bulk Pack (This shipment comes in 2 boxes and contains 4 pcs - 24"x94"x5.5" thick. Price includes shipping in the continental United States.)

That's a total of 2' x 31.33'. Am I confused or missing something?

I'm slowly ruling out the Fiberglass as it's going to be above my budget. I am going to need at least 9 panels.
Click to expand...
Yeah it'll be 31'4", but that equates to 8 3'11"x2' panels. I'd say 8 could do you: 4'x2' in each corner, 2'x2' in side first reflections, 4'x2' on ceiling, 2 4'x2's on the back wall. Some of them like the back wall ones could be made as moveable gobos, so you could use them in tracking.
 
Exactly. The 5.5" pack will yield you 8 approx 2'x4' pcs. That's why I was questioning the 30 pcs.

Also, the cotton pricing includes shipping - the other prices do not.

Bryan
 
Oh, stupid me... 30 FT, not 30 Panels... excuse my math.:o

Well now I'm looking at the 3.5" compressed to 3", as that will yield 15 panels.

How will this compare against the 2" OC703?

It's a toss up between:
15 - 3.5" Cotton Panels (Compressed to 3")
12 - 2" 703 Panels

I'm going for the "bang for buck" factor.
 
I got 18 Certainteed Cond. F'glass panels that are 2" by 2 by 4 and I think it all came to $160 at SPI. That seems a high price for the OC 703.

Joe
 
johnnypraze said:
Oh, stupid me... 30 FT, not 30 Panels... excuse my math.:o

Well now I'm looking at the 3.5" compressed to 3", as that will yield 15 panels.

How will this compare against the 2" OC703?

It's a toss up between:
15 - 3.5" Cotton Panels (Compressed to 3")
12 - 2" 703 Panels

I'm going for the "bang for buck" factor.
Click to expand...
3.5" won't be as good for bass as 5.5". You'd have to double it up in the corners. You could have 4 panels on the back wall instead of 2, and 4'x2' panels in the first reflection points(i'd personally install them horizontally).
 
Obi-Wan zenabI said:
I got 18 Certainteed Cond. F'glass panels that are 2" by 2 by 4 and I think it all came to $160 at SPI. That seems a high price for the OC 703.

Joe
Click to expand...
Think you're paying for the name. OC 703 is recommended by most boards, so that is what everyone goes for, no matter the price. I can get 10 panels of rocksilk for £28($56), and less if a tradesman buys it. :D
 
pandamonk said:
3.5" won't be as good for bass as 5.5". You'd have to double it up in the corners. You could have 4 panels on the back wall instead of 2, and 4'x2' panels in the first reflection points(i'd personally install them horizontally).
Click to expand...

I know the 3.5" Cotton can't compare to the 5.5" but how does it compare to the 2" Rigid Fiberglass?
 
johnnypraze said:
I know the 3.5" Cotton can't compare to the 5.5" but how does it compare to the 2" Rigid Fiberglass?
Click to expand...
It's thicker, which is good, not as dense though, and the specs seem pretty good. So it's probably similar, if not better. Doubling it up to 7", or doubling and compressing to 6" will probably yield good results. Brian will know, so wait for his response.
 
Yes - you can pick up a whole carton of 703 (12 boards) from SPI for less money with 2 caveats:

- you have to buy the whole case
- if they're not local to you, they'll charge a lot more for shipping than actual shipping costs - I don't mark up shipping. I charge what I get charged.

If they're local to you - even if more expensive for the material, just not paying shipping will usually make that the best choice.

Realistically, take that $85, split in half ($42.50), add $6.50 (the cost for the shipping box, tape, etc. ) so $49 dead cost, then add in the time to box it up, go do the shipping labels, do the paypal/credit card invoicing, throw it in the truck, run to FedEx (FedEx charges to pick up), etc. - and you'll see there's not a whole lot of profit in this equation for the time involved. This doesn't even take into account the costs of keeping inventory (which is why I have the cotton drop shipped).

But, I digress...

If you're looking at 3.5", IMO that's a better deal. There are more panels of 703 but you'll definitely need to double them up to do anything resembling bass control. The 3.5" in SOME places in a room will do a decent job only 1 layer thick.

With the 3.5", you'll get 16 pcs of approx 2'x4'. That offers a lot of options depending on the needs of your room.

Bryan
 
Yeah, I pass an SPI on my commute twice a day, so no shipping here. The stuff is worth its weight in gold in my low ceilinged space.
 
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