my first panel design.

[toadies]

I'm trying to build a removable panel, as i'm about to live in a rent house and don't want to do anything permanent.

its a 2x4 and can be hung like a picture.

 

[TexRoadkill]

That's almost exactly like I just made. You may have trouble attaching the frames to the 703. I assume that is rigid fiberglass?

I was going to just have verticals but decided the horizontals were needed also. The wood frame is good for stapeling a fabric cover and providing rigidity. Without a vertical piece you may have trouble putting any tension on a fabric cover without bending the 703.

What I did is make a basic picture frame except the verticals are flush with the 703 so they can be glued to the pad and the horizontals are behind the verticals. I put a vertical piece exactly where the dark blue joints are. The whole thing is light and can hang on a nail.

I made about 10 of them to start but haven't covered or hung them yet.

 

[toadies]

thanks for the idea, about how much did it set you back.

also how far away did you put the 703 from the wall, i designed it to be 3" away.

going to make some for 705 also.

 

[TexRoadkill]

I spent about $7.80 per 1.5" 703. The wood was a few bucks for each one. I haven't decided on the material yet but prices I have seen are around $1.50 - 3.00 per sq yard. My guess is they will end up being around $15-20 per panel when all is said and done. My biggest expense was $90 on a cheapo compound miter saw.

With just the frame mine will be about 2" off of the wall. I may add some spacers to put them out farther. When you do the math the absorption gain with a few inches of space is pretty minimal. You really need around a foot or more to make a considerable difference. I am going to put them up and do some test recordings. If I need more low end absorbtion I might make some FRK corner panels. I am thinking about spacing them around a foot apart and putting some diffusers in between them.

I'm a little curious what people would pay for a panel with a wood frame and cloth covering. It would be easy to sub out the work to a furniture company. I wonder if people would pay $35-$50 for a finished 2'x4' panel.

 

[toadies]

I spent about $7.80 per 1.5" 703. The wood was a few bucks for each one. I haven't decided on the material yet but prices I have seen are around $1.50 - 3.00 per sq yard. My guess is they will end up being around $15-20 per panel when all is said and done. My biggest expense was $90 on a cheapo compound miter saw.

With just the frame mine will be about 2" off of the wall. I may add some spacers to put them out farther. When you do the math the absorption gain with a few inches of space is pretty minimal. You really need around a foot or more to make a considerable difference. I am going to put them up and do some test recordings. If I need more low end absorbtion I might make some FRK corner panels. I am thinking about spacing them around a foot apart and putting some diffusers in between them.

I'm a little curious what people would pay for a panel with a wood frame and cloth covering. It would be easy to sub out the work to a furniture company. I wonder if people would pay $35-$50 for a finished 2'x4' panel.

hey got to fund your habit right?

So, to be efficient you need atleast 12" off the wall? why is there microcosm and minitraps that are flush againist or little off the wall. hmm i'm going to research some more.

 

[TexRoadkill]

hey got to fund your habit right?

So, to be efficient you need atleast 12" off the wall? why is there microcosm and minitraps that are flush againist or little off the wall. hmm i'm going to research some more.

It just depends on what you are trying to do with the air space. Ethans mini traps are about 6 inches thick (I think) and then they are hung another few inches away from the wall. Most of the flush mounted traps are either recessed into the wall or they aren't really meant to handle frequencies below 120hz or so. I think John Sayers site had some numbers on 703 with different air gaps. I know I saw a chart somewhere.

 

[TexRoadkill]

I was just rereading Ethan's article at http://www.recording.org/users/acoustics/ and he talks about using air cavities with absorbers. You actually need about 2 feet of space to absorb below 100hz. The only way to trap more bass in less space is by using a panel absorber that works kind of the opposite as a speaker.

Whether you need a lot of low end absorption really depends on the room. If you have a fully sound proofed room or solid brick walls like a basement than you may need some bass trapping. If you have a regular dry walled room with exterior windows and doors then it's probably not as big of a deal.

 

[toadies]

i'm not worried about bass traps as the panels were designed for more high freqs. I plan on building bass traps in the corner.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Here's a pic of my panels. I still need to cover them.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Here's the corner detail, pretty basic.

 

[toadies]

what freq did you acheive to absorb?

looks good, i'm doing the same idea.

 

[TexRoadkill]

what freq did you acheive to absorb?

I was just trying to knock down the early reflections. I'm not being too scientific about the whole procedure. I'd like to add some simple diffusers to go in between the absorbers. So far just putting those up along one wall has really deadened the room alot. I need to put some up along the opposite wall and do something with the short walls at the ends. I have two sets of external french doors in the room so I'm not too worried about bass absorption right now.

I had an idea last night that I may try out. I was thinking of putting a piece of 1" (same that I used on the frames) running horizontally along the length of the wall. I could use that as a rail to mount the absorbers and diffusors by just hanging them on the rail. That way there is no real fuss when it comes to spacing them out, checking height and level or changing things out later.

The really slick way to do it would be to cut an angle on the rail so it forms a slight 'V' channel between the wall and rail. The top panel horizontal supports could be cut so they lock into the rail. That way the whole thing fits together snugly but can be torn down or rearranged with ease. I wish I had thought of that before I built the frames. If more air gap was needed then it's just a matter of putting spacers behind the rail instead of adding onto every single panel.

EDIT- typed Vertical instead of Horizontal on one of the descriptions.

 

[toadies]

I was just trying to knock down the early reflections. I'm not being too scientific about the whole procedure. I'd like to add some simple diffusers to go in between the absorbers. So far just putting those up along one wall has really deadened the room alot. I need to put some up along the opposite wall and do something with the short walls at the ends. I have two sets of external french doors in the room so I'm not too worried about bass absorption right now.

I had an idea last night that I may try out. I was thinking of putting a piece of 1" (same that I used on the frames) running horizontally along the length of the wall. I could use that as a rail to mount the absorbers and diffusors by just hanging them on the rail. That way there is no real fuss when it comes to spacing them out, checking height and level or changing things out later.

The really slick way to do it would be to cut an angle on the rail so it forms a slight 'V' channel between the wall and rail. The top panel vertical supports could be cut so they lock into the rail. That way the whole thing fits together snugly but can be torn down or rearranged with ease. I wish I had thought of that before I built the frames. If more air gap was needed then it's just a matter of putting spacers behind the rail instead of adding onto every single panel.

great idea!