Hello,
The game room is almost finished, but despite having curtains (blackout), carpets, etc., it still echoes to the extent that it becomes burdensome.
This is what the room looks like now:
http://i.imgur.com/oIK8mbx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/P2YHuSF.jpg
You can see that there is only a curtain hanging on one side of the window here, this is temporary to see how it looks with double lengths on one side. Right now, there are only 4 curtain lengths in the room.
The reason for the echo is probably the stone walls in combination with the stone floor; in the room further away with parquet, it does not echo in that way at all. The curtains made quite a significant difference, so the idea is to hang double lengths (a total of 8 lengths), but I don't think it will solve the echo problem completely.
Probably, one could build in soundproofing in the ceiling, but we have no plans for this at the moment.
I've looked a bit at carpets that can be placed on the walls but feel unsure about what really works.
Grateful for any tips.
The game room is almost finished, but despite having curtains (blackout), carpets, etc., it still echoes to the extent that it becomes burdensome.
This is what the room looks like now:
http://i.imgur.com/oIK8mbx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/P2YHuSF.jpg
You can see that there is only a curtain hanging on one side of the window here, this is temporary to see how it looks with double lengths on one side. Right now, there are only 4 curtain lengths in the room.
The reason for the echo is probably the stone walls in combination with the stone floor; in the room further away with parquet, it does not echo in that way at all. The curtains made quite a significant difference, so the idea is to hang double lengths (a total of 8 lengths), but I don't think it will solve the echo problem completely.
Probably, one could build in soundproofing in the ceiling, but we have no plans for this at the moment.
I've looked a bit at carpets that can be placed on the walls but feel unsure about what really works.
Grateful for any tips.
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Member
· Västerbottens län
· 18 057 posts
You are on the right track, more textiles will dampen the echo.
Protte
Protte
A larger, thicker rug is nice for the feet and probably does a lot of good. Maybe an armchair too.
A good way to dampen sound is textile panels: Make a large frame, fill it with foam rubber or other soft material, and staple a nice fabric over it.
A good way to dampen sound is textile panels: Make a large frame, fill it with foam rubber or other soft material, and staple a nice fabric over it.
Good ideas! However, I have no plans to replace any of the rugs (brand new) and they also need to be robot-friendly.
I'm hoping that 4 more blackout curtain lengths will make a difference, but I still think more is needed.
Pictures with filling are good, but it's difficult to incorporate them as it is now, as I would have to replace something, which is unfortunately hard to do.
How about soundproofing panels? There seems to be a whole lot of options out there. Is there anything that looks okay but actually works as well?
I'm hoping that 4 more blackout curtain lengths will make a difference, but I still think more is needed.
Pictures with filling are good, but it's difficult to incorporate them as it is now, as I would have to replace something, which is unfortunately hard to do.
How about soundproofing panels? There seems to be a whole lot of options out there. Is there anything that looks okay but actually works as well?
There are, in simplified terms, two principles for changing acoustics - absorption and diffusion - where carpets, furniture, and curtains provide the most absorption, especially in the higher frequencies. The risk of absorbing too much is that the room becomes completely "dead" without any reverberation and very unpleasant to be in, so I would recommend a combination. The more "objects" such as shelves with books/records, furniture, paintings, etc., you incorporate, the more you break up the sound waves and reduce echo. You can also build or purchase diffusors - for example, check out what Svanå Miljöteknik has to offer!
Aha, yes, I have also read a bit about absorption and diffusion, in this case, I have the idea that the problem is the sound bouncing, so diffusion panels should do the trick, right?
Otherwise, I've seen those spacey jagged panels that might also help.
I will contact Svanå and see what they say, thanks!
Otherwise, I've seen those spacey jagged panels that might also help.
I will contact Svanå and see what they say, thanks!
Added double curtain lengths and it made a difference, but far from enough. However, when we tried drawing the curtains over the windows, it helped quite noticeably.
So it seems it doesn't matter how thick the fabric is in one place; it should ideally be spread out.
One thought now is to replace the curtain rails, which are 2 meters, with perhaps 4 or 6 meters, and then cover a larger part of the wall with curtains. However, that's not what we had in mind, aesthetically speaking it drops a few degrees, but at the same time, we need to eliminate the echo.
Also considered replacing the paintings with slightly larger painted canvas, but the ones up there today are carefully selected and brand new. Painted canvases will unfortunately change the feel of the room.
Maybe rugs on the wall are a better choice, but still unsure what provides the best function?
So it seems it doesn't matter how thick the fabric is in one place; it should ideally be spread out.
One thought now is to replace the curtain rails, which are 2 meters, with perhaps 4 or 6 meters, and then cover a larger part of the wall with curtains. However, that's not what we had in mind, aesthetically speaking it drops a few degrees, but at the same time, we need to eliminate the echo.
Also considered replacing the paintings with slightly larger painted canvas, but the ones up there today are carefully selected and brand new. Painted canvases will unfortunately change the feel of the room.
Maybe rugs on the wall are a better choice, but still unsure what provides the best function?
When we furnished a new room at work, similar to yours with fairly large hard walls and hard floor, we put some kind of sound absorbers on the wall. They were round (diameter between 30 cm and 50 cm), convex, and covered with a fabric that had a texture similar to moss, and were filled with some kind of stuffing. They came in several colors and different sizes so we pieced several together into an attractive pattern. I can't remember where they came from, but they should be available at several places.
They are very effective, and also decorative
They are very effective, and also decorative
Sounds interesting, though there seems to be a multitude, so if you could give me a hint of where I should look, that would be great.KristinaRT said:When we furnished a new room at work, similar to yours with quite large hard walls and a hard floor, we put some kind of absorbers on the wall. They were round (diameter between 30 cm and 50 cm), convex, and covered with a fabric that had a texture somewhat like moss, and were filled with some kind of batting. Available in several colors and different sizes so we pieced several together into a nice pattern. I can't remember where they came from, but they should be available in several places.
They are very effective, and also decorative
I believe, without being sure, that we bought them from the same place as the furniture, Kinnarps?
Just Google other sound-absorbing decorations and you'll find many different versions that resemble the ones we have...
Just Google other sound-absorbing decorations and you'll find many different versions that resemble the ones we have...
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Anyone else have experience with sound absorbers? Perhaps panels you mount in the ceiling (with a ceiling height of 219 cm) like these: http://www.ecophon.com/PIM/Focus E-PRODUCT-SE.pdf?
Textile panels can be used as mats for the existing items on the walls, i.e., choose something solid-colored, create a large piece and place it behind the paintings you have today. Gray, for example, if you want to continue with the subdued theme. You can use the same fabric as in the curtains to make it cohesive.
Tool enthusiast
· Stockholm
· 1 399 posts
Hello!
I thought I would conduct a brief acoustics lesson regarding the acoustical regulation of rooms.
When it comes to improving the sound environment in a room, there are a few things that are good to keep in mind.
As long as it's not a critical listening environment (e.g., a HiFi or home theater room), we have 6 possible surfaces that sound can reflect off. If these surfaces are hard, the sound will "bounce around" in the room until it eventually dies out. It is the sum of all these sound reflections that becomes the room's reverberation time, i.e., how long the sound lingers in the room, in simple terms.
To create a pleasant sound environment, we want the reverberation time to be moderate and across as wide a frequency range as possible. We achieve this with the help of broadband sound absorbers mounted on one of the aforementioned opposing surfaces, i.e., 1 short wall, 1 long wall, and the ceiling.
A common misconception is that thin textiles in the form of drapes and carpets are a good acoustical regulation measure. Unfortunately, this is not true.
What we generally perceive as a poor sound environment, with poor speech intelligibility and tiresome booming sound, is due to the sound in the vocal range (down to about 100 Hz) lingering for a long time, thereby masking the consonants critical for speech intelligibility, which lie in a higher frequency range.
A sound-absorbing material's ability to absorb sound in the vocal range is proportional to its thickness. A good sound-absorbing material (with the right flow resistance) needs to be at least 40 mm thick to absorb reasonably well in the vocal range. If we drape a room solely with thin textiles that only absorb high frequencies, it is easy to understand that we will absorb the energy-weak consonants while leaving the vocal range untreated, thus masking the already absorbed consonants. So for speech, a sound absorber of at least 40 - 50 mm thickness is needed. If the absorber is mounted with an air gap, absorption in the low range is further improved.
Regarding the choice of sound-absorbing material, all forms of pressed felt and foam mattresses (with closed cells) are unfortunately entirely unsuitable. A good sound-absorbing material should have the right type of flow resistivity, and the fibers often lie "haphazardly."
Concerning TS's room, I would suggest 50 ceiling absorbers with an air gap, 50 mm wall absorbers on either side of the bookshelf, and 50 mm wall absorbers on one of the long walls. Mount the wall absorbers so their bottom edges cover the ear height when sitting.
I thought I would conduct a brief acoustics lesson regarding the acoustical regulation of rooms.
When it comes to improving the sound environment in a room, there are a few things that are good to keep in mind.
As long as it's not a critical listening environment (e.g., a HiFi or home theater room), we have 6 possible surfaces that sound can reflect off. If these surfaces are hard, the sound will "bounce around" in the room until it eventually dies out. It is the sum of all these sound reflections that becomes the room's reverberation time, i.e., how long the sound lingers in the room, in simple terms.
To create a pleasant sound environment, we want the reverberation time to be moderate and across as wide a frequency range as possible. We achieve this with the help of broadband sound absorbers mounted on one of the aforementioned opposing surfaces, i.e., 1 short wall, 1 long wall, and the ceiling.
A common misconception is that thin textiles in the form of drapes and carpets are a good acoustical regulation measure. Unfortunately, this is not true.
What we generally perceive as a poor sound environment, with poor speech intelligibility and tiresome booming sound, is due to the sound in the vocal range (down to about 100 Hz) lingering for a long time, thereby masking the consonants critical for speech intelligibility, which lie in a higher frequency range.
A sound-absorbing material's ability to absorb sound in the vocal range is proportional to its thickness. A good sound-absorbing material (with the right flow resistance) needs to be at least 40 mm thick to absorb reasonably well in the vocal range. If we drape a room solely with thin textiles that only absorb high frequencies, it is easy to understand that we will absorb the energy-weak consonants while leaving the vocal range untreated, thus masking the already absorbed consonants. So for speech, a sound absorber of at least 40 - 50 mm thickness is needed. If the absorber is mounted with an air gap, absorption in the low range is further improved.
Regarding the choice of sound-absorbing material, all forms of pressed felt and foam mattresses (with closed cells) are unfortunately entirely unsuitable. A good sound-absorbing material should have the right type of flow resistivity, and the fibers often lie "haphazardly."
Concerning TS's room, I would suggest 50 ceiling absorbers with an air gap, 50 mm wall absorbers on either side of the bookshelf, and 50 mm wall absorbers on one of the long walls. Mount the wall absorbers so their bottom edges cover the ear height when sitting.