Listening to good music is possible only when you have a well designed and acoustic treated room. If you are planning to have a theater system, a home recording studio or just want to improve the acoustics of your existing place, consider a proper acoustic treatment. Improperly treated rooms can damage the quality of sound and also cause ear exhaustion. All the popular commercial studios spend thousands of dollars for soundproofing. If you wish to have a similar effect in your home or private space, consider a low-cost DIY room acoustics option to reduce the undesirable sounds and have a pleasing environment.
The problems in acoustics are due to the reflection
Most of the problems in acoustics (in German akustik) are due to the reflection of the sound by the ceilings, floors and untreated walls. You cannot avoid all reflection. Even small reflections can be disturbing. Large reflections can cause sound echoing, diminished stereo imaging and feedback. Rooms with parallel and hard surfaces can also cause a lot of acoustic problems. Though it may not be possible to cover the whole area with frequency absorbers, you can use them in the critical areas and achieve the effect you need. Hang down comforters or heavy quilted blankets on the walls opposite to the speakers. This is one of the best ways to discard mid and high range frequencies. To tone down the booming low frequency, use dense absorptive materials.
In case of recording studios or home theaters, you may need to build frequency absorbing boxes on each wall. The boxes can be built by using pine boards, plywood and some thick and sonically porous fabric. After making the box, cover it with the fabric and hang the boxes at eye level or half way up the wall. Avoid using porous or shiny material as they may not be able to trap the sound.
The nest thing you need for room acoustics is the bass traps
The nest thing you need for room acoustics (in German raumakustik) is the bass traps. They can help you to lower the low frequency noise and rumbling. This can be made with the help of a rubber trash cans (40 gallons). Fill up the cans with quilt batting without leaving any air pockets. Cover the cans and make them airtight by sealing. You can also use some decorative cover for the bass traps to improve the appearance. By using both frequency absorbers and bass traps, you will be able to improve the room acoustics greatly. When this is done, you can enjoy your music in a better way and also reduce ear exhaustion greatly.
