Entry level treatments.

[stirfrizzle]

Simple question, possibly a complicated answer.

I'm a college student living with my parents. As such, I don't have a dedicated listening room - my bedroom is it. I'm completely new to "room treatments" so for a newb, what would be the simplest, cheapest, first step to treating a room? My budget is rather tight but even if I can't afford it now, I'd like something to look forward to.

Is it as straightforward as slapping up some acoustic panels on my walls?

 

[RichPA]

It depends on the acoustic issues. If they're in the bass, panels on the wall won't help much. If it's echo or brightness, yes, it's as simple as putting up some acoustic panels. ATS Acoustics has 2 x 2 panels (see my review elsewhere in this forum) for $27 each. When i was in college, I had some success with hanging tapestries on the walls - not as absorbent as an acoustic panel, but better than nothing. If you want more specific suggestions, I suggest posting pics of your room and comments on what acoustic problems you hear.

 

[RevMen]

The vast majority of absorptive panels are made by wrapping Owens Corning 703 semi-rigid fiberglass (or an equivalent from another brand) in acoustically transparent cloth (like burlap). Some have frames, some have different mounting hardware, but in terms of acoustical performance, they're almost identical.

So what's that mean for you? It means you can build panels yourself for less money that perform just as well. I noticed that ATS also sells raw OC703, burlap, and mounting hardware, so you make your own panels for even less dough.

If you post the dimensions of your room and some pictures (so we can see what surfaces and furniture you have) we can run some RT60 calcs for you and tell you about what surface area and what thicknesses of panels you should be considering (if any).