should i fill the room with more carpet?

[Rex Aeterna]

hey. i'm wondering if i should put carpet behind my speakers on the wall as well. right now i only have carpet on the floor,ceiling and wall behind me. i don't care for sound proofing really. i'm just wondering if adding more carpet be necessary? i also did it as an cheap insulation for the summer to trap the heat since i received the carpet for free. after i added the carpet i immediately notice a difference in my voice in my area. wondering tho if i should just completely fill my area with carpet?

 

[drknstrmyknight]

I'm not sure you want an anechoic listening room. Is there some problem with your system you're trying to solve?

 

[Rex Aeterna]

so far what i hear seems great. i thought the whole idea was making a room like a anechoic chamber?

 

[Rex Aeterna]

i read from a quick google search it depends on music listening preferences. i read up to 75% room should be treated if mostly into pop,hip-hop,electronic music,ect. i like my trance and vocal trance sometimes but i'm into all kinds of genres.

so should i cover 100% of my room with carpet? i currently have about i say as an estimate of probably close to 50% of room covered since it's not very big. wouldn't i want to eliminate all reflections?

 

[RevMen]

If you like what carpet does for you, you'll love what a better absorber will do for you. Something like 2" OC703 fiberglass will give you a much more even absorption spectrum so you don't get thumpy mid-bass and boomy bass.

Here are some absorption coefficients from the spreadsheet I posted:

Carpet, no pad, on wood:
63 Hz - 0.2
125 Hz - 0.15
250 Hz - 0.1
500 Hz - 0.4
1 kHz - 0.65
2 kHz - 0.7
4 kHz - 0.7
8 kHz - 0.7

For comparison, 2" OC703 rigid fiberglass:
63 Hz - 0.1
125 Hz - 0.18
250 Hz - 0.76
500 Hz - 0.99
1 kHz - 0.99
2 kHz - 0.99
4 kHz - 0.99
8 kHz - 0.99

and if you have room for 4" OC703:
63 Hz - 0.9
125 Hz - 0.99
250 Hz - 0.99
500 Hz - 0.99
1 kHz - 0.99
2 kHz - 0.99
4 kHz - 0.99
8 kHz - 0.99

Carpet only starts working at 1 kHz, meaning everything below that frequency is allowed to build up freely. Absorbing all the high frequencies is good, it really helps with imaging. But if you want to tighten up your bass and mid-bass, you'll need absorption in lower frequencies, which carpet just can't give you.

 

[andrewto]

so far what i hear seems great. i thought the whole idea was making a room like a anechoic chamber?

Me too... the control room of the recording studio at my school has a bunch of treatments, and it sounds to me like an anechoic chamber...

Then again, I listen to mostly classical which already has reverb in the recording (I also do some monitoring for occasional home recording); my assumption was that you don't want to add the room to what's in the recording. Does it depend on what kind of music you listen to?

 

[Rex Aeterna]

If you like what carpet does for you, you'll love what a better absorber will do for you. Something like 2" OC703 fiberglass will give you a much more even absorption spectrum so you don't get thumpy mid-bass and boomy bass.

Here are some absorption coefficients from the spreadsheet I posted:

Carpet, no pad, on wood:
63 Hz - 0.2
125 Hz - 0.15
250 Hz - 0.1
500 Hz - 0.4
1 kHz - 0.65
2 kHz - 0.7
4 kHz - 0.7
8 kHz - 0.7

For comparison, 2" OC703 rigid fiberglass:
63 Hz - 0.1
125 Hz - 0.18
250 Hz - 0.76
500 Hz - 0.99
1 kHz - 0.99
2 kHz - 0.99
4 kHz - 0.99
8 kHz - 0.99

and if you have room for 4" OC703:
63 Hz - 0.9
125 Hz - 0.99
250 Hz - 0.99
500 Hz - 0.99
1 kHz - 0.99
2 kHz - 0.99
4 kHz - 0.99
8 kHz - 0.99

Carpet only starts working at 1 kHz, meaning everything below that frequency is allowed to build up freely. Absorbing all the high frequencies is good, it really helps with imaging. But if you want to tighten up your bass and mid-bass, you'll need absorption in lower frequencies, which carpet just can't give you.

that is very interesting. i didn't know fiberglass would do that. if i knew that when i was at lowes looking for carpet i would of gotten some fiber glass as well. should i place like panel each corners of listening area or should i make some and staple on my walls as well with the carpet to help absorb?

i'm not sure how fiber glass is measured but how much will it cost to treat a pretty decent size room with fiberglass? my listening area is only like

11 ft W

10 ft H

about 11-12ft L

it's not very big. i already have carpet on the ceiling,floor and behind me on the wall with cutton sheet blocking off my area near the steps(attic that's why) and thick cotton blanket covering my window with my AC in.

i thought also carpet helped with midrange frequencies as well?