All the quality technology that you have acquired for your studio will do you no good until your room is treated in a proper way acoustically. The popular misconception is that soundproofing and acoustic treatment are interchangeable terms when there is a clear difference between the both. Soundproofing deals with blocking out sounds that enter or leave the room whereas acoustic treatment focuses on controlling sound waves within the studio.
Basically, there is no math required in treating your listening space. This article will tell you about the importance of treating your room by making you understand how the three major acoustic materials help in a wholesome sound treatment of your room.
With all the confusion surrounding acoustic treatment you naturally arrive at the question,
“ Why should I treat my room?”
Generally in home theatres, home studios, dance halls, conference rooms, etc. getting sound treatment is a necessity because of the nature of sound waves in small rooms. They propagate and reflect in ways that cause interference.
Let’s get a close look at the the three major acoustical elements and how we could integrate them in our space:
Bass traps:
Bass traps – Corner traps and tri-traps deal with low frequencies as the nature of low-frequency sound waves makes them highly problematic in small rooms. They are also considered as effective broadband absorbers which means they will also clean up artifacts in a mid and high frequency range.
Acoustic Panels:
Acoustic panels are relatively cheap and help in attenuating mid-frequency standing waves between parallel walls rather than just in the corners of the room. The most effective placement of acoustic panels is on walls behind and next to the monitors. It is a popular opinion that 10%-25% of your wall space should be covered with acoustic panels.
Diffusers:
Diffusers are applied as a method of fine-tuning. Bass traps and acoustic panels help in dampening the sound and reducing the effect of reverberation on the listener. The function of diffusers is to help scatter the reflected sound waves throughout the room such that they are non-coherent. Their placement in the room depends on where the sound waves are most likely to reflect. Diffusers are supposed to be placed on the walls that are parallel to each other symmetrical to your listening position.
Hope this article has simplified your understanding of basic acoustic treatment and the reason you should get your space treated along with the major elements on which the whole acoustic sound experience ultimately depends on.
