Im going to be soundproofing a room soon and was wondering if anyone has done this and could give me some tips. Maybe some things to look for or some things to stay away from.
I used blankets and furniture/speaker positioning in my studio.
Sounds pretty damn good if you know what to do and how to do it.
First you have to understand how your room “sounds” before you can treat it.
Is this just for listening, or is it a studio? What kind of speakers? How big is the room? What else is in the room?
Just for listening, the room is about 16x16.
Speakers are B&W 685. Not too much stuff in the room, couple sofas, computer, book shelf.
The walls are a bit thin, just trying to stop some of the sounds from going to the neighbors.
If your room is an actual square then youre problably going to have quite a strong standing wave, or bass “node” at whatever frequency the width of your room is. You get these anyway with any parrallel walls, but with four equidistant walls it’ll be significantly more noticeable. I dont really know much about it, but i had to swap rooms with my housemate because the room i was in was almost perfectly square and the bass nodes were too overwhelming. Though ive never used them, if its bad i know you can get foam “bass traps” pretty cheap from any studio equipment store, should sort it out.
Then again, if you know the room and youve never noticed anything…
Just something to watch out for.
*Ah, didnt realise its just proofing and not treatment. Fool for skim reading. Ignore^
Just for listening, the room is about 16x16.
Speakers are B&W 685. Not too much stuff in the room, couple sofas, computer, book shelf.
The walls are a bit thin, just trying to stop some of the sounds from going to the neighbors.
So, I misunderstand…
Are you trying to treat to the room for the best sound quality?
Or just keep sound from leaking out?
I have done this once. You have to apply fiberglass insulation batting to the walls. It can stop sound. The amount of sound leaks will depend on the thickness of the fiberglass. These batts should be packed in fairly tightly. But remember that for actual insulation purposes, the insulation loses value if it’s too tightly packed.
Have you thought about building your own bass traps? This would be a very cost effective way of acoustic treatment. You can make the traps as big or small and as nice as you want.
There are a few videos on youtube with tutorials and there are tons of article available.
The basics are just building a simple wood frame,take two pieces of insulation and cover with thin fabric then put that inside/on top of wood frame then cover entire thing with canvas.
A couple $$ and you can build a really ncie and effective bass trap.Then you can paint or decorate it as you wish.
For soundproofing walls (as opposed to sonic treatment, deadening)
I use sheetblok ... Auralex Sheetblok
In order to stop sound, you need mass - something heavy.
Sheetblok is a vinyl film that is heavier than the same
thickness of lead. You can layer it under thin plywood paneling
to soundproof a room. You can’t just glue it up on a wall
because it will pull off & tear from its own weight.
You still need to do something about the floor & ceiling.
Sound proofing is tough to do on a budget. If you can build walls and add insulation it would be your best bet but most people can’t build entire walls. Soundboard helps as well. If you have the money to cover the walls with it, you could do that.Really, they best you can hope for on a limited budget is to reduce sound, not totally eliminate it.Insulation and soundboard are your best, cheap, sound proofing materials.
