Archive for category Home Theater
DIY – Nouveau™ Home Theater Back Wall
Posted by Acoustics First in Diffusion, DIY, Home Theater, Products, Studio Control Room, Uncategorized on August 7, 2020
It wasn’t a difficult install, but these Nouveaus made this space sing.
Adding Nouveau™ wood diffusers to a home theater is not as daunting a task as it may seem, and can be done with a little planning and a few tools. This install used an ingenious mounting method to ease the final install. Instead of mounting the z-track to the wall directly, it was mounted to sheets of plywood which were hung with Gorilla/Hercules hooks.
The first task was to pick a stain. You can use the back of a plank to get an idea of how the poplar will respond to the different options. Poplar has a very interesting and varied structure that will take stain differently than some other woods. Darker stains may be more consistent, but don’t reveal the character and variation in the wood. This install chose a Smoke Gray which grayed out soft areas and browned the harder heart wood. A semi-gloss clear coat was used to finish.
Using the back of the Nouveau™, you can see how the stains will “take.”
While the stain dried, the mounting plywood was cut down to hide behind the planks. Four hanging straps with eye-loops were then added to the top edge of each of the plywood sections, and spaced to avoid studs.
Industrial hanging eyelets were added to the top edge of the sheets to make them easy to level and hang with the Gorilla Hooks.
The Z-track that would normally be installed on the wall was installed on the opposite side of the plywood. This will make it easy to hang the Nouveaus onto the sheet after it’s on the wall.
Z-Bar track was added to the top and bottom of the plywood sheet to accept the z-bars that are going on the back of the finished Nouveau™ planks.
After the Nouveau™ planks are finished with the staining, and left to cure for a few days, they are ready to have the mating Z-bars attached to the back. They are installed with the same spacing as the Z-tracks on the plywood sheets. This will make it easy to align them after the plywood is hung on the wall.
The z-bars are measured, marked, and installed at the same spacing as the z-tracks on the plywood.
The Gorilla/Hercules Anchor hooks are rated to around 50-60 lbs each. The Nouveau™ planks are roughly 25lbs each (at 48 inches) and each section has 4 hooks supporting 4 planks plus the weight of the 3/8″ plywood. The hooks are installed so that the plywood will hang level – with the weight distributed evenly across all four hooks.
When installed properly and leveled, each of these hooks will hold up to about 50-60lbs each. In this configuration, they should only need to support about half that.
Finally, the Nouveau™ planks are installed into the Z-Tracks on the plywood, and moved into position. Because the z-bars were installed square and level, there is no shifting, and they hang true. The undersized plywood sections disappear behind the planks leaving the impression that the planks are floating slightly off the wall.
The install doesn’t look much different from a direct mount z-track installation, with a small gap against the wall.
While this mounting method may not be ideal for every scenario, this was an effective way to install 8 Nouveau™ planks with only 8 small hook holes in the wall. These can now be installed in apartments or temporary environments with minimal damage to the existing walls – and once you are done, they’re easy to take down and reinstall somewhere else. You just need a level!
Aeolian™ Diffuser – Mash up
Posted by Acoustics First in Diffusion, Home Theater, Music Tracking Room, Recording Studio on January 19, 2018
Here’s one of the first install pics of our new Aeolian™ Sound Diffusers, installed in a home project studio. Also note the Art Diffusor® Models F & C, in the ceiling and behind the speakers respectively. This is obviously a diffuser connoisseur’s room.
Below shows the room after the Sonora® products are installed.
Demystifying Acoustic Data: Part 2 – Test Material Mounting
Posted by Acoustics First in Absorption, Home Entertainment, Home Theater, Products, Recording Facilities, Theater on October 13, 2016
For anyone new to the world of acoustics, there is a multitude of terms, coefficients and numbers that are thrown around. This flood of information can seem intimidating, especially to beginners. In this series, acoustician Cameron Girard of Acoustics First® hopes to help you distinguish between what’s useful and what’s not.
Part 2: How Mounting in Testing Affects Sound Absorption Data
As I discussed in my previous article, the best way to compare the performance of sound absorbing panels is by referencing the Sound Absorption Coefficient (SAC) and Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC). However, these coefficients are often used as marketing tools. Be on the lookout for companies that list absorption coefficients and NRCs without mention of a particular testing standard or mounting method. It’s vital to check for this information, as direct comparisons to competitors and other materials can only be made if their testing procedures are the same.
The sound absorption of a material that covers a flat surface not only depends on the physical qualities of the material but also on how the material is mounted during installation. The mountings specified in laboratory tests are intended to simulate conditions that exist in normal use, such as direct wall mounting and installation into a ceiling grid.
Many materials for treatment of walls or ceiling are tested using what is called Type ”A” mounting. Type ”A” mounting means the test specimen was placed directly on the test surface of the reverberation chamber. Lay-in ceiling tiles, on the other hand, are often tested using ”E400” mounting. The ”E” designates a sealed air space behind the specimen (simulating the air gap between a dropped tile ceiling and the structural ceiling) and the number after the ”E” is the depth of the airspace in millimeters. The airspace behind the acoustic material affects the sound absorption by acting as a bass trap. The deeper the cavity behind the panels is, the lower the fundamental of the “trapped” frequencies will be.
To see what this look like in terms of actual numbers, let’s take a look at how different mounting methods effect the sound absorption coefficients of Acoustics First’s HiPer® Panel (a low-profile, composite absorber/diffuser panel).
Since the HiPer® Panel can be used effectively in multiple applications; we had it tested in accordance to the two most-common mounting procedures, Type E-400 and Type A. The results of the laboratory tests are as follows:
|
Product Info |
Sound Absorption Coefficients |
||||||||
| Product Name | Thickness | Mounting | 125Hz | 250Hz | 500Hz | 1kHz | 2kHz | 4kHz |
NRC |
| 1″ HiPer® Panel | 1″ | E-400 | 0.43 | 0.28 | 0.51 | 0.76 | 0.99 | 1.10 | 0.65 |
| 1″ HiPer® Panel | 1″ | A | 0.09 | 0.28 | 0.78 | 0.75 | 0.94 | 0.85 | 0.70 |
As you can see from the chart, the sound absorption coefficient at 125 Hz varies greatly between E-400 mounting (SAC of .43) and Type-A mounting (SAC of .09). If mounting the HiPer® Panel in a ceiling grid, with a sizable airspace, you can expect significant low-frequency absorption, but mounting it on a wall (Type-A) will result in much less absorption at 125Hz.
Other mounting methods are available, but are not used as frequently. Here are some of the basic mounting designations (See ASTM E795 for more information.)
Type A mounting – Test specimen laid directly against the test surface (wall panel on drywall).
Type B mounting – Test specimen cemented directly against the test surface. Type B mounting is intended to simulate acoustical ceiling tiles or other sound-absorptive products adhered to a hard surface with an adhesive.
Type C Mounting—Test specimen comprising sound-absorptive material behind a perforated, expanded, open facing or other porous material.
Type D Mounting—Test specimen mounted on wood furring strips.
Type E Mounting—Test specimen mounted with an air space behind it (dropped tile ceiling).
As we’ve discussed, acoustical data can vary greatly depending on the mounting method used during testing. Acoustics First tries to include as much information about testing procedures as possible, because we feel an informed client makes the best client.
Contact Acoustics First for your all your sound control needs!
DIY – Back Wall Diffuser Array/Bass Trap: Revisited
Posted by Acoustics First in Absorption, Articles, Broadcast Facilities, Customer Feedback, Diffusion, DIY, Home Entertainment, Home Theater, HOW TO, Media Room, Music Rehearsal Spaces, Music Tracking Room, Product Applications, Recording Facilities, Recording Studio, Studio Control Room, Teleconferencing, Theater, Vocal Booth, Voice Over on July 14, 2016
DIY – Diffuser Array/Bass Trap
This month we thought we’d share a few Real-Life pictures of an idea we first introduced back in summer of 2013: The “Back Wall Diffuser Array/Bass Trap”.
Isolation Hanger
This is the DIY project which incorporates our Art Diffusors®, Cutting Wedge® foam and a couple of isolation hangers into one large free-floating unit, which is acoustically decoupled from the wall.
This particular array was put together by a music producer/bass player for his home. As you can tell from the pics, the construction of this unit was executed beautifully and it’s very close to the original concept drawings.
It’s never too late to get started on your own DIY project.
 Real World – DIY |
Visit the Original DIY page to find out how to make your own.
Acoustic Treatment for your Home Theater or Listening Room
Posted by Acoustics First in Absorption, Diffusion, DIY, Home Entertainment, Home Theater, HOW TO, Media Room, Products on January 19, 2016
Any good theater or listening is acoustically treated to ensure the sound coming from the speakers is what arrives at the listener’s ears. Conditions common in small/medium rooms, such as flutter echo and comb filtering, degrade the clarity of music and speech. Here are some tricks to get a full and accurate sound out of your home theater or listening room. For those visually inclined individuals, the accompanying video shows how a critical listening space would ideally be treated.
Bass Traps – low-end control
Low frequency problems are common to almost any room, regardless of size. The good news is that most of the time the solution is simple. By installing bass traps in the corners of the room you can prevent the excessive bass build-up. If bass frequencies are allowed to build in the corners, it causes the bass frequencies to become muddy and undefined. The more corners you cover with a good trap, the better bass response you get from the room.
Having bass traps in all corners is best. That said, if you only have budget for two, having bass traps in the front corners of the room should be the highest priority. Fabric wrapped absorbers look as good as they sound, and Geometrix™ by Acoustics First, fit the corners like a glove.
Broadband Absorption – tame the ring.
To control the flutter echo caused by reflective parallel walls, it’s vital that the first refection points are treated with broadband absorption (wall panels). More than likely, your TV and/or sound system is in a fixed position, and your listening position will be relatively fixed as well. This should make the early reflection surfaces easy to locate. Sound travels in all directions from the speaker, including behind it, so put absorbers behind it on the wall. Don’t forget the floors, ceiling, and the wall behind you – sound will bounce off those as well.
Hang broadband absorbers over all the early reflection points – left, right, front and back so they are centered at ear height. Placement is the first key to getting this reflection free zone. The second is the right choice of absorber. To match your fabric wrapped bass traps, the simple choice is get some more panels wrapped in fabric. The Sonora® line of broadband absorbing panels coordinate with the bass traps, and come in a plethora of sizes and mounting options to work in your space.
Diffusers – put life back into your space.
Diffusion will give us something we couldn’t attain through absorption – a sense of open space. Even after treating with absorbers, there are still areas of the room where sound waves will sit, because your room is a fixed box with fixed speakers. Diffusers scatter the energy, creating ambiance with residual energy. This simple step does not remove energy from your room, but redistributes it into a soundscape that can make you forget you are in a room at all. In order of priority, the rear walls, front wall and ceiling are the most important surfaces to install diffusers.
There are many ways to diffuse the sound and coordinate with your room, from the fabric covered HiPer™ Panel and Double Duty Diffusers™, to the striking line of Art Diffusors® like the Model C, which can be painted to match your décor.
