[SportyBry]

Hey guys,


I checked out the RealTraps.com WEBsite -- they make these wall panels.


Anyone here own some of these ?


They are essentially fiberglass panels mounted in a frame that has cut-

outs down the side of it. Does anyone know what the frames are made

of ? Are they plastic ? metal ? fiberglass ? Has anyone seen any kind of

framing material like this out there ?


-Sporty

 

[GRBoomer]

There's a loaded question. Ethan (the owner of BassTraps) regularly appears on AVS in the Builder's forum. Just start searching and you'll see plenty of references.

 

[ScottF200]

Quote:

Originally posted by SportyBry Hey guys, I checked out the RealTraps.com WEBsite -- they make these wall panels. Anyone here own some of these ? They are essentially fiberglass panels mounted in a frame that has cut- outs down the side of it. Does anyone know what the frames are made of ? Are they plastic ? metal ? fiberglass ? Has anyone seen any kind of framing material like this out there ? -Sporty

Your last question would lead one to believe you are considering making them yourself. If you do then this recent DIY Acoustic Panels thread may help. If you are really considering getting theirs then just call them up and ask them.


OT: I come to this forum on and off suspiciously during the times I'm heavily into building my HT. It has been more than interesting to see trends in people, post and suggestions. Ethan's post are always very interesting and seem to be genuinely helpful and relevant to the thread and not geared toward pushing his product directly. Interesting are the "mass stops bass" remarks and rebuttals. Seems your goal of stopping the bass inside or outside your theater is the real question. Most want to stop it outside and then figure out how to control it inside...which is where realtraps come in.


Pretty cool solution but most probably wouldn't use them for aesthetics reasons. In general the people around here seem to care about the look of their theater almost (wrong word) as much as it's technical ability to reproduce the movie as the director intended it to be seen and heard. Myself included.


(Terry's comments are also quite good and I'm considering his service.)


Sorry for the OT just something I've thought about for a while...


I'm curious about your questions as well as I may very well add traps IF my room turns out to need them. Seems like they can always be covered with matching wall material to make them blend in. Bass never seems to care much about sound transparency of material (ie. GOM or sheetrock).

 

[SportyBry]

I agree Scott- in the posts that I've seen, Ethan has been very helpful and

has never been seen to be "pushing" his product.


I do wonder how they can refer to their "mini-traps" as membrane

absorbers though- are they not just filled with rigid fiberglass insulation ?

I thought to be a membrane absorber there had to be a semi-rigid panel

of some sort that flexed...


-Sporty

 

[Jscopus]

I have not used the minitraps, but have read posts from people that were very favorably impressed. The site has alot of useful info and Ethan is tremendously helpful. It seems you can do much of this yourself, but not do it as well. I also understand that there may be a powerbuy in the making and it may be worthwhile to hold on while it gets put together. I could get no more out of Ethan than the minitraps (which seem to be markedly less expensive already than other premade bass traps) will be offered at a reduced price to the forum. I intend to buy some bass traps, but to DIY with some 1 inch panels for mid/high frequency control. Controlling bass well seems more involved than simply a panel of dense fiberglass. I would ask Ethan what the status is of the powerbuy. Perhaps if there is enough interest, we can twist his arm a little bit more....


Jeff

 

[Ethan Winer]

Folks,


Just to clarify:


MiniTraps are much more than just a slab of rigid fiberglass in a metal frame. We also add a dual-layer membrane that greatly enhances their low frequency absorption. So they're sort of a hybrid between a membrane trap and a fiberglass panel. This gives them the best features of each, in that bass is absorbed a lot, while mid and high frequencies are also absorbed but to a lesser amount. The balance of absorption versus frequency is intentional and a key part of the MiniTraps design, and you can see the curve on that page of our web site.


> ask Ethan what the status is of the powerbuy.

 

[John Kotches]

I used some of Ethan's traps for the inside of my room (Hi Ethan!) and couldn't be more pleased.


One of the things that it takes getting used to for people not acclimated is that there isn't much in the way of "boom" . Clean bass reproduction doesn't have boom.


Between construction with ASC's ISO-Wall, Ethan's minitraps and Meridian's MRC I'm very pleased with the results in my new room.


While they are not the most attractive pieces on the planet (sorry Ethan!), they are highly effective in their role. I have 8 strategically placed around the room at sidewall/ceiling junctions, and they are as unobtrusive as they can be given the relatively low ceiling height of 7'.


Best Regards,

 

[BGA]

ETHAN,

I have a major problem at my seating area with cancellation around 50 hz, it is terrible, around a -10db loss. Would adding real traps help in frequencies that low when the specs on the website only go down to 100hz. Any suggestions would be great, thanks.


Al

 

[Ethan Winer]

Al,


> Would adding real traps help in frequencies that low when the specs on the website only go down to 100hz.

 

[BGA]

Ethan,

Thanks, your traps are what I'm looking for but I live in Canada and things have been a pain to get here and I'm trying to find some Rigid Fiberglass to make traps like your company does. The only product that I have been able to find is a product call Roxul AFB, it is an Acoustical Fiber board that has NRC ratings like the rigid fiberglass, have you heard of it? Is it any good? Also, is your membrane in your traps an aperiodic membrane like I used when I installed high end car systems? Just curious because that membrane was very expensive and that would make your traps seem extremely cheap for what they do!!

 

[Ethan Winer]

BG,


> Roxul AFB, it is an Acoustical Fiber board that has NRC ratings like the rigid fiberglass, have you heard of it? Is it any good?

 

[BGA]

Ethan,


Thanks for you help and advice you supply in the many acoustical threads!!


I hope you didn't get the impression that I wanted to know what your membrane was actually made of, I was just curious because of the sonic benefits we used to get from setting up enclosures with an aperiodic membrane was fantastic but the effort needed to design and eq the enclosure was enormous. I was just impressed by how well priced your realtraps are if they are including such a membrane. Again, thanks for your help!!


Al