Treat front wall in HT or not?



Quote:
Originally Posted by jmac35  /t/1517123/treat-front-wall-in-ht-or-not#post_24339510


Many people seem to use an inch or two of 703 or linacoustic treatment on the entire front wall. I have read other posts suggesting that an inch or two of treatment is not worthwhile and that bass traps in corners back there is more important.

Click to expand...

Yes, thin absorption on the front wall is common, and it's totally the wrong approach. It's so common to see people do and recommend that, I wrote an article to explain why it's not useful:

Front Wall Absorption


Now, thick absorption all over the front (and rear) walls is good. But it has to be thick enough to absorb bass frequencies.

Quote:
I'm thinking of using this recycled cotton material instead of fiberglass for panels elsewhere in the room. Does anyone have any experience with this type of material and can comment on it's effectiveness?

Click to expand...

I didn't notice any absorption specs, but that sort of cotton generally is known to be effective. Though it needs to be much thicker than two inches for use as bass traps.


--Ethan

I've been around the forums long enough to know that ethan knows what he is talking about. He's very respected around here and you should feel lucky that hes a part of your thread.


However, the one thing I learned when I started my journey so many years ago is that for most of us there really are no rules set in stone. Most of us do not have access to any real test equipment nor do we have the knowledge to make the perfect acoustic choices based on our rooms. There's too many variables. My advice is to experiment and see what works for you. In my case the screen is mounted to the front wall on the drywall. Surrounding the screen is 1" acoustic foam wrapped in fabric. I have home made base traps built in all 4 corners of the room that go ceiling to floor. Side walls have 1" acoustic foam wrapped in fabric accrost entire wall from ear level down. Thick plush carpet on the floor. Ceiling untreated. And 4 2x4' foam panels mounted high on the wall near the back of the theater.


Is any this ideal? I have no idea. It's all tidbits of advice I found here because like I said, that's all I've got. I'm sorry, but its really a guessing game to the average home owner. The people I know are blown away by my theater, so I guess it worked some how. My advice is take up as much knowledge that makes sense to you, create a plan and go for it. Plan on a couple of redos maybe. But that's the fun it.