Our native mobile app has a new name: Fora Communities. Learn more.

Wall fabric requirements

930 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Terry Montlick, Jun 3, 2004

daflea

Discussion Starter · Jun 1, 2004

Does it have to be any particular style? or is the GoM, etc. discussion primarily related to areas where acoustic transparency are important, like prosceniums? Thanks.

Save

Status: Not open for further replies.

1 - 10 of 10 Posts

Originally posted by daflea
Does it have to be any particular style? or is the GoM, etc. discussion primarily related to areas where acoustic transparency are important, like prosceniums? Thanks.

Prosceniums are often filled with sand and provide a firm bass absorbing place for your subwoofer and spiked fronts if applicable. You are right that GOM is used for acoustic transparency so that what is underneath it does the sound absorption to whatever degree you are trying to accomplish. HTH

Save

daflea

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 1, 2004

Are there any comparisons of Lincoustic covered with broadcloth vs. Lincoustic covered with GOM? I'm way out of my league, but it seems like a stretch to believe it's a huge difference. Someone in another thread in which I asked this question off topic (sorry about that), said that if you are going to cover acoustic insulation with cloth that it's not much different from simply painting the sheetrock. I think that was exaggerated to make the point, but it seems that Lincoustic covered with cloth vs. GOM can't be terribly dissimilar. It's a big cost difference, obviously, so I'm torn. Thanks for the assistance.

Save

ScottF200

· #4 · Jun 2, 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by daflea
Are there any comparisons of Lincoustic covered with broadcloth vs. Lincoustic covered with GOM? I'm way out of my league, but it seems like a stretch to believe it's a huge difference. Someone in another thread in which I asked this question off topic (sorry about that), said that if you are going to cover acoustic insulation with cloth that it's not much different from simply painting the sheetrock. I think that was exaggerated to make the point, but it seems that Lincoustic covered with cloth vs. GOM can't be terribly dissimilar. It's a big cost difference, obviously, so I'm torn. Thanks for the assistance.

Well I understand your "common sense" questioning but I don't have the technical comparisons handy. Without a doubt there are some threads here that talk this to death. There are also few threads here that talk about where to get GOM the cheapest. I've found those in the past for people with a few quick forum searches.

A google search finds a few related hits:
http://www.integratedinteriors.com/p.../sc_fabric.htm
http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html
http://www.soundwalls.net/CAPackages.htm (mentions "best acoustical fabric manufacturers: Guilford of Maineâ„¢, cf stinson, and Amerispanâ„¢ "

...wait I did the search for GOM sources
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...M+silentsource
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...M+silentsource

See less See more

Save

PCARACER

· #5 · Jun 2, 2004

I remember a thread by Dennis that said any fabric placed over fiberglass is ok. A non transparent fabric is going to absorb sound. The fabric is not going to be reflective. If the fabric is going to absorb some sound before it gets to the fiberglass then so be it. You don't need it to be acoustically transparent for this aspect. Now if you are putting batting up high like in a DE designed theater then you want the sound to travel through this and the batting as the walls above your ear need to be slightly reflective but diffused.

Now, if you want to cover your front wall with the same fabric and your speakers are behind this stuff then being transparent is very important. I think most use it so it will look the same all over their room. I don't know if you have any samples of this stuff but it is a corse fabric and not a high thread count fabric like a lot of stuff you see at a fabric store.

Good luck.

I will be using GOM on everything by the way as I like the way it looks.

Jeff

See less See more

Save

daflea

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 2, 2004

Thanks for the leads. I searched and read through every topic, but none seemed to answer this particular question. And even now, most answers were, yes, it needs to be GoM or other acoustically transparent material, which means I'd need to spend 8-10X for the room.

In one of the articles you pointed to, I read,

"Once the fiberglass is attached to the wall, you can build a wooden frame covered with fabric and place the frame over the fiberglass for appearance. If that's too much work, you can cut pieces of fabric and staple them to the edges of the wood strips. Nearly any porous fabric is appropriate, and one popular brand is Guilford type FR701. Unfortunately, it's very expensive. One key feature of FR701 is that it's made of polyester so it won't shrink or loosen with changes in humidity when stretched on a frame. But polyester is a common material available in many styles and patterns at any local fabric store. Another feature of FR701 is that it's one of the few commercial fabrics rated to be acoustically transparent. But since you're not using it as speaker grill cloth to place in front of a tweeter, that feature too is not necessary.

Shiny fabrics having a tight weave should be avoided because they reflect higher frequencies. The standard test for acoustic fabric is to hold it to your mouth and try to blow air through it. If you can blow through it easily, it will pass sound into the fiberglass. Burlap is one inexpensive option, but nearly any soft fabric will do nicely and will also keep the glass fibers safely in place.

I've never said this before, but it's time to go blow in the fabric store, as if the fabric store alone doesn't make me question my manhood.

See less See more

Save

Terry Montlick

· #7 · Jun 2, 2004

Most of the light-weight fabric we test, Guilford or otherwise, has high acoustical transparency (less than 1 dB attenuation) below 4 kHz. At 4 kHz and above, sound absorption is pretty easy, so the fabric is generally not a problem. However, when we are designing a treatment for a Certified home theater, we will take fabric transparency into account. This allows us to control reverberation times to a pretty tight tolerance.

Regards,

Terry

Save

daflea

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 3, 2004

For a ton of reasons, i've pretty much decided to go away from a perfect theater with all the trimmings to more of a "fun" style that does a decent acoustic job in what is certainly not a perfect room in the first place (dimensions would be nearly perfect without the L-shape issue). So I'm gonna consider it a day and go with less expensive (but oh so colorful, dark, but colorful) fabric for both the insulation and batting areas. Thanks for making me feel better about this decision that will save me quite a few bucks, obviously.

Save

suffolk112000

· #9 · Jun 3, 2004

Intriguing thread...

I have a question.

What are the best materials to look for in fabric for transparency? Wool, Cotton... maybe 50/50 cotton... etc. I know someone mentioned burlap, but I just can't picture that in our theater. I would think materials like polyester would be reflective... ???

As mentioned by someone else, fabrics that wont stretch over time would be a major factor as well. What materials would be least likely to stretch and sag over time?

Craig

Save

Terry Montlick

· #10 · Jun 3, 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by suffolk112000
I would think materials like polyester would be reflective... ???

Polyester fabric is woven like any other cloth, but from polyester fibers. It is not like you are using a solid piece of plastic!

Acoustical transparency comes from using a relatively light fabric in an open weave, as opposed to something like a heavy drapery fabric. But as I said, this is mainly an issue at high frequencies. The fiber material is of minor importance for transparency.

In addition to acoustical transparency for the FR701 series, Guilford fabrics have become the most popular choice because of:

* Class A rated fire safety

* dimensional stability

* high quality

* attractiveness

- Terry

See less See more

Save

1 - 10 of 10 Posts

Status: Not open for further replies.

Top Contributors this Month