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Author Topic: Sound Absorption Panels  (Read 7497 times)

Simon Coffin

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Sound Absorption Panels
« on: November 23, 2010, 08:38:50 AM »

Folks,

While visiting a concert venue on something of a fact finding mission, I was impressed by the level of sound damping they had achieved relatively easily with what looked like fiberglass mats covered in a wire mesh then with black curtain material fastened to the walls.  The entire hall was paneled with these: walls and ceilings.

The panels were probably nearing 4' x 8' and I'm guessing 4" thick.  The wire mesh was fairly beefy and the black cloth looked just like standard fire proof curtain material.

This got me thinking about alternate and affordable acoustic dampening materials.  Does anyone have any experience with large scale acoustic treatment for concert halls?  In this case the hall fits about 1500 people and is nearing 1000 square meters.

Thanks
Simon P. Coffin
Median Engineering llc
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: Sound Absorption Panels
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2010, 09:02:55 AM »

One thing that we did in the past (the key word is "the past") for rooms that needed cheap absorbtion and looks didn't matter was to make our own absorbtion "bags".

This worked in a black ceiling that was a bit above where people could see it.

What we used was black landscape fabric and wrapped regular ceiling fiberglass in it.

The whole thing was about 12" thick.

We stopped doing it, because the supplier changed the fabric and it is no longer fire resistant.

So we didn't want to take on that liability.

It worked quite well-was quick to "bag up" and was cheap.

Maybe you can find a similar solution.  BUT MAKE SURE that whatever you use for fabric is fire retardant!
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For every complicated question-there is a simple- easy to understand WRONG answer.

Can I have some more talent in the monitors--PLEASE?

Ivan Beaver
dB Audio & Video Inc.
Danley Sound Labs

Simon Coffin

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Re: Sound Absorption Panels
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2010, 09:17:19 AM »

Hi Ivan,

In this case everything will be visible so a cheap and dirty solution is not necessarily ideal.  Not that this is a luxury hall, rather a hard working rock and roll concert venue.  But the aesthetics are an issue, albeit a distant one.

Fireproof is a given, or at least a rating sufficient to keep the Fire Marshall happy.  This is why I was impressed with the hall I mentioned.  It seems like they found a good solution, both as far as acoustic performance and fire rating are concerned, for an acceptable price.

Ciao
Simon
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Brad Weber

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Re: Sound Absorption Panels
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2010, 11:57:46 AM »

Simon Coffin wrote on Tue, 23 November 2010 08:38

This got me thinking about alternate and affordable acoustic dampening materials.  Does anyone have any experience with large scale acoustic treatment for concert halls?  In this case the hall fits about 1500 people and is nearing 1000 square meters.

Perhaps we need ot clarify this as the appropriate acoustical approach for a large concert hall would not be to make the room 'dead'.  Acoustically there is a tremendous difference between a concert hall and a contemporary concert venue or club, so having acoustical absorption on every surface does not always relate to good or desired acoustics.

Duct liner board or fiberglass board with hardware cloth over it is a fairly common treatment for mechanical rooms and such.  Something like Owens-Corning Select Sound black fiberglass board, sometimes also covered with hardware cloth, is a bit better looking for TV studios, theatres and such.  There are also spray-on treatments that can be cost effective for ceilings.  These can often be tinted different colors.  All of these options may provide some thermal as well as acoustical benefits.

A 4" thick fiberglass wall treatment with heavy drapes in front of it is going to be very absorptive over a fairly wide frequency range but may still not be enough to address room modes and bass buildup in larger rooms, so those may still need to be addressed.
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Brad Weber
muse Audio Video

Brad Weber

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Re: Sound Absorption Panels
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2010, 07:37:38 AM »

Tim Padrick wrote on Sat, 27 November 2010 02:10

Damned if I can find web info on 703, 705, or SelectSound.  WTF Corning?

700 Series: http://www.owenscorningcommercial.com/data/products/product. aspx?id=1&systemId=80
Select Sound Board: http://www.owenscorning.com/quietzonepro/pdfs/AcousticBoard. pdf
Select Sound Batt/Blanket: http://www.owenscorning.com/quietzonepro/pdfs/AcousticBlanke t.pdf
Duct Liner: http://www.owenscorningcommercial.com/data/products/product. aspx?id=12&systemId=81
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Brad Weber
muse Audio Video

Tim Padrick

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Re: Sound Absorption Panels
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2010, 11:02:31 PM »

Brad Weber wrote on Sat, 27 November 2010 06:37

Tim Padrick wrote on Sat, 27 November 2010 02:10

Damned if I can find web info on 703, 705, or SelectSound.  WTF Corning?

700 Series:  http://www.owenscorningcommercial.com/data/products/product. aspx?id=1&systemId=80
Select Sound Board:  http://www.owenscorning.com/quietzonepro/pdfs/AcousticBoard. pdf
Select Sound Batt/Blanket:  http://www.owenscorning.com/quietzonepro/pdfs/AcousticBlanke t.pdf
Duct Liner:  http://www.owenscorningcommercial.com/data/products/product. aspx?id=12&systemId=81



Thanks Brad.  I've bookmarked the PDF pages, but no doubt they will change.  Someone at Corning was able to email me the PDFs, but did not know how to find the information on the Corning website!

George Friedman-Jimenez

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Re: Sound Absorption Panels
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2010, 08:33:38 AM »

Simon,
The question you ask is a complex one, far beyond what kind of fiberglass to buy and how to install it. How a given size and shape room sounds is determined by many factors, including both absorption and diffusion/reflection. Design decisions have relatively large implications for cost, construction methods, and final outcome and all these factors are discussed in detail in books on acoustics. One of the less mathematical more readable books is Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest, and the book on Absorbers and Diffusors by Cox and D'Antonio is a step up in both detail and difficulty. When to use diffusors and when to use absorbers, where, what angles, how big, how thick, how far out from the walls, what materials are all significant questions. What acoustical parameters to test for and use in the design, evaluation and tweaking is an important question. How everything will change when people fill the venue, at 30% capacity vs 80% vs 100% is also not completely predictable. Designing acoustical treatment for a concert hall that fits 1,000 people is a big responsibility. Bottom line, it sounds like hiring a consultant professional acoustician experienced in rooms similar to yours would be very helpful to you.
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