Acoustic Foam vs. Acoustic Panels - Is There Any Difference?
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- Опубліковано 7 тра 2020
- A chat about my recent experience trying to acoustically treat a room using both acoustic foam and then, the more expensive acoustic panels.
After moving to a new house and realising that my office/studio was a basically a reverb chamber, I set about the task of getting it to sound good enough to record in.
Initially, I tried acoustic foam and, while I have no doubt that decent, dense, thick acoustic foam will undoubtedly help reduce echos and reverb in a room, some of the junk available on Amazon is a complete waste of time and money.
I followed up with some acoustic panels from GIK Acoustics (this is not an advert or sponsored as I paid a healthy sum for my kit) and I wish I'd done it months ago. What a difference!
Current Setup - gikacoustics.co.uk/
9 x 242 Acoustic Panels - 1200mm x 600mm x 50mm - bit.ly/3dxMUEb
3 x Monster Bass Traps - 1200mm x 600mm x 150mm - bit.ly/2WenoOH
1 x Freestanding Bass Trap - 1430mm x 600mm x 100mm - bit.ly/3bbtnbe
If you have any questions about my experiences, feel free to ask in the comments. Thank you for watching.
#acousticfoam #audio #reverb
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Business Enquiries - info@tdcat.com
Collaboration - collab@tdcat.com
Music - Ander Enger Jensen
Very helpful. Thank you! This deserves more views...
Thank you! I had no idea acoustic panels even existed. Much more aesthetically pleasing than ugly foam.
Absolutely. It cost a bit to fit out my room but it's an investment because it's now a space I can use. Much, much better than foam.
Best video I have seen so far on this topic.
I like to use both. Panels for acoustic properties and foam majorly for the aesthetics.
Hey there! I was wondering what fabric and color you got on the 242? I think you have the light gray behind you in the beginning of the video? I was going between just a standard 242 and the Impression series.
Thank you! You've saved me time and money!
Great video. Very helpful.
Thanks this video was really helpful!
Awesome information now i know to go for panels
Really helpful, struggling in a room like yours. My wife is going mad with the amazon pannels. Will order some up. You really want to contact these guys and get yourself a paid link!
Keep the spare there it is on the best position for absorbing bass, the spare is your actual bass trap that underdog right there sitting on his corner doing the job without being under the spotlight . Also the 5m x 3m is not so bad, small but the ratio is good if you divide them it is not a whole number so the room modes from wall to wall dont collide , now if your ceiling is close to 3m that could be a big problem and maybe it is, but you actually sound good in there
Thanks for the insight. For your cables might I suggest looking into a pegboard
That's a good idea. Since I filmed this, the cable situation has got even more out of hand :-)
@@tdcattech it was a game changer for me personally. got a magnet attatched for screw drivers and siccors. jars and micro baskets for adaptors and whatnot. can’t reccomend pegboards enough for any hobby.
Superb Sir
Its so annoying because i can hear the commercials in the living room playing, i can hear my parents snoring, i can hear stuff in the garage, i can hear stuff from the wind. Its honestly so annoying and i have a blue yeti mic which literally picks up everything from a microscopic organism crawling around to the wind howling outside
lol
The blue yeti microphone is a dynamic microphone which picks up way way less noise than a condenser microphone. I have a condenser microphone and it's a living nightmare
What did you except getting a Blue Yeti, condenser mics like that are the worst when it comes to only capturing what you want it to hear.
Blue mics are very bright and pick up everything i had a bluebird mic and i had to keep than gain low and use a gate for to deaden the room.
@@kitn2507 The Blue Yeti is NOT a dynamic mic, it's a condenser. I'm not sure if the Yeti X, Yeti Pro, or Yeti Nano are dynamic mics, but i'm interested in learning who told you this
if you need to lower echo in a room go with panels and if you need lower some echo and escaping sound through the walls use foam
There are different sizes. 2-3 inch think are usually good
Thank you. I need this while playing games streaming at night so I won't disturb my mates.
Remember, these do not soundproof in any way. The noise from you might sound a little different to them but it will definitely still be there 🙃
@@tdcattech Hi, I know that this was posted 4 months ago, but what would you recommend in that case? I want to make my room as sound proof as possible.
I'd say start growing your channel and start producing interesting videos!
This is helpful, but you really only mentioned thin/cheap foam (that I think is sold more as decoration for podcasters). What about more expensive/thicker foam?
I'm curious about this comparison as well.
I have a few links, you should see, so you can see rockwool, safe and sound, is not carcinogenic. You can make studs made of insulation foam board (2inch), put "safe and sound wool (Rockwool)" in between the studs, glue them to, or hold them with anything else to your wall, and cover them with speaker cloth, so you don't inhale anything into your lungs. You can do the same thing on your ceiling. I think, this is the easiest way for panels. Roxul, safe and sound, works really well ua-cam.com/video/ZQnhsRbySqg/v-deo.html these are simple to make. I don't know if you have "Fabricana" there, but if you do, they have a fabric for speakers. Maybe you can order it from Canada, or look for something similar. fabricana.com/product/speaker-cloth/
Use your creativity. www.rockwool.com/north-america/products-and-applications/products/safensound/?selectedCat=safensound%C2%AE%20downloads
High quality video
Thank you man, I'm dealing with that for the first time, I have a workout youtube channel, just moved in a house in Canada and the sound of my studio is... awful. Not sure if they ship in CA, but will try to go for panels as recommended by you. Thanks mate!
It's not cheap but if you're serious about the work that requires it and make money from it, it's definitely a good investment.
Primacoustic panels are very similar to GIK and are made in Canada.
Do you have any experience with Auralex? I've been curious if it's just as worthless as any other foam.
I have never used Auralex but if I understand it, it's still foam so fine for high frequencies but nothing else. www.gearslutz.com/board/bass-traps-acoustic-panels-foam-etc/117668-auralex-gik-acoustic-panels-treating-room.html
It doesn't get a great write up here.
Aye guys im trying to use the acoustic foam and using the trick where you stick them to cardboard then put them on the wall. I plan to put a cool silver frame around it to make it not look like just a random foam patch in the wall. Does anyone have an idea of how i can make that or buy some border frames?
A few questions... if I may? 1. What monitors are those. Are you happy with them. 2. Do bass traps come as foam and as acoustic panel. If so, would bass trap be a generic term for all things that trap bass irrespective of type? 3. Any views on curtains? Thanks for a superb video.
Those are krk rokit studio monitors... a lot of people have them... the most used monitors I’ve seen or either the krk rokits, Yamaha hs, or the Adam audio T series... those are some of the best budget studio monitors in my opinion
@@eddiefifita8551 Ok thanks.
@@eddiefifita8551 I suspected they were KRKs. Was actually wondering which particular model you had chosen. They have so many :)
These are the KRK Rokit 5. I need something very compact for the limited space I have and these do the job perfectly.
Yes, bass traps come both as thick lumps of foam and more nicely finished and better performing (in my opinion) acoustic panel styles. I think it's fair to say that a trap describes both these. As far as curtains go, their not going to do a massive amount on their own. It depends what you're trying to achieve. As mentioned in the video, I was going for a dead sound rather than a treated room with it's own tone. I imagine you could reduce reverb times with curtains but I'm not sure if they'd help much with low frequencies. Just not dense enough.
Would you happen to know of any soundproofing for blocking sound from outside the room (without renovation) like something you can stick on the wall?
I'm not sure such a thing exists. It would have to surely be so dense and fitted across every bit of the wall (like is done between the walls with new build houses) that it would either be very ugly or would certainly fall under the category of renovation.
Drywall
Should these always be done with fibreglass for the best results? I was going to make my own but some people are recommending using rockwool and others fibreglass and I cant seem to find any sort of consensus.
Thx!
Two questions if anyone can help. One, where would I install these around a speaker playing loud music to keep it from going through a floor to the upstairs? And two, will that ruin the music for the listeners? I have a downstairs neighbor who loves to blast his music, and I don’t want to be that grouchy old lady, but I do work from home and I really can’t be sounding like I’m at a rave and doing conference calls. So I talked to him and offered to provide him with these panels if he would install them, so we don’t have conflict as the months wear on. I *could* complain to the manager and get him in trouble, but I don’t want to be that guy. But idk if he will want to keep them up if they ruin his jams for him, so I don’t want to spend a bunch of money if he won’t leave them up (or if they won’t work). So. I know absolutely nothing about this and every tutorial I find assumes some level of either DIY home improvement skills or sound engineer type knowledge (or both) and I possess neither. So if anyone has insights for me I would appreciate the assist. Thank you.
These are for acoustic treatment in a studio environment and to reduce reverb time and kill small echoes. They will not sound proof and stop sound from neighbours at all. That’s a different job entirely.
i wanted to do the same to my workspace too but i was wondering how did you put them on the walls, they are very heavy!
All the panels come with wire and are mounted exactly as a picture or mirror might be. The slimmer 242 panels are light enough to stay up with a tapped in picture hook. The bass panels are much heavier so I drilled a screw into the brick for those and hooked the wire over that. So far, so good. :-)
@@tdcattech thanks for the reply man 😃
I do like these but do you happen to have a US item similar to what you’ve got there
You can get GIK in the US.
whats a good affordable acoustic panels to buy ?? i stream games if that helps.. just want a couple panels to put up
These are relatively affordable in the sense that they are an investment into making better content and they will probably last longer than most pieces of tech. That's how I look at it.
Is it advisable to use these for noise cancelling...noise from outside my apartment?
No. These have nothing to do with soundproofing I’m afraid.
sir can i order from india..?? please let me know
Would these be good for a theater room?
These would be perfect for that. The bass traps would be ideal for controlling the heavy stuff in cinematic content.
What if u put acoustic blanket behind acoustic panels? Would it stop sound better?
I guess it would. None of these panels really stop sound (there's no soundproofing here) but I'm sure you'd reduce your reverb time yet further with a blanket behind the panels. I'm sure there's an art and design to all this stuff if you're after a very specific type of sound in a room but, if you're like me and all you want is a 'dead' room, then go for it!
Spends a fortune on sound absorbing panels, but goes with a highly reflective glass desk ;P Just messing with ya. Good video, I just decided to paint my room to match my panels. I like how yours match the walls pretty well.
I know, right. Can’t resist that clean minimal glass look. 🙂 Which panels are you using?
@@tdcattech Some I built myself out of 1x4 lumber and rigid fiberglass. Got them covered in a light tan speaker grille cloth that sort of clashes with the current wall color. Instead of recovering the panels I'll just paint the walls.
I can hear the difference
If you put movie posters on those panels would they still work?
I would think so as long as the posters aren’t covered in glass. It might impact effectiveness a little.
@@tdcattech That's great to hear. Thanks for the reply. On Amazon they were saying that you couldn't even paint on them, so this is good news.
Well they're right. You can't paint on them as they are not canvas material. :-) As for their acoustic properties, I wouldn't personally cover them and I have never tried it but I seriously doubt that if I covered every panel in my room here with a poster that I would be back to square one acoustically.
I love the minimal clean look of them personally but I can see it could be a little bland for some.
@@tdcattech Yeah, I wasn't thinking for an office, but for a home theater, I already have posters on the home theater, so I was considering getting some of these for the reverbs and echos, thanks for the info.
No...dont do that...a poster will still be refective ...the basic idea is that air needs to pass through your given acoustic treatment...same as some people want to spray paint foam...also a bad idea....this defeats the object...if your planning on something more professinal and worth spending money on...i would do some deeper investigations rarther than listening to random information on youtube....
Do the panels help soundproof a room so neighboring rooms can't hear? For example, I'm trying to soundproof my apartment as well as get the good acoustical effects from the panels (like in your video). Would you recommend using the foam for soundproofing then also putting in some panels? Possibly some standing panels in the room? Thanks
absolutely not, they’re only for cutting reverb
What about for playing drums which one is better
Im about to invest in a PC build and i live in army barracks. Im going for streamer quality stuff, but the wall my setup will be against has my roommate on the other side. On nights im up late gaming with the boys, i dont want to keep him up, and most nights he is up late laughing with his friends (glad he is happy, but i wake up before 4 every morning and he doesnt). Comment community help me. Im looking for good panels that will absorb as much sound as possible going both directions and am open to any and all advice. He will quiet down when i ask but i dont want to keep asking and come off as rude when he is trying to enjoy himself
I appreciate that this doesn't really help you specifically but remember that these panels have nothing to do with sound proofing. They will not prevent noise reaching your 'neighbour'. For that, you'll need structural changes to the building to improve the mass and density of the wall. That's a DIY thing (definitely not my subject :-) ). Would you be able to do that in barracks?
What brand acoustic panel are they.?
GIK Acoustics
Good day sir which is better acoustic foam or acoustics panel.
Panel. No question. Foam can work for higher frequencies but in my experience, there is no comparison.
@@tdcattech can you tell me your recommendation on how can i set this for work from home. I want to make it soundproof as possible sir?
Ah, you're mistaking the purpose of this. This has nothing to do with soundproofing and will not stop sound escaping at all. This is all about sound treatment (reducing reflections, lowering reverb times etc). If you are looking to keep sound out or in, I think that's more of a construction / building question.
what is frequency range absorbed by 2 inch acoustic foam panel
250Hz to 20K but really only coming in fully at 500Hz
@@tdcattech thank you !! I dont have pyramid shape panel but only 4 piece of 3x6ft foam flat panels placed in a 9 x 15 ft room ...2 panels are placed behind me and rest are placed on the left and front
I hope you realize that the rockwool used n those panels are potentially carciogenic.
Acoustic foam is not bulshit. 5mm thickness is bulshit. Just buy 100 mm thick foam, and keep some air between the foam and the wall. Usually standing panels of 26-60 DNS foam works very good.
I have a few links, you should see, so you can see rockwool, safe and sound, is not carcinogenic. You can make studs made of insulation foam board (2inch), put "safe and sound wool (Rockwool)" in between the studs, glue them to, or hold them with anything else to your wall, and cover them with speaker cloth, so you don't inhale anything into your lungs. You can do the same thing on your ceiling. I think, this is the easiest way for panels. Roxul, safe and sound, works really well ua-cam.com/video/ZQnhsRbySqg/v-deo.html these are simple to make. I don't know if you have "Fabricana" there, but if you do, they have a fabric for speakers. Maybe you can order it from Canada, or look for something similar. fabricana.com/product/speaker-cloth/
Use your creativity. www.rockwool.com/north-america/products-and-applications/products/safensound/?selectedCat=safensound%C2%AE%20downloads
Ne onerirsin?
@@kemaleksi6725 hocam önerim akustik düzenlemenin ne amaçla yapacağına göre değişir.. eğer insan sesi veya keman, flüt, akustik gitar gibi bas ağırlıklı olmayan enstürmanlar kaydedilecekse, kalın bir akustik köpük ya da ses battaniyesi yeterli olacaktır. Sadece malzemeyi duvara yapıştırmayın. Bir panelle asarak duvarlara 20-30 cm mesafe bırakın. Daha sonra aldığınız kayıtlarda EQ ile 150 HZ aşağısını kesin.
Akustik kayıtlar için en pratik çözüm mikrofona reflection filter almak ve mikrofonun arkasını duvara yakın koymak. Reflection filter mikrofonun arka tarafını kapattığı için bu duvara yalıtım yapmaya gerek kalmaz. Mikrofonun ön yüzünün baktığı (sizin arkanızda kalan) duvara mesafe daha uzun olacaktır. Bu duvara geniş bir ses battaniyesi asmak, mikrofona yakın alacağınız kayıtlarda gayet iyi sonuç verecektir.
Eğer 150 Hz aşağısının önemli olduğu bir kayıt yapıyorsanız yada mixingle uğraşıyorsanız, o zaman gerçekten ciddi profesyonel malzeme kullanmak gerekir. Taş yünü de düşünülebilir, ama kansorojen olma riskine karşı panel şeklinde kullanmak yerine adam akıllı çok katmanlı yalıtım yapmanın daha sağlıklı olacağına inanıyorum.
@@mustafaunsoy Teşekkür ederim cevabın için,
Ben hoşuma giden duvar örtülerine çerçeve yaptırıp duvara astım. Akustik panel yerine duvar örtüleri kullanmış oldum, büyük oranda yankıyı kesti. Birde logitech c920 kamera'nın mikrofonunu kullanıyordum, onun yerine de bm800 ve phantom power aldım. Şu an tertemiz ses ile zoom görüşmeleri yapabiliyorum. Benim amacım görüşmelerde kısık sesle karşı tarafa net sesimi duyurmaktı. 2 saati geçen bir toplantıda boğaz ağrısı başlıyor rahatsız oluyor. Şimdilik hedefime ulaştım.
Duvarda bağlamam asılı bir gün gelir de bağlama ile kayıt almak istersem mikrofona bir shield alır yada (fiyatlarına baktım çok yüksekmiş) kendim köpükten bir shield yaparım.
İyi günler dilerim.
Always "Invest".
I want to make my study room silent as possible. because other sounds distract my studies please give me any solution?🙏🇮🇳
Soundproofing is not the same as acoustic treatment. If you're looking to soundproof, don't use panels or foam like this. You'll need to properly treat the wall with dense materials often fitted in a cavity between walls. Not an easy job.
My neighbours have 8 dogs ... Any solution for me ? How can i soundproof my room from the dog barking🥺😭😭😭
Xd
Sound proof curtains for the window or door. I heard two curtains worked great for a door. It'll reduce a fair amount, white noise machine might help the rest of the way.
1:04
My room is even smaller 4x3m
Fewer panels to buy...bonus.
when i first saw this video and heard the audio i was like yeah jheez panels over foam
Hmmm “I want the room to sound as dead as possible”. So you can keep your sex slaves from exposing you to the neighbors. I think we need to keep an eye on you.
🤣🤣 Remember, these do not sound proof.
Just having a little fun mate thanks for the upload
too much talk grrrr
You talk to much.
It's all relative but yes, probably.