Acoustic Foam VS Panels - Surprising SOUND TEST!
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- Опубліковано 16 лис 2024
- Making a room sound better can be a difficult thing if you do not have the proper acoustic material on the walls. In this video, I will do a sound test to see what works better between acoustic panels and acoustic foam.
The acoustic panels in this video are worth around $100 each. Acoustic foam on the other hand can easily be found on Amazon for $70 for 50 pieces.
I took all 12 panels off the walls and replaced them with 8 acoustic foam per panels to make an accurate comparison for the sound test. The findings were very interesting.
I will also explain in this video where and when acoustic panels are better than foam and also when acoustic foam panels are better to use than acoustic panels.
Here are the links for the products I use in this video. The links are from Amazon and from Home Depot so you have more buying choices.
1. Acoustic Foam 50 Pack
Amazon - amzn.to/3nexXNj
2. Acoustic Foam 25 Pack
Amazon - amzn.to/3nisXqR
Home Depot - homedepot.sjv....
3. 3M Command Strips
Amazon - amzn.to/2F4NbmI
Home Depot - homedepot.sjv....
4. Acoustic Panels From Trademark Soundproofing
Amazon - amzn.to/30ulETd
Follow the link below to find out more about these acoustic panels from Trademark Soundproofing.
www.tmsoundpro...
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Bear in mind that some of the links in this video are affiliate links, and if you go through them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
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6:07 clap test w/ nothing
6:58 clap test w/ cheap foam
4:58 clap test w/ expensive panels
Thank you G
Anyway this dude put the camera on a different position each time so its not that accurate
@@kevddiaz No he didn't. Look at 6:53 you see his snowball mic, that's what he's using to record the clapping the noise, and it's most likely in the same place for each test.
Thank you for this I can’t stand long videos of blabbering
Thanks bro 😎
I really like your channel and appreciate all of your advice. I would really like to be able to see sound differences measured more accurately than a “clap test” or least a “clap test” with different panels and blank walls edited to be played in a row. Thank you for all of your time and info!
Thanks, I appreciate the advice on the clap test. You're right, next time I will have different methods to see how the end result sounds. :-)
Also the acoustic panels look aesthetic, I want to put some in my living room where my home theater is so for me the looks is a major selling point
Definitely agree! They also have decorative acoustic panels that are all different shapes and makes a pattern.
Acoustics and looks are two different things. If you want wall art, don't get foam squares. If you want acoustic panels that actually work, go with fiberglass panels. They're not that expensive anyway.
Test: 4:58 | 6:07 | 7:00
Thank you a lot
Or just watch last 30 sec :P
Thanks a lot!
I don't have carpet anywhere in the house but had thick carpet padding & carpet put down in my bedroom studio & it makes a big difference
Acoustic panels are one thing, they absorb sound waves and prevent them from bouncing around, sound proof panels keep outside noise out
Those panels are way too thin to have any effect on low frequency issues. Get thicker panels, at least 6 inches, and hang them a couple of inches off the wall.
I originally went with acustic panels for my mixing room ,but the room was to dead,I had a pro com in and scan my room .we went with bass traps and Higher quality foam .The room now sound amazing. it depends on what your doing in the room, the size of the room,also the flooring carpet is good.
Great point!! I’m actually coming out with a video soon about “too much sound deadening”!
Thanks for sharing!
Yeah, but I feel like you can always add reverb through an editing software like audacity in editing. It is extremely difficult to take reverb away once you've recorded. And I thought acoustic panels were base traps.?
Sometimes you need scatter plates to balance out the effect of a thicker acoustic panel. I imagine your room wasn't treated quite right the first time. Glad you like what you ended up with though!
@@isaiahsutherland3349 bass traps are extra-thick acoustic panels that are better at absorbing bass than thinner acoustic panels.
I'm play this back on Bose monitors so better speakers make it simple to hear that the panels absorb much better then the foam. Great test, thanks much! I have office cubicle sound absorbing panels against my studio walls and they do a great job. If you go to large companies with office cubicles you have a good chance they have old panels that they will just give you. That's how I got mine.
Foam does not control mid-low and low frequencies. Foam cut reverberation but do not control real room modes (furniture too). Room will have very cancellations and peaks of low-mids and lows. Rockwool does a more equalized acoustic ambiance. It's way better.
Rigid fiberglass and rock wool also need to be VERY thick to adequately manage lows and low-mids. At 100Hz, you'd need a nearly 3ft thick panel to "trap" it. We are stuck with the room sizes that we have. In my opinion, small rooms with unusable reflections just need to be made dead. Yes, there will be low end problems, but you'll never be able to address those without ridiculously thick panels.
@@lileffects 4 inch will "grab" a lot of lows energy, will make a huge difference. 6 to 8 inch will work veeery well.
Why is it that every time I see one of these comparisons they always use the worst foam possible 1" and not 3" or 4" foam? Of course the worst foam is going to sound bad.
Have you tried the 3" one? I'm considering making diy panels but are the foam one viable?
Same
I was thinking that too. Thick foam would perform pretty well, and then we'd be comparing apples to apples.
Superb test! I have old Auralex on my studio walls, and will be replacing with home made panels next year.
Thanks!!
You're an audio engineer(-ing firm)? Surely you've access to a noise dosimeter or decibel/sound level meter or something? Shoot, there's a half dozen apps on the Apple/Google Stores.
Please don't misunderstand me here: I'm really enjoying your channel. I do, however, suspect that there's a number of slightly-more effective presentations to verify the effectiveness of soundproofing than "the clap test."
For me, personally, I'd love to see you do something on that Acoustiblok membrane I keep hearing about. The fabric stuff NASA developed that absorbs sound waves and converts it into heat energy? All the demos I've seen have been borderline-miraculous, and, as an industry specialist, you can prolly get your hands on a sample. I know it's being sold to the public now.
Thank you for the feedback. I will definitely look into getting some Acoustiblok membrane.
You have to test more than just the frequencies of a claps. Panels made with wool absorb lower end frequencies. Foam only absorbs high end frequencies
What would you suggest for a drum music room?
@@maeu59 Absorbers. Definitely Absorbers. Drums fill out the whole frequency spectrum. And get something for your corners of the room. In my drum room, i have a big closet that takes care of the lows such as foam "bass traps" that deal with the mids. For the highs i have Molton curtains.
@@hannes1734if im making simple podcast studio, which one I need to use?
Thanks so much for this sound test. Panels are way better.
finally a very fu**ing useful video thank you man for all the effort you made , you're the best
Thanks!! Appreciate it!
If I completely covered a room in panels as in, no gaps at all, would that help soundproof a bit, I don’t need 100% silence but I can hear my neighbour (who has barely anything in his room, and no carpet) as if he’s sitting next to me, and I don’t know if he can hear all my conversations clearly too
Insulate the walls instead.
Panels don't isolate the sound from the outside
@@DruGaTecH I’m doing two layers of 12mm drywall with green glue sandwich, it’s a start!
@@squarepeg9484 Roxul Insulation with a layer of drywall. Or even glasswool would do, also slightly cheaper.
Sound proofing and sound reflection/ absorbing are two completely different things.
There is a big difference between sound proof and sound absorbing. Sound absorbing means absorbing sound waves to reduce reflections off walls.
Sound-proofing is room-to-room, whereas sound absorbing is only focused on sound within one room. That's how I think of it anyway.
Thx for your demo. I need something to block or minimize the noise from upstairs rental unit. Any suggestion?
Good stuff. Sounds really different.
Nice practical test. finally
How accurate is a hand clap test? I see a lot of these tests and the clap echo is reduced but how is it with other frequencies?
A hand clap is actually really accurate, it’s a pretty basic relatively flat impulse. Listen to the tail of the reverb.
good panels will do lower frequencies, foam only higher frequencies
He was 100% accurate: his test was comparing sound clap RT with three variables.
But to your question, the clap test is a higher-frequency-focused test. It's not a complete test of a room's frequency response. In other words it doesn't really measure anything other than 1kHz or so and above.
Are they good to keep neighbours noise muted??
You need to have panels above you because in order for the ringing and echoes to completely go away, you have to completely surround yourself in the room with accustic panels
His goal is not to create an anechoic chamber. He's only trying to contrast foam vs fiberglass vs nothing.
you can make an acoustic panel for $20 or less each and it doesn't take much skill. You do need to make sure that the panel is about an inch from the wall.
I make 2' x 3' panels myself. 4" thick. Those cost about $50 each to make, not factoring in any costs for my time. Also, they say the most effective distance from the wall for an acoustic panel is the thickness of the panel. So an 8" panel ideally should be 8" off the wall.
How would felt compare to this?
It all depends how thick the felt is. If you can find some that’s a couple of inches thick then it would deaden the room but probably not work or look as good as panels but it’s definitely better than nothing. Great question
bro im disappointed. need to measure dba
But clapping is super normalized 😂
Not only dB, but also RT
Panels are much better. I’m buying some for one of the bedrooms in my home that I use to play my drums and cover the window with soundproof curtains. Great video!
Hi, how did it work with the panels and your drum? I am also playing drums in my basement and it sound awful, so I wanted some acoustic treatment.
One of the best explanations I have seen on the subject. I do have a question. If I use command strips to attach the panels to the wall and I must remove them later on, would it damage the wall or its paint?
There’s a way to do it so it won’t rip the paint. It will tell you right on the packaging the proper way to remove them. There’s a truck to it. It your rip it right off it will leave ripped paint spot.
@@soundproofguide thanks for the info. Figuring this out has been a pain specially since I need to not damage the walls because I will be moving.
@@IsaacLausell A little late I know. What I did once was to drill two holes in the ceiling where the wall meets it and use red plastic anchors, and picture hanging wire down to the panels. You can pull the anchors out, then spackle and white paint if you need to when you move.
Can Polystyrene be Used for Soundproofing? can you just answer here and maybe make a video also.
Yes it's great if your panel is thick enough. But it's not great at absorbing bass.
could you just use a sound db reader app to make your comparison demos more scientific?
I loved your channel and the way you explain. I do have a big doubt about my room that I will soundproof. anyway, its a square room, 318cm x 318cm and I play drums. the point is that I dont have money enough to make all the soundproof inside the walls, neither the lawyers of dry wall. what can I do to make the sound leak as little as possible to the outside?
QUESTION? My my neighbour giggles all the time at night and keeps me awake. would having the wall covered in the foam help me not to hear it ?
😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣
@7:20 😂 I heard the foam fall.... I guess that means I will have to get some panels instead
Indeed 🤣
By panels you mean fiberglass panels. Fiberglass totally crushes foam, and mineral wool is something like 25% better than fiberglass even.
Can you use Acoustic foam panels to southproof a door? I mean to use them instead a blanket, etc THX
Unfortunately not
@@soundproofguide Thanks for the reply. cheers
Hey mate good video....my house is like your room...echo everywhere....how do I get something that looks like wall art...I don't want my living room covered in black panels....lol
Did you build the panels? I like the result from those. I have a lot of R-15 insulation leftover from a room remodel and was thinking I could use them to build sound absorption panels.
Yes! I have a video on the channel on how to build them. J
Yes you can but realize since pink fluffy is less dense than rigid fiberboard you'll need to make your panels about twice as thick to achieve the same results.
My bedroom is on a busy road, do you think sticking some acoustic foam on the window will reduce the noise coming from outside in
No, It would do nothing to help in reducing outside noise.
What is the size of the room that you tested
Use hot glue for acoustic foam squares. Way cheaper than command strips, can do the whole wall for cheap. I’ve done it, it works great.
but what if it’s an apartment and you can’t hot glue the wall
@@Jdoug305 In my experience with hot glue it stuck to the foam when i had to take them down its also very easy to take off the wall by hand even, i'm not sure how your wall is though so i can't really give you more advice than my experience
@@Jdoug305 I'm not very knowledgeable about acoustics, but a tip I saw someone give once was to stick the foam panels to cardboard with glue, and then put the cardboard up with something like scotch tape.
I use both in my studio. Right tool for the right job. I won't stand idly by and watch everyone trash foam. It has its place in most studios.
A completely dead or "neutral" room isn't always the best option. Sometimes you need a little resonance in the room to get a good recording and make sure your mix sounds good in other rooms too
This idea that frequencies bouncing off walls will ruin your mix is mostly horseshit. It's only true in extreme cases
I iive on a very busy street and its really noisy in my home. At nights its particulary bothersome. I was thinking about putting something I can remove during the day and put up in the evening on my LR and bedroom windows.What would you advise on windows that can be put on/taken off? Thanks!
ear defenders
Will the acoustic panels work if people want to block sound coming from the other side of the wall, like from your neighbor for those who live in apartment buildings?
It won't block sound, it'll dampen it. Depending on how thick your walls already are, sound going into the apartment room next door to you should already be blocked pretty well.
what do you think of those hard foams like SilveRboard something Lowes sells? I was looking for something rigid for a star ceiling fiber optic setup but I put my phone on the other side of them and it barely blocked anything.
would that help reduce noise for my neighbors?? like i want them to hear less noise coming from my kids room they can get loud so i thought of this solution…
Not really. Unless there’s a lot of echo in the room your kids are in then the noise wouldn’t be “as bad” when using acoustic panels. But panels like these do not block sound, they absorb it.
Do these panels keep sound out as well?
No unfortunately it doesn’t do anything for soundproofing
Once we open the foams and they expand, im wondering if they can be repacked easily as well if one is moving and wants to take them and reuse them.
If you use those 'Space Bags' they compress right back down to like when you got them. You know those vacuum seal bags that you plug the hose of your vacuum up to? Works perfect for recompressing them!
I really dont think foam is cheaper I paid 56 dollars for 12 pieces off arrow website that's not cheap but it's like 2 inches thick I believe but I just ordered five 4ftby2ft acoustic panels for my 16ft long by 11ft wide by 8ft tall room I spent 384 for those including tax and shipping they were 65 something apiece I thought if I had to buy acoustic foam from the website I bought it was more cost effective to buy the panels
There's a foam that I recommend uratex
Combine/laminate the two to get better results and use corner traps
You are amazing! Awesome video and instruction!
Thank you for your generosity honey! xoxo
the accoustic foams are way thinner than panels, thats why they dont work as good.. you need some 5-10cm foam panel you will see they work very good
Foam doesn't absorb as well as insulation.
@@smoketheartist9501 best is to do both
What would be the best inexpensive solution to soundproofing our basement ceiling. Someone who sleeps in the basement room cannot even stand us walking above her as the floor sometimes creeks. The room above her is carpeted but that doesn't seem to help.
Have someone rebuild part of the floor frame. Or add some thick non-fiber insulation between the floor and the basement frame, but it deadens a vit of sound not eliminate.
Thank you!
Bubble wrap in the ceiling will help deflect sound…according to Steve Deckert.
Im sorry but I think you will have to do something with the floor and ceiling because the room sounds bad with both treatments, echo in both
Is there any type of foam that can muffle or stop a vibrating sound in a vent? I live in this apartment and they cant find the humming in the vent.
get an isovox for vocals and then if that doesn't work then use rx noise removal from isotope to analyze the noise profile and remove it
Panels are way better, and they absorb more frecuencies than foam. If you make your own panels its way cheaper and if you're careful you can even make them better looking than the ones on the video.
In your test:
With the Acoustic panels test: your voice is too low and I can hear your voice ( robotic sound ) echoing/bouncing.
Versus the Acoustic foams test: your voice sound a lot better with no robotic sound and almost zero voice echoing/bouncing.
Based on your test, for me, the quality of your voice sound a lot better with the Acoustic foams !!!
me with a blanket on my head
If you are going to use foam panels your minimum thickness should be 2 inches
3:30 cheap packing tape from a dollar store works too albeit no rolling action
keep in mind the panels are like more than double the thickness of the foam
Definitely!
Saw a test, they had 4 pieces of foam and it still sounded like nothing compared to rockboard.
now add a couch or some window curtains and compare it to the acoustic panel
4:06 ????? LMAO NO 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
7:20 Acoustic foam falling down, lol
Yea......that cheap stuff “CAN NOT” compete with “Aurolex Foam”......so you should do a comparison with aurolex instead.
what about a 35 dollar one on ebay
Rockwool and fiber glass based panels are bad for you health can cause pretty bad lung diseases like fibrosis, go with polyester fiber instead.
Only if you disturb it, once it’s on the wall no problem.
Proof command strips are not as good as T pins. Did everyone catch the foam fail at the beginning? Ha.
its so crazy how bad your audio is when you run an acoustics DIY channel
No panels *claps loudly*
Foam panels *claps less loudly*
"Oh look it's quieter"
No decibel readings means no reliable results. Surely you can see how sketchy this clap test looks.
Sorry Mate 😂 All sound almost same, no big Difference (FAIL) thanks for the video
I can tell just based on the ambient noise level before you start clapping that the mic was not setup the same in each clip.
Can you tell me if i was to put these on a joining living room wall between me and my neighbours would it help block out some of the noise of doors banging, i dont expect it to stop it totally but would it reduce it even a little?
No absorbing materials will make any difference. The freqs that get through the walls are lower and don't get absorbed.
The panels are far better ,you can save money by making them yourself
Definitely agree!
The price lol
the acoustic panels are lot better
cheap foam seems ok
Yes it certainly works better than nothing.
i noticed people doing reviews on acoustic panels have annoying voices...interesting
That's why they need acoustic treatment. Silence their shit up.
You can skip pretty much the entire video and go straight to 9:45. The rest is fluffy fluff.
Funny how these guys' sound is always the worst in their videos.
Impressive lack of technic knowledge, lingo or testing.
Echo? Wtf. Its reflections. And totally unscientific test 🤦🏻♂