jmierzur & bass traps

dholmes

jmierzur, nice looking HT, are those home made bass traps or store bought? Also are they in each of the 4 corners of the room? thanks

gatemplin

It says in the showcase that he built them.

Are you interested in building your own?

jmierzur

Dholmes,

Thanks for the compliment on the system.

Yes they are DIY tube traps. ASC tube traps are beyond my means at this time for what I would like to accomplish.

The ones in the photos are constructed based on the ‘Risch’ method. I modified the design described on his site to get a version that would have a professional appearance. The traps in the photo need a cloth cover and end caps. If I can drag myself away from two channel music listening, I will complete these outstanding tasks.

More traps will be constructed using a variation of the ‘Gale’ method. I have the rigid pipe insulation in the garage and will commence construction this spring when I am able to cut the required circles. I decided to use rigid pipe insulation for smaller traps as I do not think it will be easy to construct small diameter traps with my method. In addition, my traps may look good when completed, but are a pain in the a$$ to construct.

Have a look at Doug Ploss’s site. It shows a step by step approach he used to create acoustical treatment that can be mounted on the wall. Nice approach requiring minimal tools.

The reason I choose the tube trap type of ‘broad band’ acoustical treatments is due to placement options. If you will note in the photographs on the showcase, the right side of the room does not have any wall mounted placement options; fireplace/light switches, double French doors and fireplace. Tube traps stand on the floor and do not require much wall space.

There are also DIY methods for wall mounted ‘broad band’ treatments. If you are going to DIY acoustic treatments, make sure they are considered ‘broad band’. I have provided several links that have information you may want to read before deciding on any course of action.

ASC acoustic articles
Real Traps site


Your second question asks if I have them in the four corners of the room. Yes I do, but that is not the most effective location for initial placement of tube traps. If you only have a limited number of traps, the best location for placement is the middle of the two side walls as well as the middle of the rear wall. Three traps in this configuration should be considered the minimum number of traps in a room. The traps should be as high as you can make them; floor to ceiling is best. The reflective side of the side traps should be facing the rear of the room. The reflective side of the rear trap should be facing the front of the room.

There is a great article describing tube trap placement that outlines various placement options. I experimented with placement options using minimal traps and found that they were right. When I find the article, I will post a follow-up with the link.

I also started this thread in the forum.

There is a lot of information out in the public domain on acoustical treatments. Read until you are comfortable with the subject, then decide what you think is best for your room.


DIY sites

Risch DIY acoustical treatments
Gale DIY tube traps
another Gale method
Doug Ploss DIY site

dholmes

Thanks, very good reading!!