[AndyST]

Latest Update

Master 'To Do' List

I'll keep adding to and updating this as I go along...

Designs:

• Front Columns - Complete!
• Column Covering Panels - Complete!
• Bass Traps - Complete!
• Diffusers - Complete!
• Front Wall Layout - Complete!
• Front Wall Layout - Complete!
• Window Panels - Complete!
• Ceiling - In Progress
• Lighting - In Progress

Construction

Columns:

• Front Right - Complete!
• Center - Complete!
• Front Left - Complete!

Column Covering Panels:

• Front Right - Complete!
• Center - Complete!
• Front Left - Complete!
• Center Right - Complete!
• Center Left - Complete!

Bass Traps:

• Front Right Column - Complete!
• Center Column - Complete!
• Front Left Column - Complete!
• Center Left - Complete!
• Center Right - Complete!
• Rear Wall

Diffusers:

• Rear Wall (3 - Prime 17, 2 - Prime 13)

Window:

• Acoustic / Light / Heat Control Panels (6) - Complete!

Misc:

• Lighting
• Trunking / Cable Management

Software / Calculators Used

• Porous Absorber Calculator - Absorbers / Bass Traps
• QRDude - Diffusers

[AndyST]

First column frame is 80% done, just a few more cross beams to add in. Was a lot more work than I expected, I should really invest in some power tools. Hopefully the next one will go a bit faster

Here's my preliminary designs for the front wall. The custom equipment racks will be going in those 2 alcove areas, but I'm still working on the exact designs for them.

[alz2605]

I really like the look of your design Andy! Do your self a favour and at least get an power screw driver! I'm sure that now you've built one colum the other two will go up quicker.

A suggestion I would offer to you though would be not to use racks in the alcoves and site your other equipment out of site. I think it would spoil the look of your design and all those illuminated buttons drive me to distraction.

Keep us up to date with plenty of photos mate!

[AndyST]

The first column is complete and in position:



Pretty pleased it all went together without any problems, the benefits of thorough planning I guess

Picked up the materials for the 2nd one this morning so I'll be ready to start work on that tomorrow.

[AndyST]

Almost done with my design of the power amp rack. Space for the 3 8000Ms I have at the moment with room for 2 more. Intending for that to be part of my next upgrade path, so every channel will have it's own monobloc.



There's a gap at the bottom to draw in cold air and through each shelf in line with the 8000M's heat vents. So there will be no risk of any heat building up and it should have quite a nice airflow.

Similar to the columns I'm planning to attach panels to the frame and also have a hinged door at the front so everything inside can be hidden out of view. More on this once I've finished the designs.

Hopefully they will integrate well into the design of the front wall. There really isn't anywhere else they can go in the room.

[AndyST]

Center column is almost done, should be able to get the last few pieces sorted tomorrow night. I tried a slightly different approach putting this one together. Instead of attaching the brackets to the cross beams first I measured out the main supporting beams and attached them where they needed to go on there. This way went a lot smoother as I didn't need to line up all the cross beams during the final phases of construction, they just slotted into place.



Picked up the materials for column 3 as well

[AndyST]

Center column complete and in position.

[RowdenCO]

looking good, keep the updates coming

[AndyST]

Decided I need a break from column building this weekend. Instead I'm going to build the covering panels for the front right column, to see if it all goes together like I expect it to.

Here's the acoustically transparent cloth from Maplin (20m), and the wood for the frames.

[RowdenCO]

now I see the cloth, I understand what your doing, should be cool. The columns are they being left as untreated wood?

[mossym]

will be interested to see how the columns turn out, i've been thinking of adding some to my cinema room for a while

good job so far

[AndyST]

Originally Posted by RowdenCO

now I see the cloth, I understand what your doing, should be cool. The columns are they being left as untreated wood?

That's the plan. Adding wood treatment to them would fill the room with VOCs for some time, and they really aren't nice things to be breathing in.

[albriscoe]

Hi Andy

its starting to come together mate

there`s a lot of bloody screws their though I bet yer arms dropping off

keep up with the pics... cheers Al

[AndyST]

Here's the build process with a picture for each step:

• Place inner frame on the cloth.
• Ensure cloth is pulled tight and staple to frame.
• Trim excess cloth.
• Attach outer frame.
• The completed panel.
• Attach to the column using velcro. Done!

Using velcro to attach the panels means they can easily be taken off again when I get around to installing the bass traps, and if I need to change or rewire the speakers inside.

I have made a couple of basic errors... not taking into account the thickness of the cloth and velcro in the designs So the frames haven't lined up perfectly. I now have the additional offsets needed so the next ones should be perfect.

[albriscoe]

Andy

they really do look great

[alz2605]

That finished column looks fantastic. Can't wait to see the rest of your project finished.

Is that fabric the same as speaker cloth? It looks more like a solid cotton type material from the pictures and if so could come in handy for a small project I want to do.

[AndyST]

Originally Posted by alz2605

Is that fabric the same as speaker cloth? It looks more like a solid cotton type material from the pictures and if so could come in handy for a small project I want to do.

It's the KS50E felt speaker cloth, which is the thicker of the 2 they do. Hides what's underneath very well without affecting the sound passing through.

Originally Posted by albriscoe

there`s a lot of bloody screws their though I bet yer arms dropping off

I've just worked out the numbers for this, there's 72 brackets in each column and at 4 screws per bracket that makes 288 screws in total No wonder they're taking me so long to build (pretty much an entire weekend each).

The result is worth it though, I can move the columns around without any flex or bending. They're completely rigid and should hold a decent amount of weight.

[AndyST]

Third and final of the front columns is done.



Time to look at the bass trap modules that will be going inside them...

[AndyST]

Prototype of the bass trap frame is done. Nice to see something go together so quickly after those darn columns

No brackets here as they don't need to bear any significant loads, just used the staplegun.



Fits nicely into both top and bottom sections as planned.

Need to get the Rockwool ordered now. In the mean time I've 5 more of these to build.

[AndyST]

To determine the optimum density of rockwool for the size of my traps, I've run the figures through a Porous Absorber Calculator. Here are the results...

RS33: (33 kg/m3)


RS45: (45 kg/m3)


RS100 (100 kg/m3)


So, what do the graphs show? For a start at this thickness lower density is better, so I will be going with the RS33 slabs.

At higher densities the effect of having an air gap behind the absorber appears to be nothing, but at 33kg/m3 it does give slightly better figures right at the lower end. 25% absorption at 20Hz.

They are based on an angle of incidence of zero degrees, or the sound hits the surface perpendicularly. In the real world the overall absorption will be higher, presumably due to increased effective depth when sound waves go through at a diagonal angle.

[AndyST]

Rockwool has arrived.

[RowdenCO]

Well isnt that pretty rockwool

looking forward to seeing the finished article.

[AndyST]

Managed to get 3 of the bass traps done today, 5 more to go!

The build process:

• Cut the rockwool slabs into sections to fit the trap.
• Insert the pieces into the frame.
• For these traps I decided to use clingfilm to cover them, for two reasons:

1. It will contain 100% of the rockwool fibres.
2. It will reflect the higher frequencies, whilst being transparent to bass and mid range. The higher frequencies are already being absorbed by the carpet and other soft furnishings in the room, so I want to avoid making it sound too 'dead'.

• Insert the finished trap into the column. Done!

They're not the most visually appealing things, but once the covering panels are applied they'll be hidden away out of sight

[AndyST]

Picked up some more timber, should be enough to finish off the bass trap frames and all of the covering panels for the front columns.

Sorted out the straight pieces from those which are warped slightly. The straight ones will be used for the covering panels as these need to look spot on. It doesn't matter if the bass trap frames are slightly out of alignment.

[AndyST]

Here's the pretty much final design plans for the front wall...

[albriscoe]

Hi Andy

its all looking great is this so far

question though about the bass traps, are you certain wrapping the wadding in clingfilm is a good idea, will it not stop the acoustic absorbtion qualities of the wadding

Sorry to be negative mate

[AndyST]

Thanks Al

Despite how it looks it's pretty much transparent to all but the highest sound frequencies. Try putting a plastic bag or similar over one of your speakers and see how it sounds. There should just be a slight reduction in the top end, but otherwise it won't sound any different.

Now if the room had a complete lack of any soft funishings and a wooden floor I'd have probably gone with acoustic cloth. In a room like that there'd be nothing to soak up the higher frequencies so it would make sense to go with fully broadband traps.

In this room though there's the carpet, sofa and a bed. All of which absorb the high frequencies in generous amounts. For good acoustic treatment you need balance across the frequency range, so I don't want to over absorb all the top end.

The main purpose of the traps is to deal with bass frequencies. There's really nothing in your standard room that will affect frequencies at this wavelength, so this area needs the most treatment.

My only concern is how/if the clingfilm will act as a membrane. Adding these can change how bass traps behave, but my knowledge in that area is limited at the moment. Generally you need mass though for them to have any effect, clingfilm has next to none so it should be ok.

I'll know more once I start experimenting with REW at later stages, but due to the modular design of the traps I can always take them out and reskin them later if I'm not happy.

[alz2605]

Coming along nicely, Andy. Like the look of the updated designs!

[AndyST]

Cut out the fabric pieces needed for the remaining 6 covering panels, and built the rest of the bass trap frames for the front columns.

Aiming to have them finished this weekend so I can start work on other areas.

[AndyST]

The front columns are finally complete!