Ep. 21 -Part 1 of 4. Do you really need Acoustic Panels for your Home Theater? | Home Theater Gurus

[@brainz-brainz]

Every episode is more informative than the last! thank you

[@sebulbathx]

Great video! I think if you are serious with your home theater it's not a question of "if" you need it's a question of "where" and "how much" you need depending on your situation. If you have a dedicated room you can go all in but if you have it as a living room also then it's a question of where and how much you want. In a living room you maybe don't want it to stick out to much and more blend in with everything then I think you have to be extra smart with you placements and the points you may treat as in choosing the most important reflections. But I must say one area that makes a huge difference is the ceiling which most people I've seen don't treat. And I think the ceiling is where you can make really good improvement that you don't really see either with an acoustic ceiling that have more purposes than just treating the acoustics like lighting, hide cables etc. The other one is you make an acoustic cloud with built in lamps. For me those two options can be very discrete and also aesthetically pleasing. Also I think it's worth in buying manufactured products compared to diy because of the finishes and designs at least for a living room where I feel those two points are more important compared to a dedicated theater.

[@C--A]

Yep acoustic room treatment do make a noticeable difference improvement. The ceiling is a big no no in the living room for most people, WAF etc. If you have a wooden floor then absorption on the ceiling will be of great benefit. Less so if you have a carpeted floor, can get away with just treating the walls.

[@sebulbathx]

@@C--A Yes you are right! Generally I think good treatment makes almost more difference than changing speakers, imo. So for anyone spending thiusands of dollar on equipment having no treatment is almost a waste of money, also in my opinion.😉 But I get acoustic treatment isn't for everyone especially the WAF, hehe.

[@homecinemademo]

This is too good. I need to start treat my Home Cinema now!

[@drsankardas]

I’ve been watching so many videos regarding home theatre and your is truly exceptional.Thank for your efforts. Please do a video on reverb and RT60 . There are no videos which explain it properly. Thanks

[@rajithskumar]

Great information.Very valid points...

[@EthanWiner]

Proper room treatment includes bass traps. Those are just as important as reflection absorbers.

[@hometheatergurus]

Hey Ethan, hope you're doing well!

[@EthanWiner]

@@hometheatergurus Yes, thanks, and nice series of videos you have here. But never forget the importance of bass traps! :->)

[@hometheatergurus]

Thanks Ethan. ;)

[@hometheatergurus]

You'll be happy to know the next video will touch on where modal energy is greatest and where it should be treated. I'll probably go over it more in depth down the road.

[@EthanWiner]

@@hometheatergurus Great, if there's any way I can help let me know.

[@Analyzer52]

Really love to channel. Can you do a video on things to do when you have an open concept room? In the newer houses where the family room/living room that is open to the kitchen area. Essentially you have a room with 3 walls. I know it will never be perfect but what can you do to help it

[@hometheatergurus]

Yep. I'm actually about to begin building and I'll have 3 setups. An open living room such as you described, a bedroom setup and a dedicated space. I'll be covering all of them.

[@pocketoperatorjams98]

This is the area I need help in as well!

[@Nobodyanybody778]

Great series of videos . Thank you again and really hope you keep this going ! Would you recommend acoustic panels on both primary reflection points , if one side of the room has glass sliding doors ? Many thanks for your efforts .

[@hometheatergurus]

We'll be covering how to use the panels in a few epsidoes after we cover the different options.

[@nirajktm]

@@hometheatergurus great video, would love to see how you have put room treatments in your Theatre, newbie to this topic and have a small room 4x3.5 m, there is a sliding door as well

[@jimgeroul]

Great channel dude, you've been on point every single video! great job! If you have experience with diy painted screens vs 100-200$ screens vs high end ones.. i would love to hear your thoughts on the matter!

[@EmperorRobert86]

Hi, how about skyline diffusers?

[@jitu757]

What about placing panels behind LCR speakers?

[@SickTheory]

I watch movies in my living room and I have this issue, I always find it hard to hear the vocals. I thinking about getting a bigger LRC set (currently running elac B6 book shelves and center) with towers. I have windows and odd openings in my living room. I'll be looking for your next video to figure out how to treat my living room to get better sound out of my theater system. 5.1.2 at the moment.

[@UltimateGattai]

My living room is the same, old alcoves and window/door placements, I'll do the best I can, at least he floor is carpet. Since I rearranged the room, I've got pretty good speaker placement.

[@Oneness100]

You should contact someone that can actually discuss your specific needs. I would go to another source than this. May I suggest www.acousticfields.com. They actually design and mfg. their own acoustic treatment, but they also offer DIY build plans to build their product designs for those that want to save money that have carpentry skills, plus they'll help you figure out what you need, where to place it within the room, etc. It's a great company and quite frankly the best treatment products on the market. They don't use building insulation as their absorption material. They design and mfg. their own acoustic foam and low frequency absorption devices and they created unique activated carbon material to go after low frequencies. I have been in one of their tests labs about 6 years ago and was completely blown away.. Best room I've been in. But you need to talk to someone that can figure out what your specific needs are. Different sized rooms may change what treatment you'll need. Good look and I hope you get your problems solved. Oh, and they do free room analysis.

[@C--A]

@@Oneness100 AcousticFields owner sells a few products that are snakeoil - activated carbon bass traps lol. People have tested measured them found there no better than foam bass traps! Plus the owner Dennis Foley is shady! Loads of people on AVS forums who he's ripped off, they have ended up out of pocket. Stick with the reputable acoustic room treatment companies like GIK 👍🏾

[@Oneness100]

@@C--A Actually, no, they aren't snake oil. Diaphragmatic Absorption has been around for a LONG time, the difference he has in his cabinet design is that he has a layered cabinet to make the cabinet more effective so not as much energy leaks out the back and sides. the other aspect of his design cabinet is the dual front wall. The original Diaphragmatic absorption design only had one front wall, he added a second one that moves out of phase so it's more effective. As far as activated carbon, he tried many forms of activated carbon that were meant for air filtration, water filtration, and he developed his own activated carbon pellets that he has tested to be superior performance in the low frequency range. As far as being snake oil? You just never actually had his units to test.. But, here's a test you can do on your own to validate the effectiveness of activated carbon over other forms of absorption.. Buy the build plans for his BDA. You can then buy the recommended amount of activated carbon from Acoustic Fields to have a couple of units built, THEN make another pair and stick whatever you THINK is a better absorption material and then test the results. He's tested the same cabinet design using over a dozen different materials inside for "fill material", and Activated Carbon (his pellet design) worked about 40% better than the best absorption material. Now, as far as independent testing? He sent his units to RAL to get tested to verify what he claims…. if you have any doubt, read this University Study, which didn't use the same pellets and they tested Activated Carbon and according to THEIR testing, Activated Carbon was effective down to about 20hz. usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/23061/1/JASMAN1321239_1.pdf Download the PDF AND READ..

[@Oneness100]

@@C--A Who tested it? NAMES please.. GIK is cheap acoustic treatment that uses very cheap materials. And no, there stuff isn't that great..

[@CottonDude1]

Should I put any sound absorbing panels behind my AT screen and center channel?

[@hometheatergurus]

Yeah 1" absorption is standard behind an acoustic screen to absorb any reflections coming back off the screen.

[@Oneness100]

Talk to a real company that mfg. their own products. My suggestion is Acoustic Fields. They make the best absorption products on the market.

[@Azzy_Mazzy]

Oneness100 acoustic fields is trash and they make trash recommendations don’t believe the BS

[@Oneness100]

​@@Azzy_Mazzy Based on what? I've seen the build quality of their products. They use good materials and build quality. Using activated carbon has been proven to be effective down to even 20hz. There was a University study that tested activated carbon for low frequency absorption. If you want a link to the study I can provide it for you, but unfortunately, you'd have to be able to read technical information and it's a fairly long document and I'm afraid your brain can't handle reading and comprehending the information.

[@Oneness100]

@@Azzy_Mazzy Trash recommendations? Really? Based on what? Because you can't afford to buy what they recommended?

[@Christiansstillstruggle]

"Wife friendly" 😂😂😂 that's a new term 🤣🤣🤣

[@Pk1da]

WAF or wife approval factor is very important 😂😂😂

[@ZZ-ou7gp]

You have made changes to the center channel volume - Tenet :)

[@hometheatergurus]

If you ever have to raise the center volume you have speaker or setup issues and or room acoustic issues.

[@mycool8980]

There's an exception, that's a sound bar that uses reflection to it's benefit

[@phrosda]

My couch is against the far wall. Many who don't have dedicated theaters have this layout. Mine happens to be L shaped.

[@hometheatergurus]

Yep I cover how to treat irregular shaped rooms too.

[@NinJa-yg7kh]

if i treated the room first i wouldn't have spend tons of money on gears... gears are okey but when properly treated, (diffusers, absorption and bass traps) omg, my cheapest speakers sounds good, my home theatre speakers 7.1.1 which are all preowned and cost only about 1k usd sound so good dont wanna upgrade anymore....

[@williamtomkiel8215]

REW and, iirc, ETC graphs, waterfalls your room is not large enough, for a majority of consumers,for an evaluation via RT60, maybe RT30 but a good demo of room reflection issues don't forget ceiling reflections

[@hometheatergurus]

The channel is purposely basic. We won't get too advanced but will get into sbir and ceiling /floor bounce. I'll probably do an episode on ceiling treatments too but most speakers have a tight enough vertical dispersion so that the reflections aren't too destructive.

[@williamtomkiel8215]

save that for the discussions of ATMOS, DTX and the variables of Heights vs Tops. keep at it

[@doc666ify]

You could have the best and most expensive speakers in the world but that means nothing if the room is not treated with acoustic panels and toned in right.

[@hometheatergurus]

Couldn't agree more!

[@SSJBen]

Too bad people rather spend $1000 for a pair of interconnects and $500 on some power cables to "improve" their audio lol.

[@hometheatergurus]

Unfortunately that happens.

[@kevonmanuel]

Follow up video to this one: How to convince your wife to allow you to put up acoustic panels in the living room.

[@Azzy_Mazzy]

NewYorkBlack use acoustic panels that have art on them.

[@rajithskumar]

Request to do a video about Double bass array too, whenever u find time..

[@hometheatergurus]

Sure. The room mode episode touches on it lightly but I can do one more in depth.