How to build an acoustic diffuser

[@daniel_lisbona]

3:16 start of the build

[@VincentVegaDJ]

Hi! We made 2 like these for my Studio and the results are stunning, amazing little helpers for any studio for around 50 EUR and a lot of manpower! Absolut MUST have!

[@roderickpeterson]

Thanks for taking the time to feed us DYI'ers! The most important piece of info is at 3:25, it's about as important as having the lumber. I appreciate you! Cheers.

[@djmichaelm3301]

Thanks for the DIY! If I can make a suggestion for everyone else, sand all the wood as much as possible before cutting. Goes quick with a power sander. Then you only need to touch up after cutting. :-)

[@mattbrown3549]

Thanks djmichaelm, That is a very useful tip.

[@pabli7o]

Thanks for the quick reply! I believe that the studio I'm working at has the perfect room size, We have bass traps in the corners, panels on the walls and a cloud on top of the board and computer but i have the feeling that everything seems TOO symmetrical. I heard that another cool way to diffuse sound is by having a bookshelf in the back of the room. I never thought about it but in theory it makes sense. Thanks again!.

[@Sunkenballs12]

Hows all that going dawg

[@TheDSPproject]

Yeah thats about right. Bass traps first, as many, as deep as you can. Then treat the first refection points. Once your maxing out the amount of absorption you can use (about 40 - 50% of your surface area depending on who you ask). Then look at diffusion. That would be my approach, diffusion adds a nice touch but to start with I feel absorption gives you the most acoustic improvement for your money.

[@TheLinkhouse]

Yes, I also prefer the first reflection panels absorption and diffusion on the rear. I saw blackb. studios (on the site you can also do the calculations for the skyline ..). Another curiosity is the materal to use. The top seems to be the wood, but it is heavy. I do not know if it works quite well in polystyrene, maybe not. Some suggest pine, others in bamboo, lighter. To have an optimal frequency range, 800-4000 or 800-2500, I see that the maximum thickness is 21 cm.

[@martindoyle9428]

for thin backing boards. Glue the sides of each piece where possible as well as to the base board, this will add to rigidity.

[@ezyTvids]

Amazing calculators there - you can spend a year just on learning that...what did you input on Column width? whatever i try gives me unlogical lengths

[@almdmilk]

Thank you so much for making a quality video! I didn't mind the ads at all! Very entertaining!

[@BraidzMC]

To think i was going to spend like $600 on a few of these panel types. Lifesaver!

[@werner134897]

Looking at the apparant size if the blocks, they can only influence sound reflection for frequency above say 2 KHz, when the wavelength is smaller than the block size.

[@BirdYoumans]

I went to a sawmill and bought rough cut white pine (I built my own studio in my side yard with a 20 by 28 studio and a 20 by 16 control room) in 8" widths then bought a band saw and resawed it and it came out about 1/2" in thickness. I then applied it to the wall in a lap joint configuration much like you see on the outside of houses. That makes it where there are no parallel surfaces on the walls and my ceiling is a cathedral ceiling so it is also not parallel with the floor. It turned out to have an incredible sound! A bit of work but worth every minute of it. If you do it, leave the wood rough cut. If you look closely at my Avatar, you can just see the walls behind me. That is a wall in my main room. I think it looks good, and smells great!

[@Ab20222]

Any update after all this time? Would you do it again? What’s the biggest difference between this type of modular or skyline diffusers and the quadratic ones?

[@הערוץשלאריק]

using glue on the sides would have given you the necessary strength so the backing plate will not bend

[@Wuppie62]

Using glue on the sides of the blocks could even make the backplate superfluous..

[@oinkooink]

@@Wuppie62 You think you're pretty good saying superfluous don't you?

[@Intimatycal]

@@oinkooink why wouldnt he use that word? Is it wrong to be educated and use adequate terms for a solid expression? Fucking hell, the world is full of these frustrated cynical ignorant dogs who by the automatism hate everything in others that they personally don't posses. Oh yea feel free to criticize my english now so u can give yourself a glimpse of dominance fuckin tard

[@oinkooink]

@@Intimatycal Sorry man. Actually, I like that word. It's like, really far out.

[@TheDSPproject]

There is no limit to the amount of diffusion you can use. If you google blackbird studios they have an amazing room almost completely treated with diffusion. So the amount you use will be limited by space, cost and taste. While any placement would in theory have some positive effect, diffusion on the rear wall and/or first reflection points will produce the greatest gains. Personally I lean towards absorption on the first reflections and diffusion on the rear.

[@iwokeupthismorning2]

I went in that room in Nashville, the sound was incredible, I think the owner told me 182 000 pieces of wood where needed, he also stated that every piece of wood had a different length, they where mostly using that room for mastering work. They did play me "dark side of the moon" in 5.1 while I visited. It sounded very cool... To me the sound of that room didn't felt very "reflective", it was a very good sounding room almost had a paradoxal effect of a blend of "dead vs alive" with a wooden feel. Very cool. I'm building panels like these right now, my advices are, get a mite saw and a a belt/ disc sander otherwise you'll go insane. 16 square foot took me 9 hours to build, decent, my advice is to do at least 46 square foot for a room of 3000 cubic or I won't do much besides looking cool. I would call that kind of panels diffuser/absorber more than just diffuser it has defiantly and damping effect to it, just try to visit blackbird studio and you'll know what I'm talking about.

[@TheDSPproject]

Ive been told hardwoods are better but personally I highly doubt it (but have never seen any real testing). Placement depends on your room and what existing treatment you have but on the rear wall behind your head is a common location.

[@TheDSPproject]

As a side note I wouldn't choose diffusion as the first option to improve acoustics. Bass traps, Bass trap and absorption are the best place to start. Also if your working in a small room diffusion might not be ideal. But to your question usually diffusers work around the 800 Hz to 4 KHz range so the default settings would be fine. You can go lower but this will require more depth, which is ok if you have the room. But again bass traps are better at dealing with low end problems.

[@TheDSPproject]

To treat higher frequencies you would need thinner timber sticks, which then changes efficiency against the lower range. Also thinner sticks would mean more work / cost to cover the same area. Also the very high end isn't as much of an issue acoustically.

[@radiodust]

Great video - thanks!! I noticed the link to calculator is broken but the website still have plenty of calculators available. I definitely have metallic-sounding (after a handclap, for example) flutter echoes. How can I measure to see what the target low and high frequencies for this type of diffuser should be? Even if I rented an RTA… I’m not sure how to generate a sound, and measure only the frequencies that are “echoing”. Any tips, anyone?

[@rumplestillskin6157]

JRE is the Man

[@footnotedrummer]

Very cool. Thanks for the info. I do have a question though... how do I know what problematic frequencies my room has?

[@KeesRomkes]

bit late but who knows - get a measurement microphone 😀

[@pabli7o]

How do I know which frequencies i need to target in my room? :s Thanks

[@TheSyncopater]

There is software called room EQ wizard that can help you determine your room’s characteristics

[@estebandiaz4405]

Hey man ! thanks and greetings from Colombia. I'm doing a project like that now for my class of Physical Acoustics

[@dennisdk7657]

Where do you get these Wood things you glue

[@aspenmallery]

out of laziness to crunch the numbers, how much does one of these panels approximately cost in materials?

[@PedroPerez-st8yq]

Excellent. Could you explain why you came up with these measureaments of blocks and why the position you utilize for the diffusors? Thanks

[@RenLB]

This is something i'm always wondering about diffusers: what would happen if you were to glue layers/slices of acoustic foam on each block? Would this help improve the room acoustics even more or cause problems (like deadening the room sound too much?)

[@Mekratrig]

Doesn't the old style popcorn ceiling spray coverings accomplish this diffusion? And since it typically covers the entire ceiling, wouldn't it be more effective than three 3X3 panels? Or maybe the room the panels were installed in already had a popcorn ceiling?

[@glentucker5167]

Does anyone have a working link for the software or could send me the program?

[@korbinpurchasemusic]

When you put the 3 panels together. Are they just repeating the same pattern? Or do you need to rotate them?

[@das250250]

Ty for your video although an interesting observation .. DSPmastering using analogue gear .. shouldn't it be Analogue mastering ?

[@karlmorrison2713]

You don't need thicker plywood for the back panel, you just just need to.. glue the blocks together from the sides to prevent flexing... you don't even need the back panel. What you should of done is have something to align all of your blocks in one row so that it is perfectly straight though. Apart from that, nice job!

[@zfierocious311]

Questions about using this type of thing in an apartment setting. Lets say I made a few of these and a few absorption panels and set them up in an apartment. Would that make any noticeable difference (better or worse) to the way I hear people during conversation and the way i hear things when listening to music in the room? I think diffusers and absorption panels can easily be made more artistic to look cool in a living room or something and wondered if I would get any acoustic benefit out of them.

[@thefantasticadventuresofmr7126]

Anyway you could update the link to the software? Thanks

[@FlyingJackalope]

Can this be done with foam square dowels or is the wood that is the important part?

[@MattnUska]

5:10 I would suggest a silicone adhesive. Wood glue isn’t strong unless you clamp it. As the wood dries it will loosen the glue. Silicon will flex as the wood dries. Wood glue can crack.

[@TNW1337]

Software is not found :(

[@monkmethod911]

Hi, very like your shot, i need help with build a diffuser but totaly dont understand what frequency i need for it. I make drumnbass music mostly or house sometimes. Can you help me when can i see the real low n high freq in ableton daw for example? Can send you photo of my studio in progress with sizes. Thank you so much for the answer.

[@Kevin_Cat]

Great vid, but there isn't mentioned if the diffusers made a difference, and if so, bad or good. So, did the diffusers made any improvement in the room acoustics?

[@hoganfoundation]

Cant you glue another backing board turned against the grain of existing one to make more sturdy? or does it have to be specific to size building? Thank you very much for this. Nice of you to share. p.s. can we use a hard foam? thanks again.

[@dEnguesito7506]

where can I download the diffusser calculator

[@yrrahyrrah]

Are these types of diffusers only working in the treble range and if so, down to what frequency? And do you generally even need/want diffusion in the bass? If yes, how can it be achieved?

[@MarvinConnell]

Good day... Can cylinders be used to effectively to diffuse sound in a room? If yes with what sort of placement? Thanks...

[@thijs199]

The link of the calculator is now dead

[@markmanning6773]

I am skeptical but what is the method for placement? Certainly not random and one log board doesn't account for multiple reflection points. Am I missing something?

[@mikaelmarkstrom6811]

Hi!I want to built a Skyline diffuser, but I can only buy 4,5 cm width here in Sweden. When I tried to use the calculator, it does´nt seem´s to be correct as the high frequencies tend to be lower than the low one´s. Should it be fine to use 4,5 cm and get good frequencies? If so, what lenght´s should I use? Or can I use 4,5 x 7 cm width instead, maybe?

[@theaudioman4446]

Hi, is there somewhere I can find a general diffuser that would help over a range of frequencies, just for general applications, rather than one tuned for a specific room?

[@starsqok3old396]

I've got a blue yeti mic and my vocals always sound too reverby and wet and don't stand out in a mix. should I get the kaotica eyeball? are there cheaper options?

[@rickc2222]

I wonder what the efficiency is like if you just used random length blocks, and angled cuts on the ends? - would it get pretty close to achieving the same goal? has anyone done research on this? I just want to put my scrap wood bucket to better use than firewood. At the end of the day, at the least you get a cool home made piece of artwork to hang on the wall even if it doesnt do anything.

[@david4134]

legend, thanks for the vid, iam looking at building 4 of these very soon, i might have some questions to ask you when it comes time.. appreciate the upload

[@alecek]

this is awesome...i will do it.But wanna ask you .What do you mean target frequency?.Those you want to bring down or what?Is it necessary to make three.I am With Genelec 8030A .In a room 7x4x3 .How can you know which frequency to diffuse?.Sory for noob questions

[@mciiprod]

Im so Diffused ;)

[@louiehe5348]

MCII Prod confused lol

[@mustafaunsoy]

The most effective diffuser is also the most simple one. It is made of the best aqustic material in the world: bamboo. Just buy 50-60 bamboo sticks, bind them into a panel, and stick it to your wall.. Your room will sound like a concert hall!

[@zacelegy9174]

Any ideas on whether 3D Printing these with PLA (or another filament), with say a medium amount of infill, would also achieve the desired diffusion?

[@KuntaKinteToby]

Really cool looking I'm going to build this simply for decoration

[@richarddunn367]

You can use the program to tell you how to set up a certain frequency, but why do you choose a certain frequency over another?

[@helloriker]

What did you use to determine the frequencies you want to target?

[@eosmusic9872]

its called a QRD diffuser invented by BBC, google BBC diffuser and the brits have a simple equation for targeting a frequency

[@eosmusic9872]

just found a sweet QRDUDE program to assist in more complicated constructions as well

[@eosmusic9872]

downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/reports/1995-01.pdf

[@iomstudio6978]

www.oliverprime.com/prd/?show=calculator In this page you get all the info you need and actually you can build it quantized like he did or with the specific measurements down to millimeters

[@AntonSafonov]

@@eosmusic9872 What he asked is not how to do/calculate it, but given the room how one determines the frequency range which needs to be corrected with a diffuser?

[@shrodingersman]

HI thanks for the excellen video, subscribed and liked! Can you please find me the link to the calculator? looks like the link has done dead! Thanks again Mark

[@breathtaker3373]

Hey man. First off Nice Video. I have a bit of a deli-ma the wood blocks that i bought are rounded on the edges will this basically screw up the build? Due to the little holes in the centers?

[@TheJoeyPeacock]

Was there a purpose behind sanding them down? If this was going on a wall behind acoustical fabric, would there be a need for all that sanding? Additionally, the link for the diffusor calculator in your descriptions doesn't work. Is there an updated one?

[@fotogmike303]

question would using a harder wood work more or less efficiently ? also would staining or poly urethan on the wood also make difference ?

[@filmguy925]

Can you repost an updated link?

[@kathykaura7219]

İ'd like to hear/see a digital difference before & after the board.

[@ramonbannister9498]

Links are now either broken or not fully functional within the website. :(

[@luzyoz143]

Monitors touching the wall?

[@sfcnetworkministries]

the web site to calculate the diffuser

[@griefytrolly]

Ohh Drum'n Bass in the intro. Gooood.

[@TheDSPproject]

Yep good question, I had only just finished them at the time of filming hence no conclusion on the result. The effects were subtle but pleasant making the room feel a little larger and more open. I am going to take some post installation acoustic measurements but have been super busy with mastering. I dont expect to see a lot from the tests I suspect frequency response will be the same with a slight improvement in reverberation time.

[@juliaset751]

Wouldn’t it work better if you cut the blocks at an angle instead of ninety degrees?

[@TheLinkhouse]

Thanks for your video really help ! How much area do you suggest to reflect? For example, my control room is 460 cm wide and 550 long. In the part of monitors and console there are absorption panels and bass traps (not all room). Is there a calculation of a maximum or minimum area, or use only the area of direct speakers reflection on the rear wall ? Thanks in advance !!!

[@teknacious]

Joe is a badass and as grown so much since your video love it to bruv

[@jessetimmmiller1870]

Wow! Gorgeous landscape. Where are you, Hawaii?

[@dalekkiller]

Could you have used colour stain on the different blocks?

[@jaylii2696]

Diffuser Calc link seems dead?

[@MattnUska]

4:13 Might save time to sand before you cut. It’s easier to sand large pieces. You will still have to sand the ends though.

[@wiremu3879]

Hi bro, how do you use the the caluclator? im guessin you need to use a room wizard eq to find the problem freq???

[@qiqa2433]

This was a very informative video. Instant sub

[@pekjoek]

Would using foam strips instead of wood be a better damper?

[@johnblasucci6993]

What size it the diffusor? 4x2?

[@raffowczarski4636]

Your link to an online calculator doesn't work. Do you have any other recommendations?

[@jacobopstad5483]

I wonder if you could do something like this by making holes at different depths...

[@K03sport]

Inside the cut 2x2s or in a 4x4 (fence post) piece of lumber? I would think cutting the tops at a 30* miter and arrange the tops/lengths of wood facing different directions would diffuse (scatter) better; however I'm no audio engineer.

[@KennyLauderdale]

great vid. but how do i know which frequencies i need? I'm not that savy

[@lethal2047]

do different types of wood make any difference? and how would i know where in the room to place them?

[@TheTFSstudios]

can you stain the wood without lacquer and still get the same results

[@PERPowns]

The finish of the wood holds no discernible difference. Treat the wood however you like.

[@BranZHamZ]

A sound camparison before and after adding the diffuser to the room would be nice

[@andymaikel5167]

Will this lower the echo in a room? Or wiill the sound still be bouncing in a room with flat walls??

[@jrr832]

No it will add to echo as it scatters the sounds around the room

[@Jeremy-su3xy]

Do you only use the wood bond? Don't you need to screw them?

[@slaviangelovlevit777]

Hallo :) from which store can I get such wood material ?

[@OfficialDelaneyMusic]

Super cool, thanks! With the Skyline do you enter a range of values from low to high or is it asking for a few troublesome bands?

[@remopns]

how do you mount it on the wall?

[@KrachWerke]

looks like a lot of failed tetris levels lol. awesome video thanks.

[@myronhelton4441]

When you talk about tetris, you dont know what you are talking about. diffusors are the greatest secret for stereo. They give you stronger clearer bass. You can place speakers closer to the wall killing echoes.

[@Evexin]

Myron Helton you must have been mad on this day

[@zacharycaruso2935]

What are the values in length of each number - 1, 2, 3, & 4?

[@MalkoProductions]

How much meter wood you used for building the diffusers?

[@tylerhagl7190]

Where did you get the wood from? Your local hardware store?

[@TheDSPproject]

A very good question. Ive heard people say the more dense (harder) the better but I'm not sure how much of a difference that would make regarding reflections. Although I cant speak with authority on this as I have never done the testing. I wouldn't worry about stains or poly urethan their effects would be inconsequential.

[@gmoneytheboss]

Nice tutorial but where did you buy the 2x2 wood from?I cant find 2x2s that are exactly 2in wide

[@nocs19]

What kind of frequency its recommended for a bed room studio ? ? Can anyone help ?

[@EvLoutonian]

Nice one, bro. What order do you recommend approaching room treatment? Start with low frequency absorption, and some general ceiling aboprption? Then move on to diffusion at the end?

[@oinkooink]

Yieah yiou bitcha moight lit's break out the chully bun eh?

[@ChristopherClaudioSkierka]

Hi, nice job!!, just wondering ... you can get these ready made were the ends are mitred instead of being flat at the end, what do you think?