Really interesting video. Id love to see more of these tests but with different brands of foam. I’m using Pro Acoustix foam and they claim its designed to reduce high mids and above. Im building some proper bass traps and using other treatment but keen to see if the more mid range brands of foam perform any better!
I'd be interested to see that as well. From what I can tell, a good rule of thumb is if the company who makes the foam doesn't provide specifications on what the foam can do, it's probably junk.
My neighbor must have gotten a new set of subs. The boom boom boom goes on for hours. My office does have sound proofing and sound treatment. If it's not the neighbors, it's the fly overs from Nellis Air Force Base. Jet engines and subwoofers create the same problem that is impossible to eliminate. Or is it possible to get rid of that 30hz and lower noise?
It would be difficult. Sound proofing is difficult and expensive in existing buildings. Mass (layers of drywall) would be the only thing you could do. Depending on the attic space, you could add more insulation, which would have other benefits, but the sound would still come though the walls, doors, windows - the windows being a major weak spot.
all frequency specific treatment aside, would the amazon foam help for just a general echo? or is it basically the same as what you were explaining? so would only stop a minimal amount of high end echo perhaps?
The stuff I tested is virtually acoustically transparent. If you treated an entire room in the stuff, yes, you would get a slight reduction in high end echo - but you might not even really notice the difference. You'd probably do a better job acoustically just hanging some old blankets or thick curtains on the walls.
It might be fun to make a video testing some of the things that are urban legends in the home studio. Things like those paper egg crates, mattress pads, carpet, and other things people think make good soundproofing or acoustically treat a room. If I do a video like this, I'll do towels as well.
They go hand in hand in a way. Porous treatments absorb the velocity of the sound waves. You can measure how well treatments work by measuring what can pass through them - and what can't. The tests I did aren't 100% scientifically accurate measurements, but we can get a pretty good idea of what the treatment is capable of.
A good rule of thumb is use rockwool for treatments up to 6 inches thick. If you're going thicker than 6 inches, pink fluffy insulation works a bit better.
Brilliant, great testing... so glad I watched this before purchasing amazon absorption foam, can't believe micro fibre cloth out performs it.
This was fantastically informative and helpful. Thank you so much for making the effort to share this with the world.
Thanks.
had to go through a lot of videos to find this one, which is the absolute best one when trying to find out if cheap foam does anything.
Long story short: If the foam doesn't come with a spec sheet on what it does, it isn't acoustic foam.
Really interesting video. Id love to see more of these tests but with different brands of foam. I’m using Pro Acoustix foam and they claim its designed to reduce high mids and above. Im building some proper bass traps and using other treatment but keen to see if the more mid range brands of foam perform any better!
Subbed by the way, great content!
I'd be interested to see that as well. From what I can tell, a good rule of thumb is if the company who makes the foam doesn't provide specifications on what the foam can do, it's probably junk.
Thank you.
Thank you for this work and sharing it.
My pleasure!
My neighbor must have gotten a new set of subs. The boom boom boom goes on for hours. My office does have sound proofing and sound treatment. If it's not the neighbors, it's the fly overs from Nellis Air Force Base. Jet engines and subwoofers create the same problem that is impossible to eliminate. Or is it possible to get rid of that 30hz and lower noise?
It would be difficult. Sound proofing is difficult and expensive in existing buildings. Mass (layers of drywall) would be the only thing you could do.
Depending on the attic space, you could add more insulation, which would have other benefits, but the sound would still come though the walls, doors, windows - the windows being a major weak spot.
all frequency specific treatment aside, would the amazon foam help for just a general echo? or is it basically the same as what you were explaining? so would only stop a minimal amount of high end echo perhaps?
The stuff I tested is virtually acoustically transparent. If you treated an entire room in the stuff, yes, you would get a slight reduction in high end echo - but you might not even really notice the difference. You'd probably do a better job acoustically just hanging some old blankets or thick curtains on the walls.
great video! Thanks for this :)
You're so welcome!
Can you please test 5 llayers of regular bath towels?
It might be fun to make a video testing some of the things that are urban legends in the home studio. Things like those paper egg crates, mattress pads, carpet, and other things people think make good soundproofing or acoustically treat a room. If I do a video like this, I'll do towels as well.
But they're good enough to make a gaming room abit more quiet right
No. Not really.
Is your test setup not setup improperly? Isn't it testing soundproofing instead of acoustics?
They go hand in hand in a way. Porous treatments absorb the velocity of the sound waves. You can measure how well treatments work by measuring what can pass through them - and what can't. The tests I did aren't 100% scientifically accurate measurements, but we can get a pretty good idea of what the treatment is capable of.
Seems I’m going to Home Depot for Rockwell then I also heard fiberglass was really good
A good rule of thumb is use rockwool for treatments up to 6 inches thick. If you're going thicker than 6 inches, pink fluffy insulation works a bit better.
Yep, just audio-useless sponges. I put them on the wall behind my hanging guitars to protect their bodies. So it's good for that as well as pet beds.😜
My dogs did NOT like the sound frequencies from this video! 😆
HA HA. No, probably not.
Next week Seven tests the top 10 microphone wind socks! * Rubs hands together * This is getting exciting!!
It's true!! Dead cats are NOT equal.