Placing Acoustic Panels On Walls With Gaps

A 2ft by 4ft panel should be placed so that it is 4ft high.

Placing acoustic panels on walls with gaps.

Acoustically the solid back against the wall is about the same as the panel with no back against the wall. In my research i had found that adding an air gap or standing the panels off the wall some will improve absorption and i believe it helps in the bass frequencies most. This particular design is perhaps unique to the panels i was using realtraps microtraps but the general principles should apply to any rigid acoustic panel. Working out where to place acoustic panels in your home theater listening rooms or professional recording studio is always an issue.

My idea for mounting rigid acoustic panels with a variable air gap is pretty low tech. The minimum perimeter occurs if all 4 panels are placed so that their long sides are touching with only 48 of perimeter. To get maximum effectiveness from a limited number of panels avoid placing panels on both points of opposing walls and instead stagger their positions as shown in the above picture. Assuming the rear wall is treated diffusers on the front wall are not essential but they make the room sound more spacious and enveloping making it an inviting space for spontaneous musical activities like practicing or recording.

That is to say. Where the back can be undesirable is if you are trying to absorb bass and you want an air gap behind the panel. In summary i hope today s discussion helps solve the problem you are having. To avoid this problem mount your acoustic panels flat on the walls and be sure to spread them evenly throughout the entire room.

Bass traps are in my future but starting with panels for now to address echo and first reflections. Deciding on which acoustical panel to purchase is enough of an issue to begin with now you have to find the correct place. If this is centered on an 8ft wall for instance you now have the center 4ft of the wall covered. Poor acoustic panel layout.

As a rule these are mounted at ear and or speaker height and positioned along the wall to capture the early reflections from the loudspeakers. Determining the type of panel how many you need to use for your room usage and where. By spreading them out with 4 gaps in between the panels the perimeter of the entire set of panels increases to 72 and the efficiency of the layout increases by 50. These are easily controlled by strategically placing broadway acoustic panels along the side walls to absorb these troublesome reflections.

It s a fat wooden shim. Possible alternative layout of acoustic panels. It acts as a spacing block that both holds the panel away from the wall and creates a variable air gap. For control of speakers you ll likely want to put panels centered on the wall but if they re rectangular they should be mounted vertically.

Mounting the acoustic panels away from the wall allows for airflow on both sides of the panel and increases the amount of absorption since we are allowing airflow on both sides to occur.