Auralex or 703?

[Leviethan]

Hi

I'm currently setting up a mixing suite in a room in my home. I'm looking at different options for treating the room. I could either buy some Owens Corning 703 and make my own acoustic panels and bass traps or I could just buy Auralex Lenrds and some D36 panels. I figure I'd end up spending about the same amount on either option. I'm all for going the DIY route and making my own, but is the quality of 703 panels going to be much better than the Auralex foam?

[Ethan Winer]

is the quality of 703 panels going to be much better than the Auralex foam?

It's not so much the quality of the material but the size. LENRDs are pretty small for what the job requires, versus 2 by 4 foot panels 4 inches thick that will absorb more and to a lower frequency.

--Ethan

[JWL]

In addition to what Ethan says, there are other materials you can use that might offer similar performance at lower prices to 703, specifically I'm thinking of rockwool or ultratouch cotton. Prices vary all over the world, and shipping costs are a HUGE variable, so do some homework. If you find a good deal from a local dealer (no shipping costs) you can get more material for the same budget, which will improve the sound of your room.

[natas]

This is what I ued along with some 703 that I got cheap.
The Ultratouch is half the price of the 703, easier to install, does not itch and is green. From what I have read its just as good as 703.

http://www.greenmakersupply.com/product ... page_id=66

[myfipie]

see if you have a local SPI for all of that stuff.

Glenn

[JWL]

If you want the Ultratouch, you can see if there is a local dealer on their site.

[Leviethan]

Thanks guys, I think I will go with that Ultratouch stuff.

[JWL]

Yeah, the Ultratouch is quite cost effective, and green, which in my book is a bonus.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the material is very floppy and compressible, it's not rigid at all. So making attractive panels is a bit more challenging. Sharp corners are pretty much impossible, unless you frame it out with a false panel in front, completely hiding the cotton.

But, acoustically, it works just fine, with similar specs to 703. I recommend the R19 stuff, it's about 5-5.5" thick, so you get lots of low end absorption. Two layers of it is even better for low end.

So if you don't mind the aesthetic challenge, it's a good way to get lots of absorptive material into your room at a very good price.

[Leviethan]

Couldn't I just nail, staple, or glue the stuff to plywood or cardboard and hang it?

For bass traps, would you recommed cutting it into triangular wedges, stacking and placing them in the corner, or just putting flat panels diagonally with space behind?

[roygbiv]

- somewhat topic related -

Does anyone know where to find 703 in Portland, OR?

I know where to find the ultratouch cotton (Environmental Building Supplies carries it)..

However, I haven't been able to find OC 703 (I found a place that claims to have something similar, but I'm not sure if it is).

Thanks,

roy

[roygbiv]

Ooh Ooh! Another question!

How about those flexible, insulated heating ducts - anyone know where to find those too?

I've heard you can use those coming out of your furnace to substantially help cut down sound transmission through the heating ductwork.

We practice in my crappy old basement, and the sound carries all the way up to our attic/bedroom, through the duct work.

thanks again,

roy

[JWL]

The ultratouch is designed to be pressure-fit between studs in a wall, for normal insulation installation. It comes in 16" and 24" widths for this purpose. It's a few inches short of 8' so it should slide right in. The R13 is 3.5" thick (to go between 2x4s) and the R19 is 5.5" thick (to go between 2x6s).

So yeah, any kind of framing will do, that will allow pressure fitting. Then you can wrap it in cloth or whatever. For the R19 you could use 1x6s; for added absorption you can use, say, a 3.5 or 4" holesaw to cut air flow holes around the frame.

Just understand it will look more like "fluffy pillow" than "nice neat rectangular edges." But soundwise it works great.

Yeah, it's a great material for superchunk-style traps. Not sure how to cut it though, any long knife should work but I imagine it would go dull quick. I'd probably just build a frame with a cloth cover, diagonally across wall-wall or wall-ceiling corners, and stuff as many full-size batts into the space behind the frames as I could.

As far as finding those other materials, Glenn is right, see if there is an spi in your area. If not, I'd check with insulation contractors in the yellow pages.

[Leviethan]

Pure Distribution in NW Portland carries 703.

[chorga1]

Anybody ever used Insul-Cot by FibreTex???


It specs out the same as Ultratouch. However, it's 30 cents a square foot cheaper at my local store than purchasing Ultratouch from SPI...!



Curious to hear your thoughts:


http://www.insulcot.com/

[RodC]

Couldn't I just nail, staple, or glue the stuff to plywood or cardboard and hang it?

For bass traps, would you recommed cutting it into triangular wedges, stacking and placing them in the corner, or just putting flat panels diagonally with space behind?

You can, however it will be more effective if the sound can travel through it. If you hang it with a space between it and the wall, and no back board, the sound will pass through the material, hit the wall then have to pass back through it.

That being said, im limited for space so I'm pretty happy with my rock wool aginst the wall.