HI, I searched for quite a bit but couldnt find any answer on this forum or others. I had the idea of what if you build a frame surround on the outside of the cabinet for the sides and rear of a speaker and simply used absorption say 4-6" thick.
Similar to a baffle mount except out in the room and of course frequencies below what the absorption material can absorb would still propagate. My question is has anyone else tried this to reduce side/rear wall reflections and how did it sound?
Seems like a way you could experiment without having to alter your speakers.
Regards,
Eli
Similar to a baffle mount except out in the room and of course frequencies below what the absorption material can absorb would still propagate. My question is has anyone else tried this to reduce side/rear wall reflections and how did it sound?
Seems like a way you could experiment without having to alter your speakers.
Regards,
Eli
Last edited by a moderator:
I have had the same thought of building some sort of frame of sound absorbing foam around the speaker's baffle to eliminate the reflection as my room is very reflective and devoid of any furniture, tiled with bare walls and large glass window.
In my HT room, I have used acoustic pin boards with air gap on walls (not completely covered) and couple of thicker absorbing panels and have had the best result in that room. It also has carpet instead of tiles and does sound good. Almost all the speakers in that room sound amazing and these same speakers in my stereo room sound nothing like what it does in that room. I know that is due to the fact the stereo room (home office) is very reflective, it is tiled, has large glass window with plantation shutter, no furniture except my work desk, in short not a good room and I have always struggled to get a good sound.
I have not been able to find anything in regards to doing something on speaker it self to eliminate side reflection, they all point to room treatment (for good reasons), but there are situations where one cannot treat the room. 🙁
In my HT room, I have used acoustic pin boards with air gap on walls (not completely covered) and couple of thicker absorbing panels and have had the best result in that room. It also has carpet instead of tiles and does sound good. Almost all the speakers in that room sound amazing and these same speakers in my stereo room sound nothing like what it does in that room. I know that is due to the fact the stereo room (home office) is very reflective, it is tiled, has large glass window with plantation shutter, no furniture except my work desk, in short not a good room and I have always struggled to get a good sound.
I have not been able to find anything in regards to doing something on speaker it self to eliminate side reflection, they all point to room treatment (for good reasons), but there are situations where one cannot treat the room. 🙁
Last edited by a moderator:
It is quite unlikely that enclosure wall output would be of a high enough level to be audible, but as you suggest, it's an interesting non-destructive experiment!
^Perhaps on some cases it could, the area of the enclosure is a lot more than the transducers, small movement could mean big displacement due to large area.
While interesting idea I'm not sure if the damping material outside is good because it can be unpredictable in a way that sound reflects and diffracts where impedance changes, like in the case of absorbing material and air. Perhaps it works just fine, perhaps it does make a big difference. If you are still in planning phase try and control the sound by waveguide for example, much more predictable at least and perhaps less work. Why radiate sound all around and then try kill it when you could narrow the radiation from the start. If you already have a speaker go and try it, I suppose there is noticeable difference especially with thick layer of damping.
ps. One could do many things for artistic or marketing appeal, for example making all the bracing / stiffening outside the box!🙂
While interesting idea I'm not sure if the damping material outside is good because it can be unpredictable in a way that sound reflects and diffracts where impedance changes, like in the case of absorbing material and air. Perhaps it works just fine, perhaps it does make a big difference. If you are still in planning phase try and control the sound by waveguide for example, much more predictable at least and perhaps less work. Why radiate sound all around and then try kill it when you could narrow the radiation from the start. If you already have a speaker go and try it, I suppose there is noticeable difference especially with thick layer of damping.
ps. One could do many things for artistic or marketing appeal, for example making all the bracing / stiffening outside the box!🙂
Last edited: