Acoustic panels

[DotzHyper]

Hey, So there's a lot of foam panel info that is very overwhelming. Here's the purpose:

I have my mom a room over and when I talk she can hear me, so I want to put some acoustic panels next to the door (to the hallway of our appartment) to cancel as much sound as I can. Also, I would like a more budget friendly option. Not looking to spend more than 50$ as I already bought some for my closet since I play sax.
Thanks in advance if you can help!

[Psittac]

Moving blankets or yoga mat's are the most bang for the buck

[Chipss36]

I find myself wondering what you are doing here...

 

sound proofing or acoustic treatment?

they are vastly different.

 

foam is about the worst you could use for both...
 

sound treatment in small rooms, is best done by absorption, foam will only absorb high frequency and In small rooms the problem is low frequency.

100% of the time.....and by small room I mean any room people live in. Unless you live in a mansion...

 

if you are doing sound treatment building absorption  panels is the most cost effective way, use rock wool or simulator, go a thick as you can, test results with software, many videos on YouTube about this. 
this topic can get very complex....

 

for sound proofing, mass loaded vinyl is a much better bet, than using any sound treatment products....

It’s the wrong tool for the job, mlv is what you need, this also is a complex subject, again youtube can get you started...

 

just depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go...

 

99% of people in this world, use the wrong things, and actually make rooms sound much worse...and people who sell foam prey on people doing just that.

 

I build high end studio mics , and need very flat sounding rooms for testing.

I been down the rabbit hole fairly deep with this subject.

 

some things to consider anyway...

C.

 

 

 

 

 

[The Flying Sloth]

30 minutes ago, Chipss36 said:

I find myself wondering what you are doing here...

 

sound proofing or acoustic treatment?

they are vastly different.

 

foam is about the worst you could use for both...
 

sound treatment in small rooms, is best done by absorption, foam will only absorb high frequency and In small rooms the problem is low frequency.

100% of the time.....and by small room I mean any room people live in. Unless you live in a mansion...

 

if you are doing sound treatment building absorption  panels is the most cost effective way, use rock wool or simulator, go a thick as you can, test results with software, many videos on YouTube about this. 
this topic can get very complex....

 

for sound proofing, mass loaded vinyl is a much better bet, than using any sound treatment products....

It’s the wrong tool for the job, mlv is what you need, this also is a complex subject, again youtube can get you started...

 

just depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go...

 

99% of people in this world, use the wrong things, and actually make rooms sound much worse...and people who sell foam prey on people doing just that.

 

I build high end studio mics , and need very flat sounding rooms for testing.

I been down the rabbit hole fairly deep with this subject.

 

some things to consider anyway...

C.

His budget is $50.....
MLV and a full insulation install are well above $50...
The best bang for buck in soudproofing for a studio environment will always be a second layer of drywall on the walls but at OPs price range the best they will get are moving blankets.

OP, the best bang for buck option for you will be moving blankets most likely, they're not perfect and they certainly don't stop as much noise as a second layer of drywall or a purpose built room but in your price range moving blankets are about as good as it gets, hang a couple of layers on the wall between you and your mum and hopefully it reduces the volume enough for you.

[Chipss36]

Is he soundproofing ??? 
 

moving blankets will do very little if so...

even less for sound treatment.

and about as bad as foam is...

again small rooms bass is the issue.

a blanket has no mass...you can not change physics..

bad advice...

it just is...

 

people should research things before spreading bad information.....

 

 

 

 

 

[The Flying Sloth]

20 minutes ago, Chipss36 said:

Is he soundproofing ??? 
 

moving blankets will do very little if so...

even less for sound treatment.

and about as bad as foam is...

again small rooms bass is the issue.

a blanket has no mass...you can not change physics..

bad advice...

it just is...

 

people should research things before spreading bad information.....

Agree to disagree, my mobile recording setup always has a box of moving blankets for on-location makeshift treatment when needed, the cheap foam options from eBay and the like do almost nothing, nowhere near enough depth to have any appreciable effect across most of the audible spectrum, really only making a noticeable difference in the very high (air) register. A cursory YouTube search will show that moving blankets are far more effective for this purpose. 

"again small rooms bass is the issue." No, he's not trying to treat the room, tread the initial post, he's trying to soundproof the room, with only a thin internal wall between OP and his mother's room most frequencies will be an issue (bar the high range) and anything is far better than nothing when it comes to isolation. 

Absolutely MLV can be better (from what I've read, don't use it personally), Absolutely another layer of drywall or proper insulation can be better but not for $50.
The budget is the controlling factor here.

[gal-m]

7 hours ago, DotzHyper said:

Hey, So there's a lot of foam panel info that is very overwhelming. Here's the purpose:

I have my mom a room over and when I talk she can hear me, so I want to put some acoustic panels next to the door (to the hallway of our appartment) to cancel as much sound as I can.

As @Chipss36 mentioned sound proofing and acoustic treatment are two COMPLETELY different things.

 

Acoustic treatment: pannels, foam, etc. are used when your room is changing the acoustic profile of your sound source, e.g. your speakers sounding boomy, lack of bass, etc.

So your mom will still be able to hear you, the only thing that will change is your music will sound more natural meaning the way it should - basically your room won't color the sound too much.

 

Sound proofing: trying to make sure no sound escapes from your room - the kind of rooms you see in action movies used for keeping people silent without others hearing them haha - just an example to make sure you understand what I'm trying to say.

 

I'm being VERY general here.

[Ahoy Hoy]

Reducing sound transmission into another room is a expensive task. It involves things such as having detached floors, thicker wall and doors, suspended rooms. This stuff isnt cheap its similar pricing to rebuilding the house because thats how you stop it you build the room.

Best way to reduce sound transmission cheaply is to affect the source instead of the environment. So for a saxophone getting the cork inserts to plug it helps a lot. Again for talking a similar approach is used but instead of cork its normal silicone or some kind of plastic gag.

A few thing I could suggest such as plugging gaps between the door and the floor will help but it will help so much that it might as well not help and would be a waste of time.


TLDR Soundproofing too expensive so shut up.

[Chipss36]

On 2/14/2021 at 4:23 AM, The Flying Sloth said:

Agree to disagree, my mobile recording setup always has a box of moving blankets for on-location makeshift treatment when needed, the cheap foam options from eBay and the like do almost nothing, nowhere near enough depth to have any appreciable effect across most of the audible spectrum, really only making a noticeable difference in the very high (air) register. A cursory YouTube search will show that moving blankets are far more effective for this purpose. 

"again small rooms bass is the issue." No, he's not trying to treat the room, tread the initial post, he's trying to soundproof the room, with only a thin internal wall between OP and his mother's room most frequencies will be an issue (bar the high range) and anything is far better than nothing when it comes to isolation. 

Absolutely MLV can be better (from what I've read, don't use it personally), Absolutely another layer of drywall or proper insulation can be better but not for $50.
The budget is the controlling factor here.

 Bass is an issue for soundproofing or room treatment, son, you can not change physics.....not sure what point it is you are trying to make? 
and bass is in fact the issue for both anyway, your thinking here is flawed.

bass is the biggest issue, it takes mass to deal with bass....

 

I have built about 5 studios in my day.

I understand a little about all this.

I am dong my best to keep it simple.

 

 

50$ of mass loaded vinyl , is better than 50$ of moving blankets.

why?

mass...
that is how both works.

not even YouTube can change physics.

 

 

 

[H713]

You wanted cheap, so one thing that can work surprisingly well are mattresses. Obviously not perfect, but it could cost you $0 if you have an extra one in the attic (and have the space in the room). As a disclaimer, it should go without saying that getting a mattress from the curb is a bad idea- especially during a pandemic.

 

As has been mentioned, foam is seldom a good choice for acoustic treatment, and it'll do almost nothing for soundproofing. I've had  some success using it to fix issues at high frequencies, but usually the problems are related to bass or midrange.

 

For acoustic treatment, I'd be looking at Corning 703 fiberglass instead of foam. Won't do much for soundproofing though- might help at high frequencies, but that's about it.