43 replies to this topic

[Ajent X]

Hi Guys,

I need to hang something over a doorway from my mixing room to the rest of the house to try to stop some of the sound leeking from this room and waking the kids and pissing of my partner watching TV.
I have previously used an old blanket for the job but it does look at bit unsightly to say the least and the method I used to hang it was primitive to say the least. 4 nails over the doorframe with the blanket pulled into them.
I was kind a hoping that some of you may know of some sort of 'industry' material that would do a similar job that I could put eyelets (a la curtain) into and make it a little bit more polite for the misses. Although even she suggested sowing valcro to it and fixing it fast to the doorframe.

Is this do-able?

I tried some searches but couldn't find anything out there although I'm sure that's my limitation at knowing where to look.

Is a pretty standard single door frame and I know it probably won’t stop everything but I need to play ze music loud without disturbing the kids sleep too much 

Cheers for any idea's and/or assistance,

Ajent X

[Young MC]

Hello Ajent X, very tricky thing to try and achieve as there are little frequencies that will be attenuated by a drapery of any kind.

I asssume you are talking about a doorway that has a door which is closed and then a curtain hung on the interior of the mix room. If so the best bet may be to put efforts into creating an absolutely airtight seal around the door frame using insulating foam tape, this will certainly help.

As far as the door curtain goes, the thicker the better. If you can mix up the types of materials you use this can help absorb a bigger range of frequencies but bear in mind a treatment of this type can only do so much and will only attenuate high frequencies such as those above 6-7kHz.

Other techniques you could employ concern the room itself. If you can put diffusive and absorptive treatments on walls, use simple corner bass trapping to control lows and mind the direction of your room monitors so they point away from the door or avoid direct relfections towards it, these things can help lower the amount of sound that could leak from the room itself. This will mean that the curtain will have to soak up less sound energy resulting in a quieter environment outside the room.

I will refer this thread to other people I know who have studied acoustic design and treatment to see if they have some useful ideas.

Good luck.

[Ajent X]

Thanks for your response Young MC,
I should have stated it previously that the doorway has no door. When you enter my house you actually walk into the Music room first, then through the doorway in question to the rest of the house.

This is why I'm looking for some way of reducing the noise that is easy to remove such as a curtain. I have set up the speakers to run perpendicular to the doorway, which does reduce direct sound so the main issue is when I want to crank it up so to speak.
I could keep with the blanket which has served it's purpose to some degree so far but I just thought that there might be something out there that was actually designed for this type of thing rather than my old blanket.

At this point is hard to use other technique's on this room because of it's position in the flow of foot traffic of the house and that it does serve other purposes besides my music room. The current dynamics of the room do a really good job of containing most of the sound within the room and I have walked around it externally with it quite loud inside and noticed very little sound leakage so the main issue for me at this point is to reduce the sound through this one particular doorway.

Cheers,
Ajent X


 

[rhythmboy]

A couple of tips, but if anyone else got a good idea please pitch in...

They're expensive but heavy-duty rubber-backed curtains (the insulating kind) with enough length to make large-ish folds in the cloth to increase its overall 'thickness'. Approx twice the width of the door itself or more so it folds up a lot. Hang on a sturdy rail  that slides easily so the kids aren't struggling with it.

YMC is right the cloth will only affect certain upper freq's but the rubber lining will help a little more.

If practical, line one or two of the curtain's edges with velcro and matching strips down the door sills. An easily removed 'seal' - while not airtight it will help keep the cloth overlapping the door sills rather than pull away from them.

[SounCraft addict]

Hey guys - gunna pump my own product here - sonic curtain
send me an email on [email protected] for details
Roundup

[steve.childs]

I think I will be looking for some kind of sound deadening curtain for my HT pretty soon.

[ryanedward85]

Speaking of sound deadening, does anyone here have any experience with that sound cutting paint that I see advertised on various sites? Is it a low cost solution or bogus?

[Spectrum]

Sound deadening paint, huh?

Solar-powered Torch?

Submarine Sunroof?


The concept ain't sitting right. Must be some thick-ass paint. Got any links?

[Sid]

Spectrum, on 04 June 2011 - 08:06 PM, said:

The concept ain't sitting right. Must be some thick-ass paint. Got any links?

Nah you need a black hole, very good absorption, I'll email you the plans for the right price


If you're after drapery offcuts and live in Sydney PM me, I might be able to get you something...

[ryanedward85]

Spectrum, on 04 June 2011 - 08:06 PM, said:

Sound deadening paint, huh?

Solar-powered Torch?

Submarine Sunroof?


The concept ain't sitting right. Must be some thick-ass paint. Got any links?

Here you go.
http://www.triples.c...rbing_paint.htm

[ryanedward85]

Apparently some cinemas use it, particularly on ceilings and between walls. Cannot vouch for its effectiveness though.

[Sid]

ryanedward85, on 15 June 2011 - 09:17 PM, said:

Apparently some cinemas use it, particularly on ceilings and between walls. Cannot vouch for its effectiveness though.

Well what do you know! As far as paint goes this seems to be pretty good absorption - for paint!

[Mark Shaw]

I'm looking for a cheap, effective way to sound control my HT. Any ideas?

[ryanedward85]

I hear a lot of negative thoughts about acoustic foam. Anyone here have any views, good or bad?

[TonyG]

From what I hear, your better off with egg boxes than that foam, especially anything under 4" thick.

[ryanedward85]

Sid, on 16 June 2011 - 03:26 AM, said:

Well what do you know! As far as paint goes this seems to be pretty good absorption - for paint!

Do you really think a paint can work as a sound proofing agent?

[Mark Shaw]

I found this on Blu-ray.com. It goes into detail about the various sound deadening items currently available.

http://forum.blu-ray...h-material.html

[ryanedward85]

RB do you have any suggestions for a low cost but effective way to sound control a small room?

[Mark Shaw]

I hear a lot about how well egg boxes work. Can they be used between the brick outer wall and a plasterboard wall with full effect or must the be exposed for them to work?

[TonyG]

Mark Shaw, on 27 July 2011 - 11:04 PM, said:

I hear a lot about how well egg boxes work. Can they be used between the brick outer wall and a plasterboard wall with full effect or must the be exposed for them to work?

Rockwall works well between a wall and a false wall.