For the home theater enthusiast, there are different types of acoustic treatment that you can use to create a great sounding acoustic environment. Not only are you limited to thousand dollar products that are being used in the world’s top notch home theaters and studios, you can also use less expensive ones available online and even make DIY solutions.
Categories of acoustic treatment
There are three types of acoustic treatment that you could use in the treatment of your home theater: absorbers, diffusers and reflectors. Reflectors are surfaces that allow sound to bounce off of it relatively untouched. Absorbers are materials that trap sound (or particular frequencies of that sound), which are useful in creating a dead sounding space. Diffusers are surfaces that serve to scatter sound in a variety of directions according to its surface pattern.
Choosing what sound treatment to use in your home theater
Your home theater might be located in your den, the living room, or even in your own bedroom! You may or may not use a carpet for your floor (especially if you’ve got beautiful wooden floors), but don’t skimp on the wall absorbers; these panel absorbers (usually made of fiberglass inside a wooden frame) are the bread and butter of your theater acoustic treatment.
For the corners of your room, don’t forget to invest in some bass traps, either the wedge type or the tube shaped one. Although earth shattering bass is great for action flicks and chase scenes, an inaccurate bass response in your theater causes some bass frequencies to be louder than others, resulting in an inconsistent bass sound that will leave you puzzled.
You can opt to place a single large diffuser at the rear end of your home theater if you wish. These diffusers have a staggered surface that throws sound that bounces off of it in different directions. Having one at the wall behind your seating position is a great place to start.
Shopping for acoustic treatment products
There are many sites online that specialize in making absorbers, traps and reflectors. Companies such as GIK Acoustics and RealTraps have sites where you can order their products online and even customize them. They offer individual panel absorbers, bass traps and diffusers, or even entire room treatment packages that deal with all the nuances of your home theater. It also helps that these two companies are among the most respected in their field and are constantly recommended by enthusiasts the world over.
Do it yourself acoustic treatment
If you don’t have the cash to set up your home theater, don’t fret; you could get along pretty well using some DIY treatment. Although they may not look as professional or be as accurate as the high end ones out in the market, they’ll serve as grunts that tame the brunt of the acoustic work for you.
Since, in principle, they use the same materials and construction, you should be able to come up with some nifty theater treatment by downloading plans and schematics online. Once you’ve placed the bare amount of panels and traps in your theater, that’s when you can perhaps splurge on a quality piece of treatment or two for your home theater.
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