Acoustic Panels or Accoustic Pannels for my home theater?
This has to be one of our favorite emails of all time...
Q. "My friend and I are having an argument over the customized accoustic panels we are building for my home theater. Can you confirm the proper spelling? Are they called Acoustic Panels or Accoustic Pannels?"
A. Acoustic Panels, please wear safety glasses and good luck!
What acoustic treatment does a home theater need?
Treat the first reflection points on the side walls and ceiling between your speakers and the seating position, add corner bass traps for the subwoofer, and diffuse (rather than fully deaden) the rear wall behind the seats.
A home theater combines two problems at once: imaging from the front L/C/R and surround speakers, and low-frequency buildup from a subwoofer in a small, mostly sealed room. Find first reflection points with the mirror trick (slide a mirror along the side wall until you see the speaker reflected from the listening seat) and treat those spots on the side walls and ceiling. Add bass traps in the corners, since a small sealed room concentrates low-frequency energy there.
The screen wall itself usually doesn't need direct treatment, it's typically already covered by the screen or acoustically transparent (AT) fabric. Behind the listening seats, a diffuser keeps the room feeling open instead of dead.
Do I need bass traps in a home theater?
Yes, if there's a subwoofer. Corner bass traps handle the low-frequency buildup a small, mostly sealed room creates.
Should the screen wall be treated directly?
Usually not. It's normally already covered by the projector screen or AT fabric, so treatment focuses on the side walls, ceiling and rear wall instead.
What panel thickness works best for a home theater?
2 inch panels (NRC 1.0) for the general wall and ceiling surfaces, 4 inch panels in the bass trap corners for low-frequency control.
How many panels does a home theater need?
It depends on the room's dimensions; use the full panel coverage calculator for a room-by-room breakdown.
See corner bass traps and the panel coverage calculator.
