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Anyone using deffusion panels ?

24.124.70.204

jazzbeat

Just curious how many use these and to achievements found...

Thanks in advance...

Follow Ups:

RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Jonathan 90 02:41:11 06/01/15 (3)
☺
- RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - ketchup 20:07:29 06/01/15 (1)
  Quite a few of you use 3D diffusers, but I always thought 2D is what you want due to Maggies' dispersion pattern. Have you guys tried 2D and 3D diffusers and settled on 3D or is 3D all you tried?
  - RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Satie 10:30:19 06/02/15 (0)
    Generally I agree that 2D vertical treatment is all you would want, but vertically active treatments placed symmetrically at the height of the speaker's acoustic center will not change the symmetry (and thus height rendition of images) but may address (front) wall to ceiling bounces that may muddy things up if the ceiling is not acoustic tile.
- RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Swamis Cat 08:48:09 06/01/15 (0)
  Love the way you have goosed up the room.
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - scolley 10:47:33 05/30/15 (3)
Just today I my paper diffusion panels arrived. Got 'em on eBay. They're just simple 1' square panels of thin cardboard, pressed into 3D shapes for diffusion. Very low spousal approval factor. But that's a personal problem...

Anyway, just to test them out I up two 2'x6' panels - with bluetack - in the primary reflection points on the front wall, behind the speakers. Wow!

I've never messed with acoustic room treatments before, due to the aforementioned spousal approval. But WOW. What a difference.

Imaging is tighter. I expected that. But what I did not expect - though should have, I suppose - is the profound clarity with which you can hear that space that the recording was made in. It REALLY increases that sense of "being there".

Two other changes that were immediately evident - and unexpected - were the widening of the sound stage, at times several feet beyond the outside edge of my speakers. And more, tighter bass. Though that might be something specific to the acoustics of my room.

With only 1 hour of listening, I can say already that I could not recommend this higher. The difference is profound. And at the incredibly low cost, it's almost a no brainer.

And no. I have no idea who the person is selling them on ebay. Don't know them.

Happy listening! - Steve
- RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Swamis Cat 13:17:06 05/30/15 (2)
  Steve,
  
  Which brand of diffusers were they?
  
  And tell us more about your setup. How far out were your speakers from the FW?
  - RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - scolley 16:22:59 05/30/15 (1)
    Wow! Apologies for my bad language in that last post. Was in a hurry. Sorry. Anyway...
    
    I'm new to this forum, so apologies if this is breaking any "no pushing product or sellers" type rule. I got them on eBay. Search there for "Sound Diffusion Acoustic Professional Tiles". I got a couple of 12-13 tile boxes for not much more than $100 shipped. Pretty unbelievable deal IMO. And in the box there are instructions referencing www.mioculture.com. Maybe that's a better place to start.
    
    As to my room, it's unfortunately square (a bad thing, I know) at 21.5" x 21.5". But it's nearly an "A" frame vaulted ceiling. And while it seems like everyone says vaulted=bad for maggies, mine sound awesome. So someone, somewhere is not entirely right about all vaulted ceilings being bad. ;-)
    
    The room is somewhat live-end dead-end, as the front wall (behind the speakers) mostly wall and window. The back wall (behind listener) is a combination of primarily large rough stone, mixed with brick and VERY rough cut wood. So the back wall really diffuses sound.
    
    The speakers are only 42" to 49" from the front wall. Clearly they are toed in. They are roughly 9' apart (center to center), and 6.25' from the side walls (center to wall). The listening position is 15" from the front wall.
    
    The relevant gear is speakers: Magnepan 2.7 QRs, Amp: Aragon 8008, pre: vintage Aragon 24K w/external IPS, subs: REL T-5 pair, phono stage: Musical Surroundings Nova II, TT: Rega RP6 w/Exact II cart (and lots of upgrades), CD: Acurus ACD 11, interconnects: Kimber Hero and PBJs, speaker cables: Nordost Blue Heaven .
    
    The pic is an old one, but it gives you an idea of the room. The panels are on the front wall, behind the speakers, but clearly visible (just not in this old picture).
    
    Anyway... sounds pretty sweet. Many benefits that I was not anticipating. Highly reccomended. ;-)
    - RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Swamis Cat 10:45:02 05/31/15 (0)
      Thanks. I am really tempted to buy an inexpensive set of diffusers to experiment. I tend to prefer my speakers further out (6-10 feet) and I have a dedicated room with no spousal acceptance issues. If I had FW diffusion I could play eith closer front wall positioning and test what the effects are in further from the FW set ups too.
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Markeneret 15:49:40 05/27/15 (1)
I use tons of random and "naturally occurring" diffusion items in my garage listening room. The concave curves of the water heater and DIY tube traps work well, as do the randomly (messy) record shelf, the edges of the foam pieces as well as some auralex T-Fusors.

Oddly enough, the final addition of the 2 T Fusors behind the listening position made a huge, very audible difference ( AFTER installing 67 tube traps!). The image went 3D in depth and width. The clarity of the forward image focused crisply, acoustic instruments had bodies, cymbals shimmered=amazing.

I placed the duct tape markers on the floor immediately. I've moved and tried adjusting the T fusors many times, but they sound best in the staggered position in the picture.
"I see sound waves"
- RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Markeneret 15:51:43 05/27/15 (0)
  The front view uses a mix of tube traps (diffusion side facing forward) and a variety of painted T-Fusors.
  "I see sound waves"
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - ehous 16:51:18 04/25/15 (0)
I am attaching a collage of my diffraction. The vertical behind the panels really tightened up what was already (IMO) a breath taking soundstage and image. The grid on the ceiling did not have any effect to mention.
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - RickeyM 19:21:52 04/24/15 (2)
I have cemented my membership on the Asylum by using bubble wrap. Large bubble variety.
What it's done is to move the soundstage from the wall behind the speakers up to the plane of the speakers and widened it a bit as well.
- RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - dromney 14:15:07 04/25/15 (1)
  You have to post a picture of that!
  - RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - RickeyM 10:05:21 04/26/15 (0)
    Uh, you don't wanna see that. It does look just like you think it would. I actually have a 1-ft wide/5-ft long strip of small bubble dead center on the front wall with a strip of large bubble 2-ft wide (same length) on each side of the center strip.
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - grantv 06:55:13 04/24/15 (0)
Some home made pieces for me... better soundstage, not dramatic change, but definitely noticeable.
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - George6 18:26:54 04/23/15 (0)
Using T'Fusors on wall behind 1.6 speakers.
Without these diffusors the soundstage was U-shaped, with certain instruments coming directly from the speakers, and central voices coming from the wall behind the speakers.
With the diffusors, the sound stage is wider, stretched evenly slightly behind the speakers. The voices and instruments are better defined, and the acoustics of the recording space are more perceptible.
Highly recommended.
- http://www.auralex.com/product/tfusor-3d-sound-diffusor/ (Open in New Window)
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - johnvb 17:52:02 04/23/15 (2)
Bought four 2 x 2 unfinished Styrofoam QRDs (1ds) from SRL Audio and mounted pairs of them in oak frames, supported by modified MMG Sound Anchor stands, with extra bracing and casters added. Use them on the front wall, at first behind MMGs and now my present non-maggie speakers. Even with the present monopoles, adds some depth to the sound stage. Worked great with the MMGs.

If you get the foam type like this, they have to be painted to be the most effective. Used bristle and foam brushes on these, that was fun. I got it down to 2 hours per coat per panel.

When I had the Maggies, I also experimented with polycylindrical diffusers, found they help at the first reflection points to expand the sound stage. With my current speakers, they were too much, now use absorption there.
- RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - ketchup 19:02:29 05/27/15 (1)
  Would you mind letting me know how much those QRDs cost?
  - RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - johnvb 04:54:55 05/28/15 (0)
    As far as I can remember, SRL Audio was selling the foam diffusers for $50 for a 2' x 2' piece, (maybe with a minimum of 2 or 4 pieces?), same cost as the GIK GridFusor. I can't find his website anymore, although I know he still participates on the Audio Circle, so you could PM him there. His moniker is srlaudio.
    Of course the extra wood and metal bracing increased the cost of mine quite a bit, but the foam units by themselves are light enough so that one could just glue them to a thin wood panel and hang them on the wall like a picture.
    If you want to join two pieces to make a 2' x 4' panels, that's a bit of work. After gluing the halves together, you need to use some fine joint compound to fill up the middle seam. I used a paint stirrer stick with sand cloth attached to sand finish the compound smooth. Used latex caulking to seal between the foam and the wood frames. SRL supplied glue (at an extra cost) to join the pieces together, and to the backboard. And as mentioned above, painting these with a brush was time consuming, maybe a paint sprayer would work and be more efficient.
    I've never bought GIK's stuff, but what is neat with the diffusers from SRL is they are packed with an inverted version (think of a cube with two interlocking halfs). Although the inverted version is said not to measure as well as the standard one, it can still be used as a stand alone unit. So you actually get two for the price of one.
    
    Edits: 05/28/15
I use Skylines for diffusion - E-Stat 12:04:11 04/23/15 (2)
Better focus. Pics in my gallery.
- RE: I use Skylines for diffusion - Joe Appierto 12:28:13 04/23/15 (1)
  What a totally beautiful system. The Sound-Labs must sound out of this world.
  
  Joe
  - RE: I use Skylines for diffusion - E-Stat 13:11:41 04/23/15 (0)
    Thanks! They are remarkably neutral and coherent across a pretty wide area with the 90 degree panels.
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - BigguyinATL 10:04:36 04/23/15 (0)
I have a stereo equipment rack behind the Left and a CD/DVD rack behind the right. The speakers are toed enough so the rear faces the corner of the room.
"The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat" - Confucius
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - BobM 08:13:19 04/23/15 (1)
I built these (see attached). I've placed them on the front wall behind my Apogees. There was a noticeable improvement in depth of field.

A gentleman is best defined as someone who knows how to play the accordion ... and doesn't.
- RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Utley1 08:35:15 04/23/15 (0)
  And also a great stick ball rack...Great idea.....
RE: Anyone using deffusion panels ? - Joe Appierto 05:38:07 04/23/15 (0)
I use Acoustic Revive RWL-3 diffusion panels. Originally got them for Quad 989s and now use them with MartinLogan ElectroMotion ESLs. They're on the expensive side and I'm sure there are plenty of other solutions out there. The major effects I've found in using them are a more well-defined soundstage and better low level detail/clarity.

Joe
- Acoustic Revive RWL-3 Acoustic Conditioner (Open in New Window)

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