John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum

After taking a break for the Christmas holidays we have gone back to finishing this project.

We have decided to make a custom made door made out of 66 m.m. laminated
wood which will contain an 8. m.m. thick glass piece. Making the door has taken considerable
thinking and planning and has been (and is still) extraordinarily time-consuming.

I have some question for anyone that might know;
A) How difficult is it to flush mount/soffit back ported self powered monitors which are back
ported and have the connections in the back?

(I have done a little research but think that I need additional assistance in order to solve this issue)

B) If you flush mount back-ported studio monitors do you leave the back totally open in order to
avoid frequency response/distortion/phase problems?

Any assitance or guidance into these matter will be extremely appreciated.


Sincerely,

Useg Diaz-Granados

nice piece of wood! what type of monitors do you have? it is possible to soffit mount them but you need to take into account proper ventilation to ensure they don't overheat and you don't unnecessarily load them by blocking the port. you also want a way to readily pull them out of the mounting if you need to make adjustments. another option is to pull the power bits out and replace the amp cover with a plate and mount the electronics somewhere near the speaker.

_________________
Glenn

Thanks’ Glenn!

The monitors are M-Audio’s DSM2’s.
Do you think it is OK to not box in (not seal) the entire back part of the Soffit box in order to insure proper ventilation?

I have another quick question for anyone who might know the answer.

Is rigid mineral wool isolation effective for sound treatment purposes??????

According to the research that I have done it should be acceptable.
Anyone have any other opinions?

Sincerely,

Useg Diaz-Granados

yes, leaving enough ventilation would be essential for the electronics. yes, rigid mineral wool insulation is frequently used for sound absorption.

_________________
Glenn

Once again thank you Glen !

Here are some pics of our progress displaying the Rockwool isolation for the sound treatment
that has arrived (has a density of 50 Kg per cubic meter) plus us working on making
the tenon joints for the door.

Getting a little closer to the completion of the door.

Had to carve out 4 cm of the doors mortises by hand which was not easy.

Next we have to cut the glass and use the router to install it.

I have a question for anyone who might know the answer.

A)
If I use 22mm MDF to complete the isolation throughout the entire room for sound isolation purposes
(if I caulk thoroughly) and add 2 sheets of 13 mm drywall how well would that combination
perform compared to only using a drywall and Greenglue combination? (Green glue is out of the question since transporting it here cost as much as the product itself).
Is it easy to install the drywall on top of the MDF?

B)
Are there any advantages to using Plywood? If yes are there any particular thickness that are optimal for sound isolation?

Any response to these questions will be highly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Useg Diaz-Granados

Looks like classy work!
Very nice. In one of those photos it looks like you stuffed a couple of bears in your walls with the brown isolation color

_________________
http://www.myspace.com/samuelstudiosnl
Facebook Page

Thank you Funky Animal!

I have to extend my thanks to my friend Fredrik for his patience and dedication throughout this project.

I checked out your work as well. It is looking great!!!!!!

We completed the routing that we needed to do in order to install the glass.
We are hopefully going to get the glass cut tomorrow.

I noticed that the question that I asked in my second to last post remains unanswered.

According to my research some people in this forum present the idea that using an extra
layer of drywall is as effective as using MDF for sound isolation purposes.

My assumption is that 22mm MDF being heavier and thicker then 15mm drywall when combined
with 2 layers of 13 mm drywall would be a more efficient alternative if the objective is to suppress
and absorb sound.

Once again…… Any knowledge or comments regarding my question (s) would be highly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Useg Diaz-Granados

"If I use 22mm MDF to complete the isolation throughout the entire room for sound isolation purposes
(if I caulk thoroughly) and add 2 sheets of 13 mm drywall how well would that combination
perform compared to only using a drywall and Greenglue combination? "

We cannot answer that question since it would be speculation.

"My assumption is that 22mm MDF being heavier and thicker then 15mm drywall when combined
with 2 layers of 13 mm drywall would be a more efficient alternative if the objective is to suppress
and absorb sound. "


Which is another question completely...but yes the mass is what you are trying to achieve.

_________________
Brien Holcombe
_____________________________________________
Sound: You can't stop it, you can only try to contain it.

Thank you for responding to the questions.

Getting the last corner framing done before the drywall installation
(leaning towards 16mm MDF because of weight reasons together with 2 layers of 13 mm Drywall).

This particular corner was a challenge because of the way the doors frame is placed.
While the rest of the rooms frame is 145 mm the corner will be 90 mm.

Waiting for the proxy glue to arrive from the USA so we can glue the door together.

Sincerely,

Useg Diaz-Granados

After doing a little more research I found some threads that claim that thicker sheets of MDF (16mm and up)
because of the MDF’s stiffness creates low frequency resonance dips.

One of my objectives is to isolate the room as well as I can. I will be working with low frequency heavy content
so this revelation obviously becomes a problem.

I have a question to anyone who might know the answer.

Question; Since adding additional sheets of drywall only marginally contribute to reducing the STC rating and
because sound have a harder time penetrating different materials would it make sense to have 2 sheets of 15mm
drywall sandwiched in between a layer of 6 mm MDF ??????

(My thought process is that this alternative because of the different materials offsetting the sound coupled with the
fact that 15 mm fire retardant drywall is better at isolating sound compared to 13mm would isolate the room better.
I am aware that STC ratings do not take the lower frequency spectrum into concideration in its calculation process)

Any assistance with regards to this question would be highly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Useg Diaz-Granados