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Helmholtz and Diaphragmatic absorbers belong to this group. Therefore, you don’t have to make them very thick. Resonant absorbers, on the other hand, have superior bass coverage. So, if you’re using these materials, go for a thicker diameter than what you’ve calculated. Perfect sound absorption is a combination of factors, and your insulation material matters more than the thickness.įor example, porous absorbers such as fiberglass, Rockwool, and acoustic foam can’t trap the lowest bass notes unless they’re super-thick. Material TypeĮven if you use as thick as 10-inch bass traps, you can never be sure that they work unless you know what they’re made of. But if you want to mount them on a flat surface, namely, the front wall, you’d better condense them up to six inches.įor more information, check out this article about whether bass traps need to be from floor to ceiling. Corner bass traps work better at 4 inches depth. Interestingly, not every spot needs the same thickness. Besides, proper spacing helps you catch the most absorption with the minimum amount of material. That’s because having a bigger gap than depth may lead to diminishing results. It means, if you decide to leave a four-inch gap between the wall and your panel, you’ll need four inches of insulation.
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A helpful trick is to even up the thickness with your spacing. To get the most out of your insulation thickness, you also need to consider the wall-to-panel distance. And that’s because fitting a few feet of bass traps in a small studio isn’t practical. Here’s the answer: Bass trap manufacturers compensate for this lack of thickness with material density. Important: You may ask, how can you get a bass trap with that thickness while the ones in the market are only a few inches? So, you’ll need about 17 inches in thickness to reach as low as 100Hz. Since acoustic signals hit the absorber at various angles instead of a vertical direction, you should divide the previous value by two to make up for the potential error (33.9/2=17).Divide it by four to get the ideal thickness (135.6/4=33.9 inches).Multiply the result by 12 to convert the value to inches (11.3×12=135.6 inches).Note: The speed of sound is about 1300 km/h at room temperature. You have to divide the “Speed of sound” by the frequency to get the wavelength (1300/100=11.3 feet). So, if you want to target the 100Hz frequency, this is what you should do: Based on this formula, your panel’s thickness should be about ¼ your required wavelength. For more accurate estimations, you can calculate your desired thickness by the quarter wavelength principle. However, that’s only an observational guess. And as the most efficient ones, 8-inch bass traps give you a remarkable performance down to 70 Hz. So, if you usually deal with longer wavelengths and want to trap deeper bass noise, thicker is better for you.įor example, 2-inch absorbers can’t make your frequency sounds lower than 300Hz, while four-inch ones decrease them down to 100Hz. In theory, the thicker a bass trap, the lower frequency it’ll catch. Below, we’ll discuss each element in detail and how it can affect your decision. That said, you can’t tell the exact ideal bass trap thickness without considering other factors, especially your room conditions.ĭepending on your material density, placement, and desired frequency range, you may need different thicknesses. You can also test the efficiency of your bass traps at 4-inches deep and thicken them if needed. If you still have more material, start adding more layers. So, it’s best to make them up to 8 inches thick if you’re looking for maximum effectiveness.įor a DIY panel, start with the minimum thickness, and cover all the corners. But the thicker it is, the more sound waves it can absorb. What Is the Ideal Thickness for Bass Traps?Īs a rule of thumb, your bass trap thickness should be no less than 4 inches. So, you can hear a more accurate and closer sound to what’s coming out from the acoustic source.įor more information, check out where to place bass traps in a home recording studio. This abrasion effect converts part of the sound energy to heat (think of when you rub two rocks together), causing the frequencies to drop. When you put bass traps in a room or studio, you create a kind of friction between the sound vibrations and the solid surface of panels. When the sound travels between these parallel surfaces, a kind of firm resonance will occur, which causes acoustic distortion and impedes authentic sound reproduction.Īs a result, you may hear the bass notes very high in some spots and not hear at all in others. 5 Don’t Confuse Bass Traps With Acoustic PanelsĪny given room has four walls which are two-by-two parallel.2 What Is the Ideal Thickness for Bass Traps?.