Acoustic tiles vs cloth sheet

[Ronin]

Random question: I have some acoustic foam tiles on my walls that have large wedge shape ridges on them to diffuse the sound. If I cover them with a thin sheet of material will it make any difference? I want to hang some thin sheets over some of them for aesthetic purposes. I am not going to fit the material to the shape of the tile, just hang the sheet over the front of the tiles on the wall. I know that flat surfaces are bad, but surely if the material is thin cloth type stuff it shouldnt make much difference?
Any feedback greatly appreciated.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_takustik_w ... 8erset.htm

[EnochLight]

It will most certainly affect the manner in which the tiles absorb/dampen/reflect sound. But without knowing their performance measurements, just how much it's affected is pure conjecture.

Over at foambymail.com, their acoustic foam has specs measuring their performance. The shape of the foam very much has an effect on how they perform...

http://www.foambymail.com/AW3/acoustica ... -foam.html

[selig]

The shape of foam has little effect on the absorption - it's the depth that affects things more. For example, the on the Foam by Mail site the 3" panels have a similar response despite the shape.

A thin sheet will have little effect on the overall response, mostly affecting the higher frequencies if at all. Higher thread counts would be more likely to reflect some highest frequencies, which is why the more open weaves are used on speaker cabinets.

But more importantly, and as shown by the graphs above, foam only absorbs the higher frequencies just like a low pass filter. So putting a lot of foam on the walls will remove reflections above a certain point but do little to nothing for the bulk of the frequencies that matter. You can remove the flutter echo that is most audible, but this will tend to emphasize the lower frequencies in your room.

Finally, the shape of foam, which is mostly absorptive at high frequencies, will do little to nothing to DIFFUSE any frequency range. Diffusers NEED to be reflective to be effective - make sense?

[Ronin]

Thanks a LOT for the replies, you guys have been very helpful. I have corner bass traps, but they are made of the same foam I would guess, although they are much fatter. I also have a massive shelf full of records and other random stuff to help the room treatment, but your info on the low end makes me think I will look into some more bass treatment. Sadly, my budget has been used, so I will have to make do with some kind of makeshift treatment. I was actually thinking about taking some large rolls of off-cut carpet and standing them up in the corners.

Selig, once again you go above and beyond, respect, and thanks. (and yes I understood what you said, it makes perfect sense now I think about it)

[selig]

Thanks a LOT for the replies, you guys have been very helpful. I have corner bass traps, but they are made of the same foam I would guess, although they are much fatter. I also have a massive shelf full of records and other random stuff to help the room treatment, but your info on the low end makes me think I will look into some more bass treatment. Sadly, my budget has been used, so I will have to make do with some kind of makeshift treatment. I was actually thinking about taking some large rolls of off-cut carpet and standing them up in the corners.

Selig, once again you go above and beyond, respect, and thanks. (and yes I understood what you said, it makes perfect sense now I think about it)

The cheapest and most effective corner traps are rolls of insulation (with the plastic still on so they don't eat all your high end). Still will cost a bit, but much less than other solutions. I have not found foam effective for corner traps fwiw.

[MarkTarlton]

where you position your monitors and sit can make a HUGE impact! also don't monitor loud if the room is less than ideal...you can make just about any environment work if you experiment a lot. get yourself some really nice headphones and small speakers(nearfields), that would be the first place I'd start. it's tough to make an acoustic space that is small trap bass unless you spend a ton of money which doesn't make sense 95% of the time. I personally have spent a lot of time chasing my tail realizing it's more about the skills you have than the room acoustics. it's a batch, and I am sure this isn't exactly the advice you want to hear, but a lot of folks make great records in less than ideal situations. good luck and have fun on your journey