By Juan C. Ayllon Last year as part of our ongoing home makeover, Belle and I did some interior repainting in warmer, earthier tones. Then this last week, we revisited a sticky point of divergence: how we want our family room (i.e., my listening and home theater space, AKA the man cave) to look. Ideally, she says she'd love to remove the large couch, presently positioned at the rear wall in front of a large window (with wooden shutters and an acoustic curtain for critical listening), for an unobstructed view outside and less clutter. We discuss the possibility of relocating my two channel system, accompanied by the couch and eight acoustic absorption panels, to a spare bedroom, However after thinking about it, she nixes that idea; after all, with my speakers and sub gone, she'd miss out on the breathtaking detail and visceral wallop they bring to the shows and movies we enjoy watching in our family room. So, for now, the stereo, couch, and acoustic panels stay. Driving Inspiration Still, I feel a little bad and on the drive back from dinner last night, I ask her what I could do to make the aesthetics more amenable. It turns out that she hates an acoustic panel that I often leave on top of the fireplace's protruding screen at the first reflection point; as such, it detracts from the beauty of our living edge mantel. But Wait, There's More
Earlier today, I spoke with Rod, a former stereo shop owner who builds custom ceiling clouds and other room treatments for A/V installations, and as we discussed some inexpensive fiberglass insulation I want for the project, the subject of bass traps he makes came up. Essentially, he creates a plywood front resembling a narrow door, drills random three-inch wide holes on its face, mounts it vertically on a triangular base, and packs Roxul insulation behind it. Placed in wall corners, the holes allow bass waves to pass through, get trapped and self-cancel, he informs me. The idea piques my interest -- especially since I already have two faux ladder framed bass traps with four inch thick recycled denim roughly the same size in a storage room. I could create a similar plywood or fiberboard front with the three-inch holes in them, mount them on the face of my traps, and re-wrap them with neutral colored fabric. Then, as with the GIK Acoustics video above, I could pull them out for music listening sessions and tuck them back in storage afterwards. That sounds like a winner.
2 Comments
Brian Huempfner
7/25/2020 06:38:11 pm
A happy wifes makes for a happy life.
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8/4/2020 01:51:24 pm
You're absolutely right, Brian. It's definitely good for ones wife to remain happy. Cheers!
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Juan C. AyllonA writer, artist, educator and owner of Prairie Audio Man Cave, he lives with his wife, Isabel (AKA Belle), and their Goldendoodle, Liam, enjoys listening to high fidelity music and all things hi-fi at their home in the greater Chicagoland area.. Archives
March 2024
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