Preparing a room for sound work involves two stages. First, "soundproofing" a room means isolating the inside of the room from sounds coming from the , as well as isolating the outside from sounds originating from inside the room. This involves making the walls as rigid as possible so that it will not vibrate when sound hits it. Rigidity is achieved in a number of ways, one by making the wall as thick and dense as possible. This is expensive and is sure to turn any any household inside out. Another way is to seal off air leaks so that sound in the air is halted. This means putting rubber seals on your doors and windows, so that when they are closed, they close TIGHT like car doors. There are other methods, but these involve even more civil works than those I just mentioned. So I'll pass on them. Assuming you can't do any major construction, but are allowed to choose the room to work on, go for a room that has at least concrete walls, solid core doors, and small, sealable windows. This leads us to the second stage.......... "Tuning" a room is very different from soundproofing. Tuning "tames" the acoustic characteristics of a room. What most people are looking for is a room that has a combination of "liveliness" and control. If a room sounds tubby or has undersirable echoes or reverberation, the cheapest solution is put in 1) semi-filled cabinets to control low frequency boominess, and 2) heavy but absorbent materials like drapes, carpets and upholstered furniture to absorb high frequencies. Egg cartons are so thin and porous that their effect is minimal, and they look dreadful. You also might want to arrange the cabinets and furniture asymmetrically to help minimize the dreaded "standing" waves (google it for a better explanation). All studios, even commerical ones, are always a work in progress. Things get re-arranged whenever some kind of anomaly is noticed. So just keep working on your room, keeping in mind the two concepts of soundproofing and room tuning.
old matresses maybe?anything that is "dense" will dampen the sound hehe so cguro if you're going makeshift use matresses with eggshells?...then there are the professional solutions of course
If you are planning to set this up in the bedroom, beds are actually great for absorption. I'm not quite sure if putting eggshell cartons on top of a bed would be comfortable to sleep on though
Thanks guys! I always thought eggshell cartons didn't actually work 'cause the neighbours still complained XD
Very scientific read, thanks! So then, any practical suggestions? The room's walls are concrete, aside from the rubber seal-offs for the windows and doors what can I add to the walls that won't need major construction?
Acoustic wall panels, some of them can be customized to have printed art,so i think this is the most practical
cement that sound proofs a lot! hehehe. try sandwiching egg shell cartons between soft foam and styro. but this is mainly for acoustics as what dantuts said...
my friend and I used a combination of dense foam and egg cartons (about 3 stacks thick) when we were assembling their home theater room. certain sections of the room had the foam, most sections were egg cartons..dependent on the distance from the speakers and the direction the sound will travel
"dense" is relative. then again, some of my relatives are ultra-dense. but sound-proofing density is typically measured in kg/m3. the more widely available mineral fiber in the metro is 60kg/m3 rockwool, which is generally more dense than "foam"--and is more fire retardant too.
the best way to soundproof a room is to make DOUBLE WALLS and FLOATING FLOORS. making an airtight space of air around the entire room will soundproof the room completely thats why if you look at some studios they normally have double doors too and double glass panels. even just a second wall and flooring made of plywood will work as long as the air between the first wall and the second wall is sealed airtight. you may also put insulation to fill the space. acoustic treatment, egg cartons and whatever will only alter the acoustics of your room. it wont keep the sound inside in (or the sound outside, out)
i dont advise using "foams" ..its fire hazard... much more if you add up the egg cartons about 3 stacks thick..
interestingly, the home studio that i am building has also become a fallback typhoon shelter. it has double walls, double windows. the outer wall is 8-10 inches thick of poured concrete. the roof is also poured concrete with tiles. christine reyes would've liked my home studio roof! the window is 13mm laminated glass, strong enough to withstand typhoon winds and flying debris. and the floor is floating above two feet of sand and compacted earth!
ayos yun a. Yung akin gagawing kong parang bomb shelter. sigurado soundproof yun. pero seriously, for now, i think i would just find a good carpet or matting for the floor. some acoustic wall panels / art wall decor, and a whole lot of curtains.
