Fabric Upholstered Seats – Acceptable all-around absorber
Well, it is important to have seats in your studio. It will be used for your clients and for yourself. If you are shopping for seats, you should use fabric upholstered seats because it can absorb a wide range of sound frequencies fairly well. This is how it looks like:
upholstered fabric seats
These types of seats do offer wide-band absorption such as follows:
absorption coefficient of upholstered seats
It is particularly very strong in absorbing mid to high frequency sound waves.
Carpet on the Floor- Mid frequency to high frequency sound absorber
You can usually find carpets sold in supermarkets and stores. And the good thing is that they are acceptable in absorbing mid to high frequencies. Take a look at the data below:
Carpet sound absorption coefficient
Source: sengpielaudio.com
The thicker the carpet, the stronger it will absorb mid to high frequencies. Carpets are not reliable in absorbing bass frequencies because they do not have the mass and density. They should not be used as bass traps.
Cotton Beds or Mattresses – Wide Band Sound Absorber
It is common to see cotton beds in the home. This type of bed uses cotton as its raw material which is a good sound absorber. The absorption coefficient of cotton is below:
cotton sound absorption coefficient
Source: BobGolds.com
To be very effective in absorbing frequencies particularly in the low end:
a.) It should be as thick as possible.
b.) It should be as dense as possible. Density is computed as mass/volume. And volume is a function of the cotton bed dimensions. If you compress the cotton bed, this will decrease its effective volume while the mass is the same; thus increasing the density which is important in blocking low frequencies. You can use 4 inches to 8inches compressed cotton bed sheets as a bass trap and it should work pretty well.
Cotton Beds
Content last updated on July 21, 2012