How to acoustically treat your room

Step One: Corner Bass Trapping

Low frequencies build up in the corners of your room - so that is the best place to attack them with Mercury Bass Traps! Placing 600mm Mercury Bass Trap in each vertical corner is recommended - starting at the ceiling. The 300mm Mercury Bass Traps should be placed between wall/ceiling horizontal junction, on the front wall (i.e. the wall you face while mixing) and on the rear wall. If you have doors or windows near your vertical corners that prohibit you from placing Mercury Bass Traps as described, simply place them horizontally along the junctions between the walls and the ceiling as best as possible.Room Treatment Book

Step Two: Early Reflection Treatment

Reflections that arrive at your ears within 80 milliseconds of the direct sound are summed by your brain and cannot be distinguished as a separate source. This can be problematic during recording or critical listening applications. While sitting at your listening position, have someone move a mirror along the front wall, side walls and ceiling. Anywhere you see the speaker’s reflection is a good location for Mercury Wedges. The halfway point between the speakers and your listening position on the side walls and ceiling will be crucial along with the front wall located behind the speakers.

Step Three: Ambience Control

The rear portion of the room should be treated as well to control ambience and late reflections. Place Mercury Wedges on the rear wall to absorb the direct sound from the speakers.
The rear portion of the side walls should have staggered treatment - i.e. the pattern that is used for the left wall should be inversed for the right wall. Imagine a checkerboard - red squares on the left wall, black squares on the right wall. Additional panels should be placed on the ceiling in the rear portion of the room..

FAQ

Q. Will this kit stop sound from leaving or entering my room?
A: No. Acoustical treatment is not designed to stop sound. A construction process is needed to block sound from travelling from one space to another. Universal Room kits will improve the quality of the sound within the room, but will not block it from leaving. For sound proofing requirements Universal Acoustics supply Sonic Shield Barrier Matt and Rock Fiber Mineral Wool designed to add mass and reduce noise transmission between walls, floors and ceilings.

Q: What should I expect to hear after the Mercury-6 Kit is installed?
A: You should expect a more accurate sound - more consistent low frequency response, less reflected energy. Your recordings should sound more controlled and professional and your mixes should translate better to other systems.

Q: I like what I hear. Is there anything else I can do to improve my setup?
A: Yes. The next step would be to place additional Mercury Bass Traps to the vertical and horizontal corners of the room. You cannot have too many bass traps in a small room, so adding bass traps will only improve your low frequency response. If you desire more control, additional Mercury Wedges could be added as well. Also, it would be beneficial to install Universal Acoustics Vibro-Pads - specially formulated anti-compression pads designed to improve the accuracy of your near field monitors by isolating and de-coupling them from the surface they are resting on.

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