Private Gym,
In the Los Angeles private gym project, the owner wanted to have music to work out to. He wanted a small two channel playback system in the front of the room and his objective was to be able to hear music throughout the gym in a balanced presentation, so that no matter where in the room you were you had definition and clarity. This is no easy task as most of you know with a two channel playback system.
Dealing with Glass Relfections
One of the worst things you can deal with in any audio room is glass. Glass and the reflections from it actually alters the frequency response of the middle ranges. The first rule of acoustics is do no harm to the existing room and glass is the largest offender of all. Most rooms have a few windows or sliding glass doors. Having a room full of glass, which is the case with our Los Angeles private gym project, requires drastic action. This private gym project is a small room with dimensions of 12′ w x 8′ h x 15′ l.
We know from our room size and volume that this size is not ideal for audio, especially in the lower frequencies. Lower frequencies, however, are not our biggest concern in this project which is usually the first place we start. Our largest concern is that the room is surrounded by glass plate mirrors. I am assuming the purpose of all of these mirrors is for one to observe exercise movements to make sure that the movement is done correctly and also for someone to see the end result of exercise over time.
Minimizing the Sound Field
Acoustically, we have a room with boundary surface areas that couldn’t be a worse surface when it comes to middle and high frequencies. The only solution to managing the reflections from plate glass surfaces is to eliminate or cover the plate glass on all boundary surfaces. This objective was accomplished with our foam ladder product. Our foam ladder is a simple system where we take our full sheets of foam and surround them with a painted wooded frame. This frame gives the foam the necessary rigidity to support the foam whether you hand it from a boundary surface or just free stand it like we did in this project.
Music was provided by a small book shelf speaker system that was positioned out of the way of individuals working out in the room. To achieve the necessary music presentation and focus, we had to manage the side wall reflections by using our foam technology. To minimize the sound field and achieve the desired focus throughout the room area, we calculated the correct side reflection angles and built a support system to deal with the reflections and achieve the desired focus. A simple receiver rounds out the source with iphone connectivity. The client is so thrilled with the results that he now wants a sub woofer. I just can’t catch a break.
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Foam Ladder
Managing reflections from wall surfaces in larger rooms requires products that have large amounts of surface area to absorb those reflections. Another design requirement is that air must move across both sides of the technology.
Air movement across both sides, reduces the amount of units and surface area required within rooms to reduce the energy level of the reflection. The vertical or horizontal orientations allow you flexibility in positioning the units to fit into existing room aesthetic and space requirements. Mounting hardware is provided.
Since the units are rectangular, you can position them both horizontally with the long side as unit top or vertically across the short side. Both vertical and horizontal positioning can be used together. This vertical or horizontal orientations allow you flexibility in positioning the units to fit into existing room aesthetic and space requirements. Mounting hardware is provided.
