Wood acoustic diffusers have become a decorative item - loved the idea!

[MCH]

All the diffusion I have seen so far are abysmally thin. little disappointing.

I'm thinking of building one out of Lego in our living room, my partner is a Lego geek and the 1 cm wide blocks allow for diffusion up to 20KHz, I hear up to 16KHz and he up to 14KHz so I might just save myself the time and do 2 cm wide blocks (up to 10KHz Diffusion).

Lego seems like ideal, it also has the advantage of allowing easy desassembling-reassembling if you are not satisfied with the result. I just wonder how the finished thing looks like to non Lego fans...
Anyways, are you aware of bigger Lego blocks or those you mention are the best choice? I remember my kid used to play with Legos for small children that are much bigger but I can't remember how well they fit or if it is possible to combine them with the standard ones.
Edit: Lego Duplo it is called and the can be combined with the classic ones

 

[voodooless]

Lego seems like ideal, it also has the advantage of allowing easy desassembling-reassembling if you are not satisfied with the result. I just wonder how the finished thing looks like to non Lego fans...
Anyways, are you aware of bigger Lego blocks or those you mention are the best choice? I remember my kid used to play with Legos for small children that are much bigger but I can't remember how well they fit or if it is possible to combine them with the standard ones.

Duplo should work for a bigger version and a faster build.

With Lego prices though, it's not going to be cheap. You may want to go for the cheap knock-offs

 

[abdo123]

Lego seems like ideal, it also has the advantage of allowing easy desassembling-reassembling if you are not satisfied with the result. I just wonder how the finished thing looks like to non Lego fans...
Anyways, are you aware of bigger Lego blocks or those you mention are the best choice? I remember my kid used to play with Legos for small children that are much bigger but I can't remember how well they fit or if it is possible to combine them with the standard ones.
Edit: Lego Duplo it is called

you need to determine the wells width and height based on what range you're planning to diffuse, so I can't really comment on what is ideal because it's you who has to decide.

 

[abdo123]

With Lego prices though, it's not going to be cheap. You may want to go for the cheap knock-offs

Generic colored bricks go for like 1 cent or 3 cents a piece, would be way cheaper than anything that requires wood or workers.

 

[voodooless]

Generic colored bricks go for like 1 cent or 3 cents a piece, would be way cheaper than anything that requires wood or workers.

Let's see? a 2x2 brick is 16x16x10 mm. For a diffusor that is 100x50 cm average height of 30 cm, you'll need about 30000 bricks. That's still € 300 if you can get them for 1 cent a-pop. Not too bad actually.

 

[abdo123]

Let's see? a 2x2 brick is 16x16x10 mm. For a diffusor that is 100x50 cm average height of 30 cm, you'll need about 30000 bricks. That's still € 300 if you can get them for 1 cent a-pop. Not too bad actually.

oei! Average height of 30 cm is insane for a domestic setting! (there will be wells extending a full 60 cm from the wall) but yeah I guess the math checks out.

 

[voodooless]

oei! Average height of 30 cm is insane for a domestic setting! (there will be wells extending a full 60 cm from the wall) but yeah I guess the math checks out.

Yup, half would be okay as well I guess. That's quite a good budget for such a thing.

 

[DanielT]

I think this is a very interesting thread!

Building your own acoustic diffusers seems like a good solution, if you have the time and opportunity to do so. Lots of good tips in the thread!

Speaking of Legos. If diffusers are to be built with Lego take the opportunity to build a little extra while you're at it. It might also be a fun project to do together with your children, or if you are older with your grandchildren:

Lego loudspeaker project using Dayton ND91-8

This project is rather for fun but who knows, maybe it will work out well and will do more of these.... I have some spare Dayton ND91-8 full range drivers (leftover from my MCLA and my truncated line array projects) and I will put one of those into a closed cabinet made of Lego bricks Cabinet...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[DanielT]

Duplo should work for a bigger version and a faster build.

With Lego prices though, it's not going to be cheap. You may want to go for the cheap knock-offs

Tip, buy used Lego, Duplo pieces.

 

[Vacceo]

I couldn't resist to post this example.

View attachment 241984

With the back lighting of a TV with LED strips, those designs show very interesting posibilities.

 

[MCH]

Tip, buy used Lego, Duplo pieces.

View attachment 242161View attachment 242164

I could exchange my kid's Legos for Nintendo switch games... oh boy, time runs so fast
He will think "what's wrong with you dad?"

 

[Biblob]

Duplo should work for a bigger version and a faster build.

With Lego prices though, it's not going to be cheap. You may want to go for the cheap knock-offs

Building a diffuser with duplo has been done before. I've seen it been used in the studio of Wintergatan, designed by ID-Acoustics. You can see it in this video below at 11:30 mark.

 

[Vacceo]

I could exchange my kid's Legos for Nintendo switch games... oh boy, time runs so fast

Get back home to Tente.

 

[MCH]

Get back home to Tente.

Haha I am sure I could find some there!!

 

[-Matt-]

Seeking practical rules of thumb...

Is it still generally advised to aim for live end - dead end?

I.e. Absorption at the speaker wall end of the room and diffusion at the listener end?

 

[sarumbear]

I like the design Joe Pittman came up with, he posted a PDF in the second post of this thread:

The Search For A Simple Solution With Paper Thin Walls - Audionirvana.org

The Search For A Simple Solution With Paper Thin Walls Having lived in a plaster and wood lath walled house for the past 27 years that was built in the early 1900's I forgot how terrible typical stud walls with drywall are - acoustically speaking that is. Our new house (built in 1947) had the...

www.audionirvana.org

Simple and clean, and if you need more you can still address it as he did at the first reflection points.

It is not related to diffusion though.

 

[sarumbear]

All the diffusion I have seen so far are abysmally thin. little disappointing.

All???

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Modular Skyline Sound Diffuser Acoustic Parametric Panel 1.1khz-9khz - Etsy UK

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Modular QRD Skyline Sound Diffuser Parametric Wall Art Acoustic Panel 3.4k Hz 10k Hz - Etsy UK

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[kach22i]

It is not related to diffusion though.

A direct quote from the PDF.

http://www.kosmic.us/KOSMIC%20Virtual%20Reality%20Wall%20Panels.pdf

Diffusion At The First and Second Reflection Point There are sidewall reflecƟons (leŌ and right side) which can blur the direct sound from the loudspeakers. I prefer not to absorb the reflected sound, but to re-direct it. And I want the area to be as reflecƟve as the surrounding area. So I use my KOSMIC AcousƟc panels which are made from solid maple to diffuse the sound at the first and second side wall reflecƟon points. You hear an equal amount of reflected sound from the area, but all of the sound is from reflecƟons greater than 20ms and don’t blur the direct sound.

 

[kach22i]

All the diffusion I have seen so far are abysmally thin. little disappointing.

I'm thinking of building one out of Lego in our living room, my partner is a Lego geek and the 1 cm wide blocks allow for diffusion up to 20KHz, I hear up to 16KHz and he up to 14KHz so I might just save myself the time and do 2 cm wide blocks (up to 10KHz Diffusion).

I've been impressed by how deep some of them have been.

A few things I've posted in the forum before - just for fun:

Is there anyone making decor-friendly panels?

Given most people have their mains in their mixed-use living rooms, just curious if there's any manufacturers of "wife-approved" treatments? I figure someone must've responded to that market niche by now. The flat-colors or hotel print options are a bit of a hard sell as I'm sure many of you...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Yes, most of these experiments are just mockups, and will be made out of wood in the future.

 

[sarumbear]

A direct quote from the PDF.

http://www.kosmic.us/KOSMIC%20Virtual%20Reality%20Wall%20Panels.pdf

I missed that PDF and commented on what the post highlighted which was soundproofing.

What is on the PDF is certainly diffuser but why use a single dimension one? How about 1st and 2nd reflections from the ceiling? The cost of a 3D diffuser is not much higher in the grand scheme of their operation.