What material is the best for soundproofing?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ค. 2022
- I test out different materials for sound proofing.
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Way to get right to the point! On behalf of everyone whose time you did not waste… 👏much appreciated.
Amen!!!! ❤❤❤
Exactly. So many videos now are like "2 simple things for ___" and it's a 17 min video
Completely agreed
Shut up and it should’ve wasted time
No
Cool vid but it would be even better if you could run a slow 20hz-20khz sweep to see how they cope at different frequencies
60-100hz alone would be a great test since these low frequencies are the most penetrating and hardest to block. Mids and highs are easy.
There are basically two ways to increase sound insertion loss, increase the areal density or have multiple mediums. The sound has to excite the barrier material to transit through it. The denser it is, the more energy needed to excite the molecules. There is also an energy loss as sound transitions through two dissimilar materials.
There are a few other ways, but they are not as common or significant.
I believe the biggest loss factor is due to the frequency response of different materials. Foam is a low-pass filter, and it greatly attenuates high pitched noise. Something like metal is a high-pass filter (in the audible range, at least), and it greatly attenuates low frequencies. If you have both in series, then neither high nor low frequencies can propagate well.
Agreed, and thank you for explaining it for people at the physics level. I have drywall, mass loaded vinyl, rockwool on top, a 24” truss air gap, osb subfloor, an acoustic underlayment about 3/16” thick, and then hickory flooring between my shop downstairs and an apartment upstairs. It isn't “soundproof”, but running a 12” planer, dust collection, and a router at the same time wouldn't wake you up or prevent conversation in the apartment. Only a vacuum will give you true soundproofing, which is your point about exciting molecules.
Rigidity of material also matter. For sound to pass barrier must move. It is hard to move something heavy, or something very rigid.
Also restrict air movement. Sound moves through air. The space has to be tightly sealed or a lot of work and material will seem wasted by the results.
@@altersami9660 What kind of metal ought to be used?
More than you want to know: I appreciate what you're tryna do. Controlling sound is tricky. Matching materials to task at hand is critical. Simply, mass is what blocks sound. The lower the frequency, the more mass per square ft is required. Foams etc control reflections by absorbtion (sort-of), but because they aren't comparatively dense they don't do well blocking lower freq sound waves. (high freqs are easy) Your little boom box doesn't produce much low-end or volume. Sheetrock in double layers works well. It's dense. Bottom line. Mass = blockage. Your sheet rock box did well basically proving the point. It did better when you added sonopan because it added mass, along with scrubbing off some energy. (a studio control room I helped build back in the 80's used a combo of sand-filled cynderblock, double layer 3/4 inch sheetrock, owens-corning compressed fiberboard, and wood diffusers. The total weight of the materials was about 18 tons IIRC. MASS) .02
Thanks for the test. It would be great to see you add double layer drywall (both 1/2" and 5/8") and double layer drywall plus green glue to this test.
Everyone, who wants to build a soundproof server cabinet is glad for this video. Thank you!
Great video!! I’m making a vacuum cart/box today. Going with plywood and Sheetrock inner wall.
I have spent hours upon hours of researching online about soundproofing for building my portable at home studio. This by far has been the absolute hands-down, most helpful video I have ever found. Thank you!!!
Look at using bath towels as sound diffusers inside the booth rather than foam. Just hang 4 or 5 towels behind your Mic and give it a test.
Missing MLV (standard sound proofing material) comparison....major loss!
I recently saw a couple of videos by @MandicReally where he uses cheap moving blankets as an upgrade from the towel method. In case it helps someone, here's a link:
www.youtube.com/@MandicReally/search?query=sound%20blanket%20panel
@@snarkymcsnarkface1863 yeah just hang a towel in front of a 7 piece drum kit thatll solve it 🙄
Building a staggered stud wall is the most effective way to achieve sound dampening most of the sound telegraphs through the studs
So simple an experiment, and yet so useful.
Thanks 🙏
I would love for you to have done this with one of those TH-cam frequency range speaker test videos so we could see which tones each works better on so we could make sure we get most frequencies and know what’s best on bass because your test is one of the best please one more part to the video thanks
True, it obviously depends on what frequencies you're trying to block, but if you're looking at bass frequencies, the foam may have performed better than drywall, as there won't be any amplification through resonance or standing waves.
It essentially comes down to the density of the material. Build a container out of lead flashing and see it out perform these other materials by a huge margin.
Sound attenuation depends on the mass and the completeness of the barrier. In other words, the heavier the sheet, the less the sound that gets through -so long as there aren't any gaps.
Your best performing option had two barriers with the outer one having reasonable mass.
One thing to be careful with is what the soundproofing is trying to achieve. Some soundproofing measures are designed to reduce noise inside the 'chamber' by absorbing the sound and stopping it from reflecting back. That's where some paints work best, and definitely the foam.
Loved the no-nonsense practical demonstration though!
Sonopan needs acoustic sealant. Also, it should be combined with 5/8 drywall. Just used this combo on my home recording studio build and it worked really well.
Nice test! In recording studios, the ideal concept of isolation comes from "floating chambers"
I think that concept will help you.
We always used MiCORE for sound proofing either directly on drywall or attached to 1/4 mdf on top of dry wall. Thats been several years ago.
Thanks for the demo, it was straight forward and informative. They say a variety of densities is implortant, so I wonder how ply and sono would do, compared to two layers of ply, or ply and DW.
This is the only useful video about this i have seen, and it didn't appear in search results, it just showed up in my recommendations.
awesome! thank you posting doing this and posting it here.
Very useful experiment. Thanks for sharing!
I spent way too many hours thinking about the noise my NAS is making; this video was a Godsend. Well done.
Be careful to keep the cooling going though. Disks can easily die when they don't get enough cooling. Learned that the hard way when I silenced my computer back in the 2000s.
The key to sound proofing from my experience is first and foremost making the enclosure as air tight as possible as well as using an equitably dense material. I have seen rooms use very dense material but fail with air gaps and also the other way around. This is of course for rooms you want virtually no sound to enter of escape. If you are happy to have a sound deadening setup where some noise is acceptable then the gaps are not as crucial.
Sound being pressure waves travelling through air, this makes sense.
What are the most common gaps for air/sound travel to travel? I’ve heard electrical outlets can pass noise between rooms and floors
Sweet and useful experiment. Thank you.
Thanks for the tests 👍
Good comparison. Different materials will dampen sound most effectively at different frequencies, so it's possible that drywall+sonopan will still be more effective than two layers of drywall.
The video was so well do. All the time you invested to put together the experiment, was much appreciated and super helpful. I gave it a like, before even getting to the end...but ghits and siggles took it to a whole new level 😆
Great video, learned some new things, thank you!
I used osb plywood with rockwool insulation to make a sound box for my air compressor in my garage. Rockwool is an awesome sound deadener. With a baffle so the compressor can breath and cool itself now its just a low hum instead of the typical roar.
I bought a quiet compressor because my last one was insane. Was only 300 cnasdian for a 15 gallon unit that is way quieter.
Really excellent testing, dude! Fantastic work! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Objective, Quantitative Data & clear concise methodology…… HERETIC!!!! TH-cam and the internet is no place for this heresy !!! 😂😂😂😂😂😆😆😆😆😆😆….. just kidding, glad to see there are reasonable and objective people like you still here in this world 😆😆😂😂👍👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You just saved some people a lot of money, thanks.
On yachts where the engine room is next to the master cabin, they use a heavy composite that is several densities of foam, a thick metal layer (used to be lead, now AFAIK it is tin), fiberglass, more foam layers and an aluminum facing. It's about an inch thick, probably really expensive. There are also auto products (sheets & paint) that work really well. Surprised you didn't test MDF, probably better than plywood.
Thanks, simple, but effective and informative.
this is so helpful for me. im in very tight budget to get things wrong. you save me a lot. God bless you sir
Recenty tested that MDF board is excellent for blocking low frequency sounds as well. Lots of mass and very dense..however not cheap.
It's a lot cheaper than decent quality plywood.
Cool! I'm a big fan of Rockwool/Roxul too!
Double sheets of 5/8” drywall has been the go-to for experienced general contractors for decades. Very curious how the industry standard technique works compared to your tests.
I know your comment is old but supposedly that Sonopan stuff is really great, it's just not so easily available in the US yet...
I think the people who say that are drywall installers. :D
@@mpbootcamp7009 maybe, maybe not - drywall is very dense but also CHEAP. There are several methods to reduce perceived noise and density of materials is one of multiple ways to get some of the way there and significantly cheaper than most other alternatives.
@@rafezetter8003 Having just built a booth with drywall on the inside and ceiling and plywood on the outside, the plywood was much easier for me to deal with. I hate drywall, it is ugly, messy, and difficult to hang stuff on (which you will want to do once you finish.) I should have placed plywood on the inside for easier mounting of things.
Soundproof application still usually required 'res-bar' beneath the drywall. 'res' = Resonance.
Drywall carries low-end vibration quite well, so if you have big trucks on a nearby road, you'll need something to absorb the vibrations. Drywall attached to stud will mainly just carry the sound.
You would also use acoustic caulking between the framing tracks and structure.
I saw a video a while ago that inspired me for future projects, and was not even considered here. In a nutshell, bath towels in a frame covered in a stretchable fabric like something you would find on a speaker grill. Something about the cotton loops absorbed the most amount of sound. You could buy up a bunch of towels from good will stores, wash them and use them. I plan on making several panels for my office and home maybe this winter.
Ever try yelling into a folded bath towel? Muffles the sound pretty darned good.
I think the video that inspired me was a way to muffle the sounds from a gasoline electric generator.
Thanks for sharing, useful info!
what a great content, clear and concise
You are testing two different effects here. Sound travelling directly through dense material, and sound reflected. The Sonopan is designed to reduce reflective sound. Drywall, due to its very compact but random crystalline nature, best reduces through sound. Through sound reduction breaks up soundwaves, but you also want vibration reduced. Again, drywall is very good at reducing vibration. Insulation, both rockwool and fiberglass, are quite poor at sound reduction. The best I have found is actually a triple layer wall. From a construction point of view (as a partition wall between internal rooms), a 3" timber frame sandwich. In the cavity, rockwool. Then going outwards (both sides) rosin paper. Then 3/8" structural ply. Then 1/2" drywall. The room to room sound reduction is amazing. Trouble is, ply is very expensive, but slowly coming down in price.
What about instead of ply wood you use osb??
@@user-wk5ci9pd2d That would work instead of ply.
@@trevornelmes9331 would it be better though considering osb is treated, oriented strands, and stronger
@@user-wk5ci9pd2d Treated or not, so can ply be treated (for example marine ply). The issue here is sound proofing. Raw, natural wood has poor sound proofing properties. The idea is to either reflect the sound waves, or to deaden them. Good sound proofing does both. Curiously, the bonding adhesive in both ply and OSB may have more effect than the wood itself.
Thank you for the video. So useful
As a former sound engineer, the art of sound proofing has been well known for many decades. It was easy to guess which of your systems would have produced the best results. That is, the system with the most layers. Layers with air-space between them will always give you the best result. The more the layers, the better the results. This is a critical issue for music studios. It honestly matters only marginally which "sound proofing material" you used. Like you said, you could have used layers of drywall and probably got an even better result. My guess is the foam would have worked well too if it was an inside layer of drywall, wood, or any other stiff material. The secret sauce is layers with air-space. One of the things you could have done is not just checked for dbs but checked for frequencies. Certain materials work better for low vs high frequencies. The foam would have been good for low waves. The stiffer materials are good for high waves. Check the overall frequencies of your dust collection system and then choose the best layer material to suppress it.
No one has mentioned this concept of layers with air gaps but the air gaps are crucial, I do know a bit about sound attenuation, went to college, blah ,blah blah. And I applied my knowledge to a problem in my own flat, ground floor, as this property was originally one but had been converted into 2 separate flats. In this room, a bathroom, it was as if the nebors were in the bathroom with you so I installed a double frame the uppermost was covered with a sound attenuation wool, (acoustic wool), supported by a poly net there being a gap between it & the existing ceiling & the 2nd frame, again with an air gap covered with acoustic wool & then boarded with gyproc but not your normal 9 or 12 ml but what we call “plank” which is a much heavier plasterboard. A totally brilliant result, there is absolutely no sound transfer from the cheap laminated floor upstairs & no voices can be heard. I did pay attention to the peripheries as well if I remember correctly I used resilient pads wherever the timber battens met the wall. Anyway a top result but then I’m an experienced builder so it should be. A great system. The Georgian, that is later 18th century & into the Regency period used a combination of what is referred to as “deafening”, which is a dense ash between the joists & the ceiling below was hung on branders,(so a suspended ceiling) an incredibly effective system, again an air gap between the soundproofed joist level & the ceiling below.
@@janoginski5557 Absolutely! An air gap is one of the simplest, cheapest, and most effective components of a sound-proof layered wall. The specific frequencies you are trying to kill is another very important component to consider as well. Some materials are better for specific frequencies. Stiffer materials for higher frequencies and foam, acoustic wool, or padding for lower sound wave. The lower sound waves will more easily penetrate walls and if they hit the resonant frequency of the room, it will rattle the walls. In considering the sound proofing for a dust collection system, those low waves are the most persistent ones.
@@Rocadamis Do you know if dog wailing is high frequency or low, and which materials may help to sound proof against it? I can hear my neighbor's dog through two rooms in my apartment 😪
@@itseveryday8600 probably impact thru structure. u need decoupling soundproofing
If its strictly more layers of air that matters' foam should have won, shouldn't it have? Im building a ventilated soundproof room for my cats, and am trying to figure out the best way to soundproof the room. Walls are already built and painted so nothing will go into them. It needs to be a temporary external thing.
Very nice video, thank you for sharing.
Thanks a lot. Great video, very clear and straightforward. I wonder why you have not try Plywood with Sonopan . I think I can safely assume it would have been the winning combination. I am building a soundproof booth trying to get an electrical device that got fans making noises around 70dB so outside the box it is about 20db. I am planning the wall of the booth to be 20cm thick. The middle will be a wooded structure 70mm thick, then resiliant bar on either side to avoid direct contact of the 15mm plasterboard. I'll have 15mm plastboard + 5 mm acoustic adhesive + 15 plastboard + the resiliant bar (27mm) + the wooden frame 70mm + + the resiliant bar (27mm) + 15mm plastboard + 5 mm acoustic adhesive + 15 plastboard . In between in the void, filled with acoustic rockwool 100. I hope this will do the trick....
High frequencies travel on air - stop the air flow (Sonopan & the foam are air-open).
Low frequencies vibrate surface diaphragms, turning surfaces into drums - weigh down the surface, make it rigid, "deaden it" (MLV, layers, etc.).
OSB cost less than plywood, and it's denser, so it should perform even better. Im going with OSB to soundproof my room. I'm hanging it on the outside of my ADU with joist tape on the studs.
Great test - and these are the expected results of SONOpan! It's engineered to be used in conjunction with drywall, not as a finished wall covering. 5/8" type X specifically which adds good mass to an assembly. When installed in conjunction with drywall to soundproof a room the overall results will be substantial. Thanks for running the test.
When will this product be offered in US Home Depot’s?
@@artman2119Was gonna ask the same
@@artman2119 We're working on it
Still doesn't make sense, the test showed drywall being better so doubling up drywall would still be better/cheaper than using sonopan.
@@fickitonetime which is true, sonopan is 1/3 the weight of a sheet of 5/8 fire x DW, mass is key. plus when sonopan is asked for their lab results, they WILL NOT send them out.
Roxul in the stud bays works amazing well. The only issue with drywall is that sound bounces off the hard surfaces. The low cost option to build surface boxes to hold Roxul and a cloth cover to hide the roxul, when sound hits the roxul the sound is absorbed (attenuated).
In this test your presuming the sound is total encased in the drywall, but that isn't the real world. If you have even a small opening (pinhole) it enough to allow sound to escape.
Great experiment! Saved me $ and time!!👍Thanks so much for sharing!! Liked, shared.
Excellent! I would like to see the 5/8" drywall. Soundboard too.
I love videos like this! I LOVE people like you!! STRAIGHT TO THE POINT!!! ☀️🏝️🌺😎
Thank you so much.. Usefull and time saving.. 🙏
You need more of an air gap to allow more range of sound pressure wave lengths of different frequencies. You might consider testing with dynomat too...
I build double stud walls, foam board insulation on the outer wall and fiberglass insulation to fill in the rest. I use OSB on the studs, basically sheathing the inside walls like you would the outside walls, then I add the decorative layer - ie shiplap, tongue and groove on top of the OSB. It is a lot more solid that drywall, easier to hang and easier hang stuff on compared to drywall. It isn't perfect, the windows are the weak point, but it is a lot better than a single stud wall. I also seal all of my outlet and switch boxes and this makes a difference. I also caulk all of the seams on the OSB. I have seen double studding done where you have the first stud wall, then a 2inch gap, then the 2nd stud wall. I'd be interested to see how that does for soundproofing and insulation.
sound passing from one material to another is most effective. double hung drywall with a gap between layers is fantastic. I use 5/8 fire rated. Also different frequencies are absorbed differently. using fiberglass insulation in walls helps broaden the spectrum of sounds deadened. If you get even fancier frame the walls with a 6" plate and have 2x4 studs individually for each side of the wall, this will eliminate low frequency transmission through the framing. It's worth the extra work for a recreation room or a high volume home theatre.
I did a basement ceiling (half) leaving 1/2" drywall up, adding sonopan, resilient channel and then 1/2 acoustic drywall (at $106 sheet mind you) and.... I'm not impressed. I did decouple corners and used acoustic caulk. The next half I've already pulled down the old drywall, am insulating with acoustic insulation, adding resilient then 2 layers of type x (5/8) drywall. Lower cost but better results, still not what I hoped for.
Awesome!
Thank you
You should have also tried using some 5/8 quietrock (or similar drywall).
One thing to consider is that a room has ducting and venting, and occasionally windows. These can be sources of leaking and sound conduction that leads to reducing the soundproofing capabilities of the green board.
Thank you for doing that experiment
I soon will have a basement project that includes a recording studio. My intention is to do the following: rockwool then 3/4 inch sonopan, mass loaded vinyl, that channel bracket, 5/8 sheet rock, carpet glue, then another layer of 5/8 sheet rock.. please tell me I should do something different..
I mean it sounds good to me but I'm not the guy to ask. I think you want the andy sneep forumn... I think that's what it's called.
the best sound absorber is a glass wool, because it made of long thin elastic fibers. Density influences to the frequency, in a general case the best is a combination of two different density: 40kilograms per cubic meter and 80 kilograms per cubic meter (sorry, don't know inches 🙂) And the best for a sound reflection is the most heaviest board you may found. So three goals to be achieved: heavy walls + the best absorber + good assembling (fully sealed). Reflection + absorption.
i think one of good book in english is "Master Handbook of Acoustics" Everest, Pohlmann.
The Decibel scale is logarithmic. So a 5 db drop in db by the foam is not "very little to nothing".
I like this short format 'Just the facts ma'am' format.
Not trying to be overly critical here, but just have an observation. Your dust collection system will have a motor that will probably operate at a steady RPM, creating an overall steady acoustic frequency? What is that sound frequency? The choice and position of a particular sound absorbing/diffusing material, is selected for its ability to suppress a particular range of frequencies? Why didn’t you just record the sound of the dust collection machine, and its volume from a set distance, with all lagging removed, then play it back through your speaker? Its not ideal, but it will give you a closer representation of the frequencies you need to close out. You might be spending a lot of money and time on materials that aren’t applicable for your particular needs. Nice you took the time though. Much appreciated.👍
I would REALLY like to see a comparison of the better performing materials where you leave some kind of a gap between the materials, basically creating 2 boxes, one inside another. I've heard this makes a big difference but you need to have as little contact between the inner & outer box as possible. Maybe doing something like 1 sq inch stand offs (maybe 1 cubic inch so there's an inch gap between boxes). The reason is the sound travels through the stand off material better than through air. I remember seeing "sound proof" rooms (music rooms where kids practice) made like this at my school. I'm guessing that different stand-off material would make a difference as well. Anyway, just a thought, thanks for the video!
This would indeed be the best scenario though instead of just an air gap have the plywood (densest in the test) outer box, then foam liner then sonopan or similar noise reducing material. One importanty thing to note is a 10% gap around edges like a lid will emit 50% of the sound, so lids MUST be well sealed as well preferably with something like a silicone bead or draught excluder rubber or foam strips.
The best way to reduce sound transmission is to use materials of different densities as each material will reduce different sound wavelengths. In this test a box made of plywood outer then foam liner, then sheetrock with foam liner and finally sonopan - the reduction would be even more probably to about 40dB.
@@rafezetter8003sir can you explain what i do?? I have a low budget, can I use 1/3 inch plywood outside and inside 2inch foam acoustic panel
@@shivroy7 Yes that would work, it would not reduce the sound completely, but it will reduce it by enough to have a noticibly positive effect.
The truth is the only way to make something "sound proofed" (silent) is with very expensive materials and construction methods that in reality are only worth the cost for things like sound recording studios, for most people a 50% reduction in decibels is enough.
@@rafezetter8003 Thank you for your valuable response. My last question sir, answer when you have free time. Actually sir, I want to be a voice artist, I just started.
My house is inside a local road (village). Usually the sounds of people, bikes and small cars.
1)So if I build a plywood room inside my room, will it give me 40-50% better results?
2)Can I use a 1 inch thermocol between the plywood and the foam acoustic panel?
@@shivroy7 Building a plywood room inside a room would work, but you cannot build it square, at least the interior cannot be square. - It all depends on size whether you want a ROOM, or just what we would call a BOOTH, which is a much smaller size, think more like a small shed. The smaller the area you can get away with, the easier it is to reduce sound issues as smaller areas have less problems with echo's. The reason the INTERIOR should not be square is because unwanted sound waves will bounce off walls, and if 2 walls are opposite, but parallel to each other, the sound will reverberate back and forth, without losing any of its decibel magnitude (which is bad). The best way to deal with this is to have walls that are NOT parallel to each other so a sound wave hitting the wall will instead bounce off in a different direction and get reduced in decibel magnitude.
Making rooms "sound proof" or "sound attenuated" is a very complicated science.
You should also do soem reading on "sound attenutation baffles" which can be made with simple materials.
Using Thermocol, which I assume is a brand of dense foam insulation normall used in the building trade would help, but the honest best way to reduce sound is to use multiple DIFFERENT types of material as each different type will absorb different sound wavelengths.
Normal everyday sound isnt just 1 wavelength but many different ones up and down the scale and each one will react better or worse to different materials - foam (the kind used for sound baffles), rubber, wood, air gaps, drywall sheeting - each will work for a specific wavelength and the absolute "best" way would be to use all of them - but in practicale terms budget often doesn't allow that, so it would help to research which of the outside sounds are causing an issue - like traffic for example and use a material that corresponds to that frequency.
phew - long answer, but the engineering ans science of sound is more complicated than most people realise.
my advice is do LOTS of reading and research to make sure you build a sound recording area that works properly and suits your budget.
There's a lot more places to get information and a gogle search for "homemade sound recording booth" will be a good start. good luck!
You also have accoustic drywall. In my local store it's marginally more expensive than normal drywall. Given your numbers, it's probably better than the plywood (and cheaper also)
As mentioned earlier I will be doing the following for my basement studio. I will be installing Rockwood between the studs. Then using a 6mil plastic to cover the insulation. Next Sonopan. On top of the sonopan, I will use mass vinyl, then that metal clip, then 5/8 drywall. A second layer of 5/8 drywall, but I will use some carpet glue between the drywall..
On the outside of the room I will also install sonopan with mass vinyl, but with only one sheet of drwall.. I think that will provide the ultimate sound proofing method.. lets see how that works and I will post a video.. wish me luck..
Did you do it?
Air gap with a floating room construction is the best method. This is covered in depth now by books on studio design
Wow i found your video, and this is really good 👍
Thakyou for information ❤️
I took a tour of a company that built Transformers when I was in college and they had a room that was supposed to allow no sound in or out and it was literally a giant box with textured foam similar to egg cartons and it was eerily quiet in there even with a bunch of other people when they close the door
Odd. I heard that egg cartons and foam do not block sound well.
@@earthenscience I'm not a sound expert but they are suppose to be quite good because sound waves maintain there shape/ signal (not sure of the correct terminology) if they are bouncing off of a relatively flat surface.
The egg carton and the foam of a similar shape takes away that flat surface.
To the best of my knowledge that's why it works.
@@corymain115 I have some sound foam and it doesn't block sound much at all. Maybe they used a particular brand? Foam is categorized as sound absorption so it isn't supposed to block sound, its placed to reduce echo. The foam would have to both absorb and attenuate the sound to reduce perceived dB. If the room was meant to block outside sound from getting in then Occam's Razor states we should explore other factors that may be in play. For example, maybe the interior wall construction of the room was special? Or the room blocked sound as good as any other room, but there just happened to not be much noise at that particular time it was measured?
@@earthenscience hmm yeah it's possible that it was a particular brand,
I don't remember the where abouts the room was in the building in relation to the production area but you could still hear the machines running until the door was closed and it was eerie how still it was in there.
It was distinctly different from being in a place was simply quiet or not noisy. The more i think about it yeah I believe it is fairly likely that there must have been another material woking in tandem with it. I don't remember how thick the walls were knowing that would certainly be in indication as to whether or not something else was at play.
Wood working wasn't as strong of an interest to me at the time so I never made note of the construction of the room the way I would now.
Yep, this would be a great solution to test
If you don't know it by now. John Heisz is not also an awesome maker but he is a specialist for Sound Design and High End Acoustics. He has a channel dedicated to nothing else than Audio-Projects. It's called *_John Heisz - Speakers and Audio Projects_*
one thing to consider is decoupling, ie if you enclose the DC and hard mount the enclosure to the existing wall you will get some sound transmission through that joint,, not 100% sure how you would decouple but there should be a way.. also how your DC is mounted to the wall etc as this will allow sound transmission..
Cool experiment. I would like to see MDF tested. The best sound proofing I’ve found is using roxul insulation and tar paper with an air gap. Although hard to test on this scale.
great video
plywood + soundboard + 5/8 drywall works pretty good. if blocking sound between rooms be sure to not put back-to-back wall electric outlets.
I would be interested to see this run with a double layer drywall 1/2" glued onto 5/8". The different thicknesses have different natural frequencies so sound doesn't transfer well. It's a trick that high end window makers use.
I’m confident a double dry wall box would perform almost as good as sonopan with drywall but for less money.
So useful.thanks
Lot of effort there thanks.I have used mass loaded vinyl in an emergency to block out garden machinery noise for my son who has Hyperacusis (sensative hearing, after Meningtis ) and it made a difference, I have since built a studio (a room with in a room, in a large shed) in drywall with a cavity, including the ceiling, (decoupled) I wish I had lined with ply now, although it's 5 x the price of plasterboard (we call it). Even though your db mtr showed it was lower, if you turn the volume down until the ply box isjust silent, the drywall plus box can still be heard, is that just the video ? Just about to fill some door panels with scrap drywall, not now, I also have some left over 18mm ply.
Awesome video. Drive to the point.
Have you tried a thick piece of felt like a rug underlayer or is that too heavy to go on the walls?
MOST IMPORTANT - when using DRYWALL for soundproofing - always use 5/8” drywall. DO NOT use 1/2”. DO NOT use 2 sheets of 1/2”. 1/2” is manufactured to be light weight. It is less dense material, containing tiny air pockets, and it’s structural integrity is provided by the paper.
5/8” is made with fiberglass fibers mixed in the gypsum. Fibers break up and redirect sound waves within the drywall. It’s also denser gypsum / significantly heavier / more mass. The results would have been significantly different if 5/8” was used, and all seams were properly sealed - silicone on the inside seam, paper tape (really important) and standard mud on the outside seams (no quick dry / light weight / easy sanding / pink patching mud. Air pockets / cracks / gaps are the enemy. Density is your friend.
This is also why you should always wear a mask / gloves / eyewear when working with 5/8” drywall (there’s fiberglass in it).
We got foam boxes for this exact purpose at work But they're about twice as thick and much better made. (Think they might be glued together but I didn't make them.) They work pretty well.
Thank you for doing a real, objective, comparison!
Lol the foam was basically useless! Frustrating since many people on youtube say to use foam to soundproof a room, when really that just helps with the echo.
this is great! I wonder how two layers of drywall would hold up in this test.
No need to wonder. The tests have already been done. Do an internet search for "STC wall assemblies wood stud vs steel stud" More mass = better, but you need to seal it up really good. Green glue in between drywall even better. 3-4 sheets (or more) even better.
still inferior to two layers of marine ply
One of the best sound-dampening materials is air! If you've got space to put an inch of air between two layers of substrate, you'll get even better results.
Wrong!
@@VG-rj8pn explain
@@terristroh3965 explain what?? Its a well known fact.
@@VG-rj8pn air gap absolutely does aid in acoustical dampening. Low frequency specifically. You are wrong.
@@meymoto4810 it ain't near enough space to make any appreciable difference gork.
You have always been wrong cockbreath
Nice quick test and results. I’ve heard a lot of people say the best bang for your buck soundproofing is Rockwool. Did you ever consider that or test it?
I love the shirt. nice man!😁
The kind of foam might be a factor - I suspect the foam you used might have been reflex foam. Have you considered trying this with memory foam? The open celled construction might provide many baffles for sound to get lost in.
The sonopan is going to work way better on low-end, rumbling noise than the drywall, which will be better on high-end noise.
Plywood result would have been significantly better if seams were sealed with silicone (or even the duct tape used in the other experiments.)
The sound leaks come through the tiny air gaps between the wood. 4 screws will only make a seal if the pieces are perfectly flat / square surfaces / edges at point of contact.
Agreed, he could have used an acoustical caulk and let it cure for even better results. But I think he was not trying to be super scientific here. There are already STC ratings established for various wall assemblies published, and available for free for anyone to search online.
I am inspired to make a video from this.
Apparently, in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries they use OSB under sheetrock. Based on this experiment I bet that would be an amazing combination. It would also be nice to get a price breakdown. I don't think Sonopan is cheap.
OSB are More for the fact that hanging shelves, painting and stuff on the wall and not needing to use expanding plugs. Although the OSB board does help a bit. But we can’t either buy SonoPan in Sweden, but we do have a similar product, made with same density and that’s porous boards. (Porös board @ Bauhaus) This should work the same way. So studs, porous board, OSB and Drywall. This would be rock solid and silence.
Using an energy absorbing glue or spacers should improve it even more.
There are 2 factors contruibuting to transmission loss: density and thickness of material, and internal damping. 1/2 inch bitumen (preferrably lead lined), for instance, is very heavy, and has high internal damping and therefore will work very well. Light foam obviously will not work well, and everytnig in between should behave somewhere in between.
1:13 "The foam is held together with tape because nails wouldn't work" LOL
I believe the best combination would be soft foam on the inside, with about 2-4in air gap separation, the reason for air gap is so the vibrations and resonating sound doesn't just directly transfer through the materials, then a denser foam, with another 2-4in air gap and then finally a rigid dense layer like mdf or plywood. This would be the most ideal situation but for your use case would probably be overkill. This solution would be best used for building a soundproof room or chamber for recording 😅
Sound proofing is fairly easy. You need something that is hard to vibrate and as airtight as possible. That means something heavy and tightly built so the heavier 3/4 plywood was the predictable winner on its own.
A comment below made a good point of dissimilar materials and sound propagation. as a former sound engineer and consultant, One thing you didn't address and that many people overlook: frequencies. WHAT are you trying to reduce in terms of frequencies, not just noise? So the proper steps to take are as follows:
1. get a microphone, laptop/computer and interface with frequency analysis software
2. setup the system and get a visual on that the highest amplitude frequencies / range are
3. determine proper material needed based on those readings.
sub frequencies require different treatments than the 10K plus range. A simple solution at work i used to keep back room conversations from being reflected off a wall into the showroom was the grey cone sheet foam for equipment cases. 6 of them spaced apart and now we have privacy because the foam attenuated the upper frequencies that i needed to limit
I’m from the U.S and it’s difficult to get Sonopan here. Do you have any suggestions on how I could get some?
Well done, thank you. I looked into Sonopan a while back (sound proofing my laundry room) and remember reading it was designed to be covered in drywall to be effective. Interesting to see an actual demo of it. I ended up with just Roxul Safe and Sound between studs. Silly question, but could you vary the speed of the dust collector to reduce noise?
I can't tell if this is gonna be the case for everybody but my dust collector has a few "sweet spots" (or rather, nasty spots) where the noise resonates with itself and other things in my shop and is almost unbearable. Just a tiny bit faster or slower makes the resonations/interference subside.
snake oil
I have nothing to say really, but I appreciate your content, and wish to help with the yt-algorithms.
Hi, Great Video. Can you tell me the size of the testing rig cube?
This was Greta no go back and do two layers of drywall with acoustic sealant, and also rockwool /roxul safe and sound