$30 vs $500 Sound Panels - Is There Any Difference?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
- How much of a difference does hanging acoustic treatment actually make to your sound? In this video, we test out Elgato's new Wave Panels and compare them to some $30 and $500 options to see what difference they actually make.
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⏩ Timestamps:
0:00 Why audio matters for your stream
1:52 Sound absorption vs sound insulation
2:16 Price
3:01 Mounting options
4:11 Materials and design
5:42 Testing method
6:58 Tests
8:04 Results
11:21 Bonus audio tips for livestreamers
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What are your thoughts on Elgato's new wave panels? Worth it? Overpriced? Nice looking? Ugly? Let me know 👇
DISCORD GANG!!! 🤟🤟 @GamingCareers
the jump from 6-12 was noticeable and if u have a bigger room defo worth the investment into 12
I didnt really see a difference with Elgato panels, but the GIK I liked and would spend the extra money for them vs amazon/elgato. Great video man!
@gaming Careers, how do you make your face cam look so soft? my A5100 is awesome but too detailed showing every nook and cranny on my skin :(. I'm using 2 Elgato Keylights, one high above to the left and another to the right, now facing into the wall. Have tried for days but never get that soft look
I found the Elgato panels in most cases barely made any difference. I would rank them GIK, cheap panels, and then the elgato as they were BARELY better than having nothing at all. Definitely not worth it, at least from this test.
Great video - my takeaway was that 95% or more of the battle is just having a solid mic close to your mouth
and this is why people waste hundreds on treatment and come away unsatisfied. I good dynamic microphone will help prevent sound from bouncing around. Doesn't mean treatment doesn't help, but when you have a mic with a noisy preamp like the one on your camera hunting for any noise.... any noise is what it's going to find
Also - not surprisingly 12 cheap acoustic panels sparsely spread out on the wall doesn't make much of a difference but also doesn't make much difference between 12 cheap acoustic panels and 12 expensive acoustic panels. My experience is that if you cover nearly an entire wall you will get a minor improvement that may or may not be worth it to you. I would never pay $500 for sound treatment panels in my current situation but I would build them for $25 a pop using some cheap lumber, cheap material and some towels.
Yeah, absolutely, even more so if you go with a dynamic microphone. Microphone placement and technique can get you a long long way!
@@piratetech3722 True that! Get a sm58 and a quiet interface and that's 90% of the battle in a small room. Extremely unidirectional. And, it sounds pretty good! People always getting super sensitive condensers because they hear that they are better. In a perfect world, yeah. But you'd be in a studio also. You can hear every fan, every car, every reflection, every mouth click in a tiny room. Behringer interfaces have low noise floors, quiet preamps. Bam, you almost maximize your sound quality in a shit room with a $250 budget. You're better off just going simple in a shitty room and then putting the rest of your energy into making music. Those mini vocal booths aren't too bad either. They will cut out a bit of reflection, and not too expensive. No setup...
@@piratetech3722 a microphone doesn't prevent sound from bouncing around.
And the winner is...a good dynamic mic:)
You are rigt! I don't hear any difference at all between a bear wall and a fancy 500 euros panel, which is weird because how dp you justify such a waste of money.
@Sash Campbell yeah but these guys just want for livestreams and such.
You wouldn't buy cheap amazon pads and stuff like that if you're mixing. You would invest a bit more. And the dude here bought 6 panels and he's using them incorrectly, having put 2 or 3 panels right in front of him. If he wanted to mix he would have to place them in a different way
@@pedrosilvamusician To some extent, yeah. But we do have to keep in mind most streamers have some filter plugins for their audio such as "audio compression" which can turn up the volume of the room noise.
@Pedro Silva why? The panels are supposed to face in front, any other direction and sound frequency loses
If you have good acoustics in the room you can speak a bit farther from the mic which is convenient for comfort. So even having a good mic, acoustics will help for that 😁
Man! I wanted to take a moment to appreciate all the TH-camrs that takes so much time into making these videos for us to help us with our passion while you show us your passions
I think you just sold me on the GIK panels, huge difference. I've also used the cheap Amazon panels in the past and they do help but as a fellow full-time creator my new apartment needs a more pro treatment. The GIK mounting is also more minimal versus other pro options. Also pairing with the Shure SM7B as well. Awesome job!
Huh. I was actually looking for some ideals for my new setup too. Gonna look into these. Good job man
Thank you for the vid. Was wondering about this after seeing the announcement. Glad first vid I saw was yours.
The testing cracked me up a bit. Amazing video, going to look into this for the future
The sound insulation vs the sound absorbtion information was golden, thanks a lot!
Excellent video, just moved into a new house and it echoes crazy good in there. Definitely going to need to work on our setups and get some proper treatment done for both stations
Now this is how to create evergreen content! Nice work! You’ve also inspired the background lighting for my studio.
This video taught me so much bro thank you‼️
This video is amazing, bro gave me more than I needed
I've built my panels myself with a wood frame and combination of stone wool and foam panels 4 inches thick all in all. For sound absorption, the thicker the better.
do they also help with insulation with the wool? i live with a lot of roommates and am trying to keep noise out of my room
@@dae8894 Not really. They only prevent the sound inside from bouncing all over the walls.
If you want to insulate the sound from outside, you need to completely cover all the surfaces of the room.
@@manugarcia3578 damn okay thank for the help
Just placed an order for these. Going to use in my next stream! Thanks!
Did you buy the Elgato? I was thinking of picking up 12, vs using panels.
love the vids and prodcast
Very awesome demo here. Just a side note, what we have to keep in mind though is that we are comparing $24 setup vs a $200 setup and possibly a $500 plus setup. You should do a video to even the odds meaning spend the same amount on each sound treatment and then see what the results are.
thanks for making this video!
I used poster command strips right on the foam panels from amazon and they have held up well so far (3ish months so far) as well
the GIK sounds by far the best... even at the low quallity microphone you really hear a difference there. But not only the affect is the most strength, but it also sounds the most natural to me
Great video! RE: mounting, I have the cheap amazon option as a low key streamer, I do intend to upgrade, but the way I mounted them was almost exactly the same. I used gorilla selotape, 2 tiny bits per panel and then mounted all the panels to a large piece of cardboard, then command strips. Works really well!
Great choice, I can't describe quite how painful of an experience it was removing them when I directly stuck them to my wall in my old studio!
Great video, thanks!
12:08 "that looks like an upside down heart"
Riiiight. I'll just pretend that shape didn't make me think of a big butt. XD
BUTT!!
Excellent, thanks!!!!!!
There's a couple of DIY channels (might be DIY perks) that shows you how to make your own to suit your budget. The Elgato options look like a really good option though.
Thanks for info :3
Great video. Cheers.
I noticed no difference except with GIK panels but not verry affordable when solutions exist like using a towel acoustic pannel costing less than100$ to make a whole wall ...
Nice tests tho
Creators, listen up! Consider using sound blankets rather than any type of foam. Always found them to remove far more echo and you can mount them to rails like curtains. I don't think there's any reason to buy foam at this price, which is harder to install/remove and not as good (from my experience) when you can get more effective sound blankets for a fraction of the price 👍
They are 100% better for the price but not better quality imo
While yes, price to performance is big and sound blankets are much better value wise, aesthetics and space is a big factor. Sound blankets simply don't look as good, but more importantly, hanging them on stands takes up a lot of space. A lot of smaller content creators don't have much space to work with so every inch matters. You also don't wanna just hang sound blankets directly against the wall because you lose performance that way so that's not really an option either. and as BM mentioned, they're not necessarily better quality. There's a reason professional recording studios and broadcast stations opt for actual acoustic panels over blankets. If price is all you care about, then sure, but if those other things I just mentioned matter to you, then sound panels are a much better option.
Yeah try to mount them on your ceiling smarty ass
@@luk7n You can, I already did lmao
I've been in the works of building my own foam panels using some scrap would we have and using them at the frames. Than getting solid acoustic foam pannels to act as the bottom of the full panel and sides, than using pyramid soft foam squares as the top of the panels. In total costing me about 150 for the foam and other supplies such as adhesive. But I like the DIY project since I get them the exact size I want.
Great Video! (I love how high quality your production value is and you generally “rock” in front of the camera / are pretty comfortable there). Having said that, I feel like (and I don’t yet know because I haven’t pulled the trigger on ANY panels - but very interested in the Amazon or equivalent price wise), the Amazon ones could do an OK job IF you weren’t just covering a small piece of the wall - bit instead had covered the whole room. I guess ultimately I am looking on input as to how those do in a recording booth setup (so it may be unfair of me to criticize you for that as that is not the setup that you are going for).
All in all great video - I just feel like (and like I said don’t yet have the personal experience) that the Amazon or similarly cheaper ones could probably fair OK or pretty well in a “recording booth” build/ environment.
Having said that - still great video :)
The way that man put those sticky strips on the El Gato frames in the example...I can't 😂😅 3:56
GIK Acoustics are simply unmatched. Amazing brand. Their impressions series diffuser/absorber panels are dope and actually look really cool. They make a hugeee difference in my room.
Very well done. As a professional broadcaster all I can say is you get out of it what you put into it much like everything else when it comes to sound absorption.
Good night, could you talk more about those lights behind you? I loved these 2 different colors
Really nice video!
I'm moving to a studio I'm building and I was planing to FULL a whole wall with those things.
Not anymore I guess o.O
My new office I intend to use as my studio hv 3 big windows and is close to the road... I don't know to handle the windows to reduce the noise from coming in and make the room sound great. This was a great video.
i got the cheap Amazon panels to get me through to when i move to a bigger place.
Im gonna redo my studio audio setup when i move out but i know stepping up the Sound panels is gonna be a big +
Greaat help!
Great content, do you have a video that helps with background noise that goes to the mic? I have a yeti mic and it seems it picks up every sound
I've actually been building my own panels last week. I'm just waiting for the fabric to cover them. They cost me a total of 120€ for 8 panels of 100 by 60 cm (about 39 by 23,5 inch) which isn't that bad. Spent about 9 hours building the frames, But I'm lazy by design and I don't have any powertools to assist me so I used a handsaw to cut all my pieces to size. Hopefully applying the fabric won't take this long :)
Glad I watched this
Excellent comparison! I have made Rockwood panels myself, and I wondered how they compare to cheap foam and more expensive foam panels. What I noticed was those midrange foam panels deadened the sound a lot but none of the bass, so they made it sound like you were in a large deadened room. The gik panels were more natural sounding and sounded like you were in empty space, I may buy some for my next HT build.
aren't mineral wools dangerous to be in your bedroom though?
I work as a system admin for a high end media company amongst other things we have a studio that hosts professional studio work (Hollywood film, TV shows and voice work. I guess they do a layered sound dampening process in which the entire outer wall of the studio are dampened with the cheap panels bought in bulk, around the inner walls there are strategically placed "average" priced panels. Then they have sound dampening walls that are hand crafted to disperse noise as needed on a per shot basis. My point is there is no absolute winner of the three, they all have a purpose and when placed correctly do the intended job. Great Video. If you guys want to see the Studio in question its Spokane Productions.
With the "cheaper foam" option, if you were to lay it on cardboard anyway, could you put a layer of foam down first like warbla and then glue/attach the pyramid foam on top?
i have a nueman tml 103 and its a really solid microphone but picks up so much noise. especially since i just moved and have no sound treatment. i was wondering if a smb7 would be a better mic for me
NICE BRO🔥
which DSLR are you using to record this video? Which lens? seems very good quality video.
Hey, May I know What is the type of fabric you are using for the rockwool acoustic panel?
Great video as always! I gotta tell you tho...that mouse on your desk without a mousepad gives me so much anxiety 😫
Clear nano tape is pretty good to stick the panels to painted walls without damaging them.
Can you please write or link to those wall strips you recommended to protect the wall?
you can make your own, melamine foam is also pretty good i had the pleasure to test vicoustic products they made different but price wise not cheap
Could I suggest that you do a voicemeeter basic setup/advanced?! :)
What mic did you use to record this video?
The link of Wave panels is not right. Is not in sell for now?
Definitely not a gamer, but your video has such excellent information for room treatment, thank you.
I just want to talk to my friends on xbox without my parents hearing😭
Can I ask what light source your using for the RGB background ?
Hi, Out of interest, what's the distance from the back of your desk to the wall? And does that distance make a difference?
In front of me is 2.5m gap and behind me is 2m.
To my left is 1m and to my right is 4.5m.
I just put up insulated curtains over the windows that wrap around my workstation and added a folded blanket on my desk underneath where the mic hangs from the boom. World of difference.
THANKS!!!!!!!
I actually ended up going with a different option (although your acoustic panels are what I was looking at long term). I ended up hanging a noise reducing/black-out curtain on the wall I'm facing, and then put up decorative shower curtains (ironic right?) on the wall behind him.
Good choice! It's all about making improvements with what you can access. Those thick black-out curtains are great tools for both audio and making your lighting more consistent.
To me, the room sounds great already even without any treatment.
PREM was such an amazing movie. Thank you!
I'm sorry whatt??
Apology accepted
Does it make any difference if you stick the panels behind your monitor? Doesn't the sound bounce off the screen before it hits the wall?
Would you rather have the better ones that are twice as much.... Or twice as many of the Elgato ones? How would that sound comparison end up if you stacked to double the thickness of the elgatos?
I dont know if anyone will see this, but I planned on buying panels because I dont want the noise to leave my room or to at least not be as loud. What would you recommend for that?
So wats best, I’m just trying to stop sound coming thru walls. My wall is thin and I can hear sound coming thru the next room. Nd so can they
Can you put a poster or tapestry in front of the panels or would that just defeat the purpose?
can these be used to stop outside noise from coming into the room?
When I heard about the Wave Panels I thought $99 was kinda expensive and I was SERIOUSLY thinking of the Amazon way, but Glad I went with the Wave Panel as I have a Small Bed Room so I bought the 2-pack of the elgato wave panel and I'll be looking to get the 4 more of the expansion Packs and mount them too my Wall next to my other Panels.
@Neon Thunderbird yes. You can 3M tape them or wall screw them in
so i got cold large walls, laminat flooring and a large glass window front
i feel like im sitting in a goddamn church
i just build myself a little tone cabin by buying some wood, putting it together and just putting it on my desk. the wood cost me like 100$ (80cm height, 1,7meters wide 80cm deep) + rockwool + cloth to prevent the rockwool getting into my lung. the rockwool is the same you use to build a house. usually rockwool gets used to build cinemas for example. it's a cheap and very noise dampening solution.
the only downside i would say is the weight since i used wood. the construction weights about 50kgs. for my next build i would use some form of plastic that can hold the rockwool.
As mixing engineer, GIK Acoutics are best option by far ( a long far), but I think foam just should work ok with streamers that want to remove the "harshness" of high frequencies. Most important thing is depth of the foam. 1cm of depth is like nothing really. You can listen to an improvement but getting all the walls covered, which I think is highly inefficient (and ugly imo lol)
aren't mineral wools dangerous to be in your bedroom though?
@@lamborghinicentenario2497 Yes I think they are if they like "raw", but as GIK acoustics builds them I think its completely safe. A lot of big studios have mineral wool isolation and dont think there's any problem
any tips on how to hang the foam panels?
What’s the name of the color of your gik panels?
"I'll probably put my streaming rig in the middle of the living room here"
Which RGB lights are you using for your background?
Mate, I'm not even looking to be a gamer or have a career in gaming, but found this video when looking at sound panels.
I wanted to just say that the audio quality on this is incredible! The sound profile is absolute perfection. Perfect balance of EQ and range.
I'm going to keep this video open so I can A/B as a reference for how I want my vocals to sound.
I see you've got a handful of videos up on EQ settings, but some are quite dated. Would you say they're all still relevant or have you levelled up your audio game significantly in the last year or two but not shared your secret recipe?
Top marks!
edit: back from sleuthing your other vids - there's a marked difference in audio within the last 6-9 months. Is it the sound panels? It's as though the sound is completely devoid of any sound bouncing off walls. But also the EQ range is very precise? Any ideas what changed please?
Same looking for advice on sound panels for my room to ply guitar loud
Anyone knows how this style of recording is done or what terms I could use to search for it? 12:49
Which fabric was this GIk acoustic panels
Basically if you have a sm7b do you really need panels?
regardless of price and performance, they look *pretty* sick
Should have done an example of both the Elgato and GIK acoustic panels at the same time. ;)
Would it be worth it to install sound panels in every bit of your room, or is it just a waste of money and no good difference will be heard after like 12 panels?
I would be very interested to see how shape effects the sound panels like some are pyramids and others have different shapes. If the foam is the same type of foam just different shapes. Someone should do a sound test.
This channel just makes me feel like I can do it, you know? Much helpful tips, such inspire.
What about the 2" thick ebay / Amazon panels?
Just started doing TH-cam somewhat consistently for a while. I say some what because the audio is what makes it or breaks it for me. I'll have days where it's quite, then others where lots of noise from outside is heard. I might go with the Amazon ones for now, if anyone else has tips or suggestions lmk🙌. Would love to be able to record without having to worry about audio issues as much. Currently using a HyperX Quadcast mic as well
Would you recommend putting some panels behind you or the main concern the reverberation off the wall in front?
Consider which way your microphone is facing.
A cardioid microphone rejects sound from the back, so if the microphone is facing forward, the side and back walls are more important.
If your microphone is facing you from an angle, you might want to experiment a bit. The angle of the microphone can be important though.
@gaming Careers, how do you make your face cam look so soft? my A5100 is awesome but too detailed showing every nook and cranny on my skin :(. I'm using 2 Elgato Keylights, one high above to the left and another to the right, now facing into the wall. Have tried for days but never get that soft look
This may be useless to you because I’ve never edited video specifically. But for photos it’s a matter of adjusting the clarity slider in post. Consider pro mist filters. There also seems to be a soft skin filter setting in the a5100 that popped up when I googled the lens filter.
Was wondering if Id go the easy route and buy some cheap foam, or spend a couple bucks extra but a whole lot of DIY and make my own proper panels.
Listening to those GIKs, I am defenitly gonna put in the work and make my own! (cause they still very expensive!)
Genuine question. Would the panels work better if they were on the wall your mic is facing? I would assume there aren't going to do much for a cartioid pattern mic if they are behind it. The mic would be picking up reflection off the wall behind you the most I would think.
In case someone else is curious it's preferable to have panels on all walls & ceiling with the addition of a carpet but it's fair to just place them behind the mic (towards the place you're facing) and to your sides. When you project your voice outwards these will be the areas your voice makes contact with first before bouncing all over the place. Allowing them to absorb those sound-waves from the start means they'll be weaker and less able to bounce around the rest of the room even if those areas aren't treated.
Also even tho condenser mics in carioid mode are meant to only pick things up from one direction it does not mean they're invulnerable to sound behind them (such as mouse clicks and typing sounds). It just sets a preferred sensitivity towards the front. This means that echo reflecting from in front of you and hitting the back of the mic will still be picked up and can still have an effect on the clarity of your voice.
the tests are super, pro panel gives a better absorbtion and - as far as i'm not wrong with calculation -the cost per square meter is in favour of GIK not Elgato. thanks
If I put two panesl near my tv wall willl it block sound to my neighbors wall, as the room is open plan I can only mount tv on neighboring wall
Clear glasses are giving me riddler vibes lmaooo
3:39 this is what I did but I used a hot glue gun (high setting) because the sticky tape came off too much.
I have a blanket hung up behind my monitor and it works great doesn't look as great but my stream doesn't see it 🤣
Hey my sons room is right next to mine was wondering if you could help me with some tips on what's the best way to go about making the noise coming from his from room quieter? Ty
Build a room within a room. Ensure that the walls, floor, and ceilings are decoupled.