Yeah, but in a rented apartment?

 

I have a small studio room within a room. Its 2.5 meter x 3 meter

Its walls are about 1.2 cm think mdf with maybe 4cm or insulation beetween. On the inside it also has 5cm thick layer of glassfiber acoustic panels (i dont recommend using glassfiber)

Its isolated from ground.

One could definatly build something but it has to be completely enclosed and you also need to think about the fresh air

I think this works pretty well, the biggest bass propably still escapes a bit so i wont rock hard on nights with bass on

I would use some thick materials for the walls, this things total weight is maybe 600-900kg

 

I saw a beautiful studio in Santa Monica, California that was underneath this fellow's wife's dance studio. Underneath the wooden dance studio floor was a layer of sand and it was dead silent down there even when they were doing tango lessons up in the studio . Sand weighs A LOT and they needed to reinforce the floor/ceiling in order to do this. Also, fabricated in the wall in the behind the couch which was about 10 feet behind the console and used for clients to listen to the mix was a deep space of like 12 feet that was one big sound trap which swallowed up all the sound and there were no reflections whatsoever coming from there. It was amazing.

 

The panels we all know (basstraps, diffusers, foam, pyramids, etc,) are intended to control reflections inside the studio, when instead the purpose of soundproofing is to avoid contaminating the external environment, you need a totally different approach. The last studio I built had exactly the same issue: the location was the basement of a residential building and I absolutely had to prevent the sound from spreading to the upper apartments. Basically, both the recording and mixing room had to be built (floor and ceiling included) within a larger space . The main 'ingredients' for the project were: a lot of wood, rock wool and lead slabs. The engineering was the same as building a submarine: the air pressure must remain inside. End of story: the concept worked well, when done properly, the result is guaranteed.
Note: It's a significant commitment of money and energy, I recommend doing it only to those who are extremely motivated.

 

Are you in the UK? I know the guys who fitted the soundproofing for the Birmingham NEC. Their panels are insane. They have the measurement software to figure out what you'd need and those panels are really lightweight and you can easily slot them in place and remove at a later date. Stupidly expensive though, like £300 per sheet, 1200 x 2400 and then the panels that you put in conference rooms were also really expensive. I built my vocal booth with some of those, its a suspended room in a room effectively. Deadens the sound and gets hot within minutes, which is supposed to be a sign that sound is being converted into heat, so not passing through the walls (to some degree).

I think this company is also in Oz or NZ.

 

I've been eyeballing something called Straocell Whisper which is a recyclable poly foam product that is semi ridged and can be put up on a wall quite easily. I've only seen it used industrially in theatres, other large rooms, meeting rooms, shooting ranges, in boats, etc. It is waterproof and fireproof. It is less expensive than what I see in the way of foam and and definately less expensive than buying or even making your own Rockwood panels. It has an NRC rating of 1.0.

https://dokumen.tips/documents/stra...cell-whisper-stratocell-whisper-3.html?page=1

https://www.architectureanddesign.c...ratocell-whisper-sound-absorbing-polyethelene

 

Ohh! I missed that part.
Then it's a nono. Not even worth it.

 

Last edited: Nov 28, 2023

100x50x5cm
About 50€ unit price

 

Last edited: Nov 28, 2023

Exactly. Sand is not lightweight. In addition, moisture can become a huge problem, which also increases the weight. DIY is not good advice here. No sand experiments without a structural engineer, please. It can turn out really badly.

 

You can get it for less.

 

If you're dealing with low-frequency noise, adding mass to the walls and sealing gaps can make a big difference. I also found that using insulation made for soundproofing helps a lot, especially in wall cavities and ceilings. You might want to check out https://www.greenattic.com—they have some solid options for insulation that could help reduce sound transfer.

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2025