I designed this modular ceiling cloud as I live in an apartment I cannot drill holes in the ceiling but really want to improve the sweet spot and reduce ceiling modes for mixing. I'm looking at upgrading my monitors (maybe MM35's) and wanted to tackle the room first. The rest of the room is treated with RealTraps and Primacoustic Broadband Panels plus some rather large bass traps I made that sit at the back of the room.

The frame is made from extruded aluminium and supports three 4 x 2' panels above the mix position. The cloud frame can be adjusted so it's closer or further from the front wall and the height and angle can also be easily adjusted. These designs show 2" panels but I'm looking at adding some additional thickness - maybe some rockwool above the panels. By the way, the desk is loaded with gear - no way it's going to fall over!

I though some people might find this interesting if they want something that can be relocated if necessary. I did some searching on GS but couldn't find anything like this, but I'd be interested if anyone has seen something similar.

I'm looking forward playing with the adjustments in search of the best room response!

I would probably just drill holes, use toggle bolts and fill the holes in when you move.

much easier this way

If the roof was normal plaster I'd just drill the holes as it would definitely be easier, but the ceiling is covered with painted Vermicalite (See this link Vermiculite ceiling (popcorn ceiling) | Walls - Build). This would not be easy to patch after removing the toggle bolts. I really don't want to disturb it.

One thing I was questioning with this design is whether the posts will have much impact on the sound field from the monitors. I tried to keep them as far away as possible. Any comments on this would be much appreciated.

I think it would be better to put some broadband absorption on your ceiling panel. how thick are your posts?

Hey Chris, the ceiling will use Primacoustic 'Broadway' Broadband Panels (See Primacoustic Acoustic Solutions). The sketches show 2" panels but I'm thinking of upping this to 4" by doubling the number of panels as I have 6 of them. The cloud is 4' x 6'.

The posts are 80mm x 40mm aluminium profile (See Aluminium Profile 8 for Automation, Machine Guards, Trolleys). This stuff is very light but extremely strong. The 6 panels will be around 20kg so the posts need to be strong to hold the panels near the 8'6" ceiling.

Another option is to attach wires to the sidewalls, and place the panels on top.

hasl, I think that's a good idea but there is a doorway on one side and neighbours on the other. To hold three 4" panels it would have to support 20kg in the middle of a 13' span. So I would think that the fastening would need to be heavily braced - maybe it would need to bolt through the walls - maybe you have more experience with this type of construction?

Another option would be to have a stand at either wall with wires between, but I don't think this would look as neat as the support mounted to the desk - just two posts and the rest is kind of hidden as its close to the front wall where I already have RealTraps.

I really appreciate your suggestion as its worth considering all the options.

yes, it ought to be bolted through the walls or fastened to a piece of plywod on each end, and the plywood attached with several screws to studs in the wall.

I have seen it been done on the net , I normally attach the cloud to the ceiling using chain, attached at 6 points.

either way, I think it is a good idea to get the weight down by using 10 cm thick foam, if something goes wrong the panels will not damage the gear.

hsal, my first preference for mounting is hanging the cloud from the ceiling. The second would be cables spanning the room as you've described. However, the mounting is a problem for me in both cases.

After considering these options I think I'm just going to have to go with the cloud mounted from the desk. It won't be cheap but I really think its the only way in my case. I plan on using 4" thick broadband treatment (approximately 10cm) which will weigh around 20kg.

I've measure my room response and I'm looking to address modes associated with the ceiling height (~125Hz) and improve the imaging and sweet spot size. I think the adjustable nature of the design will help address the combination of these problems as best as possible by tweaking the angle and gap between the panels and ceiling and taking measurements in between.

Dr. G - A couple questions for you:

1. How are you hoping to improve the sweet spot size, based on your cloud?

2. How did you determine the angle of your cloud? And what improvements are you expecting from the angled cloud compared to simply having it be parallel to the ceiling?

Craig (I'm involved in my own current build, and am considering such things)

Hi Craigster

The cloud principle is based on broadband absorption. The absorption of first reflection high frequencies and flutter echo is intended to improve the size of the sweet spot at the listening position. For more information about this you can go to Primacoustic Acoustic Solutions.

As the panels will be 5" thick (stacked 2" and 3") combining this with the air gap above will hopefully lower the ceiling mode around 125Hz. The lab performance of the panels can be found here Primacoustic Acoustic Solutions. The sound absorption coefficient at 125Hz is around 0.9 for a 3" panel, so I'm hoping to get good results with 5" and a similar gap. Thicker is always better.

In regard to the cloud angle, the design in the sketches allows the angle to be varied. The intention by angling the cloud is to allow it to absorb reflections from the ceiling. Maybe others can provide some further insight regarding the cloud angle. Theory aside, I plan on trying some different angles and taking measurements.

I hope this answers your questions. I would greatly welcome any additional input from the GS acoustic gurus!

Got the frame assembled today. I've very happy with how this turned out. Now I have all the first reflections covered which is something I've managed to do without drilling a single hole in the walls of ceiling.

I have a couple of other small improvements (some more broadband panels on the side walls) before I'll take some measurements again and post the results.

how?

1) Ceiling cloud as shown in the original post with broadband panels mounted to desk

2) RealTrap Corner Mono traps on stands

3) RealTrap Minitraps on stands on the front wall.

4) Primacoustic Broadband panels on side walls.

5) Custom bass traps (18" rockwool) on the back wall. Can't cover the whole back wall as there's windows.

Sorry for digging up old thread.

Would be cool to have seen some pictures DoctorG. I have the same crap on my ceiling except I was planning on drilling through it into the studs, still gathering information. That design looked sweet though! How'd everything go in the end?

It turned out really well and works quite well - I'm busy the next couple of days but I'll take some photos and upload them soon.

Crafty, I doubt any landlord could complain.

No - the landlord was actually interested!

Hey Sebprovision, sorry about the delay but here are some quick snaps

No prob man. Wow, looks great! Good work for putting it all together. So you happy with how everything sounds?