Bargain priced sound absorbers from IKEA -- ODDLAUG*

Looks like a bargain, 15 for $30.

I wonder how they sound?

Another reason for audiophiles to visit IKEA: ODDLAUG | Darko.Audio

 

Wow for that price i'll be picking them up this weekend

 

They look like you will be able to easily slide the wall across a hardwood floor!

 

Interesting

 

To answer the OP: I would not expect them to have any sound of their own.

As to their effectiveness, it would be nice if IKEA published some response curves showing that in a controlled environment, but my gut feeling, based solely on the photos and their apparent thickness, is that while they will have some effect, it will not be as great as with other thicker panels. While I know it's also material-dependent, the absorbers I use in my main HT (see via link in auto sig) are 2" thick and are about as perfect for the job (effectiveness and space consumed) as can be imagined. The IKEA product looks to be at most 1/2" thick (likely less) meaning the material would need to at least 4 times more effective (per unit thickness) as what I am using, just to "sound" as good.

Regardless, at that price (and return policy) it would be worth a try by anyone in the market for some room taming.

Jeff

 

Might they help with bass modes in the corners of my living room? I mean, I can buy four sets and overlap them one atop the other, to increase material thickness...

 

No.

 

Darko calls them "attractive and affordable". As room treatments they are affordable. But attractive? No. Not at all. The Oddlaug things are attractive in the same way interlocking and gluing egg cartons to a wall is attractive.

 

this product has nothing to do with sound absorption. this is not designed to do that.

 

Another Youtuber is using Ikea Pegboards which look a better bet.

 

Not in the slightest. These things are 1/2-inch thick polyester fabric disks (and they look relatively dense and firm too). They'll knock down high frequencies, they might help you combat some flutter echo. But they'll do little for the midrange and nothing for the bass at all. To do porous absorption in the bass, I'm talking about below middle C, below around 250 Hz, you typically need thick, and not very dense, porous material, and usually an air gap behind the material. A curtain of half inch-thick polyester felt disks ain't gonna do it, and even overlapping it's not really going to help you much in the low frequencies. If you want to actually deal with bass frequency decay problems, test your room with real time analysis, find the frequencies that are problematic, and if you're going to buy treatments, spend your money on something that can actually be effective at the frequencies where you have issues.

The effect of a curtain of these things would be more akin to that of laying down a thin felt carpet, you'd get decent absorption from around 500 Hz up (around the frequency of the A above middle C that orchestras tune to), and a little bit of absorption down to around middle C and pretty much nothing below that. It'll make a room sound less bright and lively, but it's not going to control bass.

 

Owens Corning 703 has finally met its match.

 

Thanks, that answers my question.

 

It would be helpful if they gave us some information on what it is.

General comments not directed to Jeff.

From the looks, I'd guess either wool or cotton batting at 15mm thick. In other words, these will only help with high frequencies, aka narrow band absorption.
To those looking at this for a solution, only broadband absorption should be used in a room unless you know exactly what you are trying to target.

In this case, we do not know exactly what these target. We can assume they work from about 1khz up.

Pressed wool, or fleece works well at 4" think, 100 mm, down to 125hz.
At 15mm? That is a nothing.

For reference, acoustic cotton at 15mm thick works from 1khz on up. My guess is this will work the same. There can be some gain by mounting away from a reflective surface, a wall, but not much. Placing them over a window may help because the bass goes right through the window while the high frequencies bounce back into the room. Just about any curtain will work the same as these, and look better.

There is no magic recipe for treating a room with a cheap gadget. You need thick broadband absorbers. Especially if you don't know what you doing and plan to place it willy nilly throughout the room without measuring.

 

Well, if you go on IKEA's website and look at the specs for the product -- ODDLAUG Sound absorbing panel - IKEA -- it says they're 1/2 thick and 100% polyester. There is also a recommendation to hang them at least 4" from a wall and use at least 4 packages. And the example of uses include "Dampens the general sound level in the room." and "Reduces background noise from e.g. doing the dishes and the TV, making it easier to hear the conversation," which, of course, HF absorption will do. But the company isn't selling them as broadband absorption for critical listening or anything like that.

 

My room is ceramic tile so its very reflective, I think this will help my big rug in reducing the highs

 

Something else from IKEA that actually might help with bass nodes : Ikea Hol Table [English]
I just found this article and I have 2 of those HOL things sitting in my living room for years...now I know why my living room sounds so good .

 

Any piece of heavy fabric in front of a window will do the same as these things. Buy a curtain instead...they are more functional and a heck of a lot more attractive. Seriously, why waste money on cheap worthless "improvements"?

 

Cool!

 

I’m collecting some egg cartons from the box o eggs ( Walmart). Just for fun but the shape is cool and I’m a painter with airbrush gonna play wit dat.

 

My wife pointed these out to me on the IKEA website.

ODDLAUG Sound absorbing panel - gray - IKEA

Kind of interesting looking. Might be helpful for general use, but from an audiophile point of view, isn't polyester considered more of a "hard" material, and less than effective at sound absorption?

 

They might do something, but they’re really selling them as audiophile room tuning accessories.

 

It’s 1969!