I've been told auralex sucks...

[Brendan Bonura]

many people have told me auralex will not treat low frequencies very well, which is one of my main problem in my recording room. Can anybody give me a run through of how to build 2 bass traps and the estimate cost?
Also, for reflection treatment, is auralex worth it, or should i go with a fiberglass panel?

 

[bandcoach]

auralex is a diffuser and a partial absorber for mid and high frequencies - if you consider the size of the dimples you begin to realise this very quickly as the impact of auralex is for very small wavelengths which means higher frequencies.

Best bet for building your own bass traps would be this tutorial

Steven P. Helm: DIY Bass Traps

You might consider the tutorial here as well

Recording Drums but you need to click on each tab at the top of the page to get the whole story

and this one for some broadband boards

Building Simple but Effective Sound Control Boa...Home Recording Tips

 

[GIK Acoustics]

many people have told me auralex will not treat low frequencies very well, which is one of my main problem in my recording room. Can anybody give me a run through of how to build 2 bass traps and the estimate cost?
Also, for reflection treatment, is auralex worth it, or should i go with a fiberglass panel?

You are correct in that foam doesn't absorb low frequencies well. The standard 2" foams don't really even absorb low-mids at all, and foam corner "bass traps" absorb low-mids and stop absorbing at about 250 Hz it seems. You can check out the following test we did of foam compared to standard 4" bass traps in a corner of a room here: Comparing Acoustic Foam to GIK 244 Bass Traps

To be quite honest though, 2 bass traps will not get you where you need to be. Absorbing the first reflections is still helpful so I recommend it, but either way you go you won't be doing much to the low frequencies. I recommend to, at the very least, start out with superchunks/tritraps in at least two of the corners, along with treating your reflection points. Thicker treatment on the back wall would be the next step.

As for estimating the cost, you'll really just need to figure out how you're going to build it. The largest pain is usually the time it takes to make them though -> especially if you don't have the right tools for it.
But the costs would be wood, wood glue or nails or screws, fabric, staples for fabric, rigid fiberglass....and would obviously differ slightly depending on your design and the materials would be priced differently depending on your location. I'd recommend using Guilford of Maine fabrics if it's possible - the FR-701 series is fire resistant, looks great, is available in 50 colors, and its acoustically transparent.

 

[produce dept]

I built bass traps out of 6" compressed fiberglass covered with somewhat porous cloth material. No frame, just 3 layers of 2" fiberglass bound together. They're not perfect but they work great for my situation. All I needed was a sweet spot where I sit. I still have major bass build up in other areas of the room, but there is a reasonably sized area where I can tell what's going on.