Open Back Rack Cabinets in CR: Good or Bad?

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:52 am

Should I completly seal the backs of the rack cabinets I built for my control room seen here?

http://www.westervillegolf.com/console1.htm

I know I need to enclose the box containing the computer, but what about the other rack that will house the console PSU, power amp, and other future rack goodies. I'm concerned about heat build up in the box, but I don't want to install more fans to create more noise.

Will having a partially open backed box right in front of my monitors significantly change the room acoustics?

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:43 am

I would leave it open to be honest unless the noise coming from them is disturbing

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:49 am

Keep the ventilation for now and deal with noise if you get it. You have to have really good sound isolation for most fan noise to make a noticeable difference. So it may not be a problem.

Looks like the console is coming along nicely!

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:04 am

Thanks for the info guys.

Yeah, there are no fans on any of the componets in the non-solated box. I was more concerned that a non-insulated box in the middle of the CR would create low frequency problems. I alread noticed that the plywood shelf that helps support the PSU for the console has a nice ring to it when I tap it; very musical. Laughing

I plan to stuff some rockwool under it to deaden the ring.

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:49 am

I would say leave them open. You might want to consider rubber mounting gromets, or weather striping foam to dampen any vibrations. That way your very nice work station will be less likely resonate.

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:38 pm

The connection between the desk and the floor may be a useful point of focus as well. Some type of damping between the two?

If it comes down to it, some of the highly celebrated stable foam may could be placed at the inside bottom and/or sides of the boxes as you see fit to aid further in the removal of the desks presence.

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:22 am

I really have to say I have mixed feelings regarding your question.

I have toyed with the same thing for years in my control room. Everything you do makes a difference in how the room sounds and how balanced and even your sweet spot will be. Since your monitors are in front (beyond the back) of your console, the diffusion, depending upon the equipment load, wiring & size of the items, in your new cabinetry could vary between the left & right, making for different diffuse and absorbent properties. In that respect, I'd close the cabinets up, to create more consistent & symmetrical reflections. And if you find it necessary, treat the backside of the console cabinetry with other diffuse and/or absorbent materials.

Otherwise, I'd say it really doesn't make any difference if you like the way your control room already sounds. To put it in a more general way, I don't think control rooms are ever actually finished. I believe they are always evolving and a work in progress. Equipment of yours I'm looking at doesn't give off the kind of destructive heat of older discrete, class A, & A/B consoles of yesteryear. Sure, Digital Equipment, digital reverbs, computer devices, digital recorders, can get pretty hot and should have some sort of built in cooling fans, like your computer. The Alesis HD 24xr is a good example. You can't completely remotely control this recorder. So it really has to reside in the control room and it's got a built-in fan. It's quiet but not silent. I can't close the machine into a sound tight box. So I'm trying to come up with some ways to at least quiet it down further. Either way, I'm going to have to live with it one way or the other. Seems to be a fact of life these days. Of course anything can be accomplished in the control room if you have unlimited funds.

Control room is a euphemism for money pit.
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:12 am

RemyRad wrote:

Quote:

Control room is a euphemism for money pit.

One of the more asute observations made on this forum.

dampening between the cabinets and the floor seems like a good idea. I'll do that once I've gotten most of the wiring finished. At the moment, the plastic glides on the bottoms allow me to slide the whole rig out to get behind it and work.

Quote:

once I've gotten most of the wiring finished...? Rolling Eyes

guess the rubber pads will have to wait a few years!

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:17 pm

I say a lot of things that "seem" like a good idea at the time.

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