Primacoustic offers various 'studio in a box' room kits to address common room types and sizes. These are based on typical room setups that employ nearfield monitors for playback and sport a typical 5 to 6 foot work station. With today's emphasis on 'in the box' audio manipulation, these are conceived as combination control rooms and studios. Finally, these have been designed to optimize value and provide a solid starting point from which to achieve a relatively neutral working space.

Primacoustic London Kits
London studio kits are designed using Primafoam panels. High density 1.7lb per cubit foot, open cell urethane foam is cut in a variety of shapes and sizes to create attractive room designs. Because the foam density is higher than most other foam products, fewer panels are required to achieve the same level of control. The foam is impregnated with a fire retardant to improve safety and infused with carbon for greater stability. When urethane foam is left untreated, it will discolor and deteriorate from oxidization and UV light. Carbon is a natural UV inhibitor and is black. This is why Primafoam is produced in a dark charcoal color. It also happens to be architecturally neutral making it easy to integrate with most colors schemes. London kits are intended for home project studios.

Broadway Room Kits
These 'next generation' room kits follow the same approach as the London series, except they employ higher density 6lb per cubic foot fiberglass panels for even greater absorption. The panels are covered in an acoustically transparent fabric and offered in 3 colors and with various edge treatments. These colors are architecturally neutral for easy integration into most room color schemes. Fiberglass is widely used in construction and Broadway panels have been tested to be safe for use in all types of construction and buildings. Broadway kits may be used in homes and commercial installations.

Selecting the right room kit
All of these room kits follow the same basic principles whereby they have been designed to absorb primary wall reflections, reduce flutter echo, and control bass in a balanced fashion. Panels are distributed throughout the room using the LEDE concept whereby absorption is greater at the 'transmission' or front of the room in effort to improve source intelligibility while 'soft diffusion' is applied on the 'receive' or back of the room to create more of a sense of space.

It is important to understand that the level of room acoustics can vary greatly and that we humans will adapt as we become familiar with out room surroundings. In other words, you may find that you prefer to work in a room that is more 'live' or has more ambiance while your associates may prefer a 'darker' room or one that is more heavily treated. Both room scan produce excellent sonic results.

Start by selecting the room kit that best matches your room dimensions. When laying out your room, try to keep left and right dimensions balanced so that what arrives at your ears is relatively similar. This will make it easier to mix. If you have and odd shaped room, start by drawing a floor plan and see if you can create a balanced design by moving the workstation around. Uneven surfaces create natural diffusers that can be turned to your advantage. Then start arranging your Primacoustic panels so that primary reflections are controlled, standing waves are reduced and flitter echo eliminated. [link to basic acoustics]

Adding more control to your room
Once you have installed the basic kit, you are now ready to evaluate your room. Begin by listening to familiar CDs to get a sense of how your room sounds. You will certainly fin it very different than before! Now do a rough mix using previously recorded tracks. Take the mix into your car and listen. Is it well balanced? If it is bass light, then you should consider increasing the bass absorption or lowering the level of your sub woofer. If it is too dry, then your room may be too ambient for you and you will need to add more absorption. This process is normal. You have to tune your room to suit your needs. Just one note: Don't make drastic changes. Take the time to listen and get use to your room. This takes time. But it is worth it. Once your room is right, your mixes will easily translate to other rooms.

Some of the extras that you may consider adding include:

1. Ceiling cloud such as the Stratus to improve the all important sweet spot - mix area
2. Cumulus triangular traps - seamlessly fit in corners - do wonders at controlling low mids
3. Razorblade quadratic diffusers will really expand the sense of air if you tend to mix with too much reverb
4. FullTrap or MaxTrap if you really need 'get down' and attenuate the bass