Sorry, I was talking loosely when I said "equivalent". I am wondering about the differences between diffusers of the nature of RPG Skyline product or Multifusor which would appear visually to be much more diffusive than the Auralex product and what led to your choice - any particular factor? Also, it appeared to me that the Auralex products were placed well back versus any first reflection point from the speakers whereas your other diffusers are right up in line with the seating position (maybe it just appears that way in the photos). I hope my post didn't come across the wrong way - I'm just trying to learn from other people's setups.
no problem with your post at all, sorry if my answer seemed too strongly worded. i appreciate your question.
it might help to understand that the design philosophy of my room is to retain musical energy, like a concert hall. it's oval shaped, the front floor is hardwood like a stage, and there are built-in diffusive elements everywhere. the side and rear media shelves are diffusive, those slanted panels in the ceiling above the listening area reflect energy back down into the room, yet eliminate ceiling first reflections......the built-in mid-room diffusers eliminate standing waves and flutter echo for the listener.
the Auralex T-Fusors are a later edition to the room. where you see those on the front side-walls and ceiling wells there had been large fabric covered bass traps which i had removed 2 years ago. i had huge 15 foot long and 18" deep bass traps built in at both front corners of the room. if you look at the 2nd picture in post #11 of this thread, that is an early picture where you can see the fabric covered bass traps. the bass in the room was overdamped and all that fabric was robbing the high frequencies too. so i removed the traps and installed
Quietrock 545 THX wallboard panels and then 3/4" finish grade plywood over them. the Quietrock 545THX is 1 and 3/8th inch thick and has a 1/4" layer of aluminium in it and really establishes a strong room boundary and mass compared to any other product. this gave me the bass solidity i had been missing. i also installed that in the front and rear ceiling wells where i also had that fabric covering. once i did that those large flat areas did create some fluttler echo and loss of focus. none of these areas were first reflection points, but they needed some mild diffusion to tame them but i wanted to avoid any sort of dampning because i did not want a tonal shift. the Auralex T-Fusors were an inexpensive easy way to accomplish that.
so all the T-Fusors do is to control slap echo for better overall musical focus while maintaining maximum musical energy. i look at the T-Fusors as a mild type of diffusion product. they are not designed for first reflection points. i use the T-Fusors 'nude' with no absorbtive material inside so they don't remove 'body'. the T-Fusors can be filled with material and contribute absorbtion when desired. i see my mid-room built in diffusors as meduim and since they have mass they also do some absorbtion of lower frequencies. then the Skylines are a very strong mid and high frequency diffusor which is precise in how it reflects and is ideal for first reflection points on close sidewalls, ceilings or back walls behind speakers (where i have them).
the front triple Skyline stack was another later addition which had to do with improving center image, depth and focus over the orignally designed in large rounded diffusor you can see behind the Skylines.
i wrote an article 8 years ago about
my room building process which you may find interesting reading which goes into more detail about how my room was designed. back then i saw that process as an ending point. i now view it more as a starting point. it took me 6 more years after building the room to finally get it all to work right. but isn't life always that way?
