Going to start building my media/audio room

[Bernard]

Joey, did you ever buy Jim Smith's "Get Better Sound"? In it he advises against cathedral ceilings. So you now have two different opinions.

 

[invenio]

Btw, guys - I think there's a good chance I'll end up with Logans again... they have been good to me in the past, I'm sure they'll perform even better in my new room.

I mean, I had them in a room that was 11 feet deep... I only had 8 feet between the speakers and to my ears. And I enjoyed the Summits immensely.

Listened to the Wilsons again today - the Alexia.... yes, it was good, but come on... $48K is a lot of cash. And it still doesn't sound any more real than the Summits I had before. Maybe they sound better, but not $40K better.




Thanks invenio!

1. I'm trying to bump the size to 14x18.5.... we shall see.
2. It's on ground floor, cement foundation underneath. No basement here in Dallas area. Solid flooring.
3. My ceiling options are nearly endless. Interesting that you mention making it vaulted... though I've never seen a media room with vaulted ceilings. The preliminary ceiling is 10'1" soffits with can lights and a tray ceiling (box shape) to 11'6".

Thoughts?

Nice to hear things are moving forward!

As for the comments. I think the larger the room, the more happy you'll be and it allows for more seating arrangements, speaker placement, etc...

Having a cement floor means you will have to pay extra attention to what you lay down. You will need to go with very thick carpeting, or you may actually want to lay down a layer of thin acoustic material (they sell these usually to sound proof walls). They are not the thick panels people put on the walls but rather are designed to cover the entire surface. You of course can put down hard wood floor and then carpeting after that as well.

As for the ceiling,... I think you will find 100 people with 100 different suggestions! My vaulted (but non-symetric) ceiling did wonders to break up the sound. I don't buy the "room should be a box" suggestion as most of the super high end theaters have tiered flooring (which is an uneven ceiling in revere), opera houses, and theaters will often have large vaulted ceilings and are often described as some of the best acoustic locations in the world. The best thing would be to experiment but that's kind of tough as you don't want to build a ceiling and then tear it down "just to hear the difference." Maybe one thing you can try is playing some music in the unfinished room (box), and then temporarily wedging a panel of sheet rock on the back ceiling/wall and see how it effect the sound. It wouldn't give the full dispersion of having all the corners done, but maybe you can get a hint of what it does to the sound and you can make a decision on whether you like it or not.

Keep us informed how things are progressing!

 

[jmschnur]

Suspended wood flooring with scattered oriental carpets should work over the concrete base.


J

 

[sleepysurf]

Joey, FWIW, I'm thrilled with the acoustic improvements derived from having just replaced carpet with wood floors (plus area rug) in my listening/family room. I always thought the plush carpet and heavy pad overdamped the room, and my initial acoustic measurements confirm that (see... http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...h-wood-or-tile&p=155450&viewfull=1#post155450).

We installed engineered wood directly on concrete slab using Mapei Eco 995 adhesive (sound-absorbing and moisture resistant)... http://www.mapei.com/us-en/product-detail.asp?IDProdotto=1005837&IDTipo=4822&IDLinea=103.

BTW, I have a cathedral ceiling, and don't believe it's having any deleterious effect on sound. However, I (eventually) plan on putting some kind of sound absorbing beam at the center ridge, for cosmetic (and potential acoustic) reasons.

 

[tsmooth]

Exciting, you are where my wife and I hope to be in a few years after residency. You can get a lot if home down there for the price. Maybe we'll be neighbors in the future

 

[Joey_V]

Exciting, you are where my wife and I hope to be in a few years after residency. You can get a lot if home down there for the price. Maybe we'll be neighbors in the future

Not sure about that. My home is $178/sq foot... my neighbors are at $200/sq foot. I have a neighbor whose house is $1.5M. I'm the cheapest on the block. It depends on where you buy. In a Chicago suburb (Naperville), I was looking at homes in the $150/sq foot price range.

 

[Joey_V]

When you say cathedral - do you mean vaulted like a triangle or double story square?

I didn't want to do the whole media in wood just to cover it up because of the size and the cost... but I'm going to look into this some more. Thanks Alan!

Joey, FWIW, I'm thrilled with the acoustic improvements derived from having just replaced carpet with wood floors (plus area rug) in my listening/family room. I always thought the plush carpet and heavy pad overdamped the room, and my initial acoustic measurements confirm that (see... http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...h-wood-or-tile&p=155450&viewfull=1#post155450).

We installed engineered wood directly on concrete slab using Mapei Eco 995 adhesive (sound-absorbing and moisture resistant)... http://www.mapei.com/us-en/product-detail.asp?IDProdotto=1005837&IDTipo=4822&IDLinea=103.

BTW, I have a cathedral ceiling, and don't believe it's having any deleterious effect on sound. However, I (eventually) plan on putting some kind of sound absorbing beam at the center ridge, for cosmetic (and potential acoustic) reasons.

 

[Joey_V]

How good does that sound proof surround work?

Nice to hear things are moving forward!

As for the comments. I think the larger the room, the more happy you'll be and it allows for more seating arrangements, speaker placement, etc...

Having a cement floor means you will have to pay extra attention to what you lay down. You will need to go with very thick carpeting, or you may actually want to lay down a layer of thin acoustic material (they sell these usually to sound proof walls). They are not the thick panels people put on the walls but rather are designed to cover the entire surface. You of course can put down hard wood floor and then carpeting after that as well.

As for the ceiling,... I think you will find 100 people with 100 different suggestions! My vaulted (but non-symetric) ceiling did wonders to break up the sound. I don't buy the "room should be a box" suggestion as most of the super high end theaters have tiered flooring (which is an uneven ceiling in revere), opera houses, and theaters will often have large vaulted ceilings and are often described as some of the best acoustic locations in the world. The best thing would be to experiment but that's kind of tough as you don't want to build a ceiling and then tear it down "just to hear the difference." Maybe one thing you can try is playing some music in the unfinished room (box), and then temporarily wedging a panel of sheet rock on the back ceiling/wall and see how it effect the sound. It wouldn't give the full dispersion of having all the corners done, but maybe you can get a hint of what it does to the sound and you can make a decision on whether you like it or not.

Keep us informed how things are progressing!

 

[invenio]

How good does that sound proof surround work?

I did not use the full area dampening material in my home theater but I understand that it works quite well. Of course some strategically placed acoustic panels can go a long way as well. Especially if placed at sites of 1st reflection.