garyrc Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) I wouldn't trust that general contractors are expert in soundproofing material. I don't know what to use, but some stuff is better than other stuff. I also know there is a special green glue and some soundproofing techniques that are used to isolate sound in a room. We need some of our home theater guys to weigh in on this. When most of the general contractors I have met talk about "soundproofing" they are thinking of attenuating the transmission of human voices. Most batting will do next to nothing to hold back bass, which is the prime culprit. Jeff Cooper wrote a great book on the subject, good for home theater, as well as for home studios. Its title is something like Building a Home Recording Studio, but the many, many options are good for home theater as well. He gives Transmission Loss for each. See Google, of course. In your case, the HT will be on the second floor? Did I remember that right? An ordinary wood floor will leak bass like a sieve, thick rug or not! We had a floating floor in our last house -- cellotex, cheaters, more cellotex, then wood. Since we were going to cover the wood floor with thick wall to wall carpet anyway, we used 3/4" plywood. It was not too difficult, nor too expensive. My wife helped lay the floor (she likes to see speakers, too, and loves the look of our Klipschorns). We sold the house for about 12 times what we payed for it, plywood floor and all (of course, that was in the middle of the housing boom of 2003). In a HT, walls, floor, ceiling, and door, if possible, should be air tight (with a good air conditioner, which would be turned off during movies). The door should be solid core, at least. That much, even most general contractors know about, but I'd advise checking with yours. If you have windows at all -- that's probably trouble -- but they should be double glazed, at least, with one pane very thick (e.g. 1/4 inch), and the other either thinner or thicker. Edited July 29, 2015 by garyrc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 ^^^ Wouldn't nightmare of cutting off the A/C around here from June-September, sometimes May-October... Suspect it is about the same in Dallas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 ^^^ Wouldn't nightmare of cutting off the A/C around here from June-September, sometimes May-October... Suspect it is about the same in Dallas... The better the soundproofing, less the heat will get in from the outside. We use the A/C to cool down the HT to about 68 (not hard) then turn it off and the many amplifiers gradually warm it up a few degrees during the movie. Then we turn the A/C back on, and sit in the HT a while and talk while the rest of the house cools down. Even though we are North of you and the OP, it is 100 degrees outside right now, with 102 predicted for tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) Humidity level? 66 RH + 86 F. atm here... Edited July 30, 2015 by Sancho Panza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Thanks to all of you for the wisdom. I had to laugh when someone brought up bedroom 5 - that isn't really a bedroom, it's an office for now, but will have sound batting in the wall. To answer some questions: yes, looking to do in wall/ceiling install. The boss will not allow speakers sitting on the floor no matter how pretty so I'm working within what I've been given. This is in Dallas so I don't know if there is a good alternative on craigslist - I wouldn't immagine that people are selling used in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. I was considering using http://www.klipsch.com/r-2502-w-II-system/details and adding http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-A740BL-7-2-Channel-AVENTAGE-Receiver/dp/B00J8HV5D2 This puts me at about $2200 but I think would make this room really rock for watching movies in, but since I'm not an expert - I defer to yall. Thanks again for all of your help. won't try to talk you out of what you want. you want in walls you got it. however i will do my job and help you find the best deal. call mike at acoustic sound design and talk to him about your budget and what you want. he will get you a better setup for less money!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) I just saw this posted on our Garage Sale/Alert section. http://houston.craigslist.org/ele/5141960486.html I don't know how close Houston is to Dallas, but I suggest Mr. Special K start his first road trip, NOW! +++ Special K, don't worry about the Mrs., just make that great deal on the speakers, then get back to us on the forum, and we can supply you with ALL the excuses you need. You'll love those RC-64's. If there's anything we're truly expert on around here, it's making excuses to justify buying more stuff! Edited July 30, 2015 by wvu80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 $1500 could get you a pretty decent bookshelf stereo system 40 years ago. Spending that much on a 5 or 7 channel HT system isn't going to go very far today, even if you know what you are looking for and are very shrewd with pricing, even with used gear. You might want to consider a higher quality sound bar/subwoofer combo instead of lesser quality 5.1 or 7.1 separates. There's lot's of these available that simulate 5.1 & 7.1 surround sound, or the very least simulate some kind of "3D" surround sound like the Klipsch systems do. Crutchfield.com has a wide selection and 60 day return policy. I've found their customer service and tech support to be the gold/platinum standard that any business should have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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