Vettemanfrom1973 Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Hi I am currently going around trying to collect all the info I can so that I can begin to prepare for the design of my next home. There are several particulars that I would like eveeryones opinion/confirmation on. I have 2-9 years so there is no real urgency. When I feel I have all the different rooms figured out it will be off to the architect! Right now I am planning make the room 20'X23'X8'. I am planning on eventually buying 3 more KLF 30's and a PB2-Ultra with a nice big projector or maybe the newest Klipsch THX system. All I know is that I want it real loud, clean and mean. This room will be used mainly for HT but also for audio and maybe for the occasional hdtv watching. 1. The room will either be in the basement (lots of room, easier to control lighting?) or on top of the 3 car garage (loud volumes should be easier to hide from those who are sleeping). 2. What is the best flooring to use 3. How slight of an angle should be in the walls and ceilings, if its 20'W X 8' H what should these dimensions be at the back of the room. 4. Walls- Should joists be staggered, specially insulated, plastered or drywalled etc.? Anyway I think that is it for now. Is there any other sort of things I need to consider? Thanks. Jonathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 A real audio company built their own real-world scenarion: http://www.psaudio.com/articles/listening_room_9.asp Your results may vary. In my reading, it is a real science and to do it correctly, you need to consult a professional. You may still need an EQ to get it is as good as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vettemanfrom1973 Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 My intentions are to make a great home theater and listening room. I definelty have alot of reading to do as far as room treatments etc. As for right now my main objective is to find where the best place to plot the room into the plans and then begin to get more and more complicated from there. I am guessing that I will be getting some more on site professional help from wherever I buy the projector and additional equipment. For now I am mostly interested in the pro's cons for the questions that I had asked. Jonathan Thanks for the link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 1. What are the differences between your basement and the top of your 3 car garage? 2. I personally find that wood floors generally have the best sound in any kind of listening environment. Thin carpet being second place. 3. The main benefit of angling your walls would be an angle such that early reflections don't bounce towards the listening position. Here is a picture of a basic studio layout that demonstrates this concept: You can use the same kinds of angles for angling your cieling as well. 4. You walls should be drywall and if sound isolation is a concern there are many things you can do. The basic concept though is to have your listening room walls (cieling, and floor) mechanically isolated from the rest of the house. This means having your walls on their own studs (and to save space, you can have these studs sit inbetween the studs for the wall on the other side). You might want to check out these two threads: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2125 http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=598 One thing I just read is that using glue between multiple sheets of drywall is a bad thing! http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=502 also, some more technical information about sound transmission through walls: http://www.domesticsoundproofing.co.uk/tloss.htm http://www.usg.com/Design_Solutions/2_3_12D_system.asp (this one is really long) I'll leave it to you to choose how much you read (as I'm far too lazy to read all of it) Other things to consider: Have conduit installed to run wire to the surround locations (make it compatible with 7.1 even if you aren't going to use that right now). Have your audio room on it's own circuit breaker, and perhaps even with it's own dedicated ground. I might suggest doing some research on lighting and other visually related things (like wall color). I've heard mention that different colors of walls will change how a front projection system looks (even in the dark...) Budget money for acoustical treatment. From the start, you'll probably want to plan on installing some bass traps in all the corners and then plan on putting some diffusion and absorbtion throughout the room. The better angled your walls are, the less treatment you're going to need (theoretically anyway). What kind of seating are you going to use? This will have an impact on how you setup your room (so that every seat gets good coverage and so that your furniture isn't absorbing all your bass). Are your dimensions flexible? 20x23 is rather close to being square which is a bad thing. I don't have my room mode calculation dohickey on me, but I'm thinking a room more like 20x29x8 would perform better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 Well there are many points to consider, whether you are going to eventually use a projector ( great control of light in a basement with no windows ), humidity and temperature shifts, etc. If the basement is humid, you may want to consider a large dehumidifier and the type of flooring. Tile is one of the better choices for a basement with a heating grid underneath. If above a garage, you might be better with a carpet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vettemanfrom1973 Posted September 10, 2004 Author Share Posted September 10, 2004 Wow! there is alot of stuff to start absorbing. The room size is very flexible which is why I originaly posted to basically ask, "if there was a perfect size for a home theater, what size would it be? In regards to the flooring questions. I had read on this forum that having a home theater in the basement of a house with underpadding/carpeting can cause alot of bass problems. I've also read that a wooden floor is ideal. So I had assumed that putting the HT above an attached garage would be best as it would make the wooden flooring available and it would be somewhat separated from the rest of the house. My thought on above the garage was that the only person the HT (with me in it) would bother is whoever was in the garage(most likely also me), I can't be in 2 places at one time. Right now I a aiming to make a 3 car garage that is 35' X 25'. I am unsure exactly what dimensions that would leave me for a room above considering there may be a slope from the roof. Most bonus rooms above a garage have a heiht of 8', so it should be good. Th difference between basement and above garage is basically which area has the greatest acoutic potential and what will give me the most flexibility and least hassles (volume bothering wife and kids). The available room should be the same. I'll just have to figure out the pro's vs the cons for each. I think you guys on the forums will be a big help with that! I will definetely will be using a projector and some mediocre home theater type seating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 how noisy is the neighborhood in which this house is going to be? The lower the noise floor in your theatre, the better it will sound (the noise floor is how loud the room is with nothing being played. Your heating and cooling, outside noises, and even your breathing all contribute to this). If your room is 20dB quieter in the basement than above the garage, then your music/movies can be 20dB quieter to hear the same amount of detail. This not only adds to the realism, but is easier on your ears What would be the options of putting your equipment racks and even projector into a closet at the rear of the room? (or maybe two closets...one in the front and one in the back). Eliminating fan noise from your amps and projector will also make a huge difference. I'm picturing an existing closet next to the rear wall of your HT that you could easily build into. Or if you wanted, it wouldn't be acoustically that bad to build a closet that juts out into the room...if done right, it could act like a diffusor (which you'll probably be doing anyway) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 ---------------- On 9/8/2004 2:49:53 PM Vettemanfrom1973 wrote: Hi I am currently going around trying to collect all the info I can so that I can begin to prepare for the design of my next home. When I feel I have all the different rooms figured out it will be off to the architect! ---------------- umuhm......Jonathan...thats what we have architects for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vettemanfrom1973 Posted September 11, 2004 Author Share Posted September 11, 2004 ---------------- On 9/10/2004 5:38:28 PM artto wrote: ---------------- On 9/8/2004 2:49:53 PM Vettemanfrom1973 wrote: Hi I am currently going around trying to collect all the info I can so that I can begin to prepare for the design of my next home. When I feel I have all the different rooms figured out it will be off to the architect! ---------------- umuhm......Jonathan...thats what we have architects for! ---------------- Well Arto. I had the house that I am currently living in built about 6 years ago. It isn't as simple as going to an architect and saying "Design me a house". I had many ideas and requirements that I had for the house I am living in and the whole process was a learning experience. I was on a tight budget then (starter home) and thought I was well prepared and luckily I had a good contractor. This time I will probable contract things out myself which means I need to be 100 times more prepared than last time. By the time I am ready to start the process, which starts with the architect, I want to have a a large list/package that has all of the tidbits and particulars of the things I overlooked this time(more light switches, storage,etc), a list of all the rooms that I must have along with their dimensions (home theater particulars etc.), and also have some up to date price shopping info for whatever I am buying for the house as quotes only last for so long (hot tub, pool, fixtures, cabinets). Their is a massive amount of info to collect and once the process begins their isn't enough time to start working out the particulars. Like I said I will begin eyeing up potential properties with intentions to buy within 2-8 years. There really is no point in playing around with an architect over thousands of details when I have no idea what the lot will be like. Anyway for now I am enjoying collecting the information at a leisurely pace and playing around with some sketches. As for the closet in the HT room. That sounds like a good idea. But, would that not restrict the airflow around the components. I used to have a stero cabinet and everything would get so hot. I am not sure what you meant by saying "how loud is the neighborhood your in? It's not loud and wherever I move will not be loud either, I'm thinking out in the country a little bit. The noise concerns I have are about the family. I want to be able to go to my home theater room whenever I want and watch something real loud. I'm guessing when all the kids are in school, the wife is asleep on a weekday late at night and I have the week off, they will not tolerate me listening to Starwars Episode 7 at reference levels. I want to ensure that I can listen loud whenever I want without spending mega bucks! Sorry for the long post. Jonathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vettemanfrom1973 Posted September 11, 2004 Author Share Posted September 11, 2004 Hey Arto, didn't mean to sound snippy. I hadn't really seen your name around and I just started reading some of the discussions you had with Moon. I live in a small town and alot of the architects that I talked to 6 years ago gave me funny looks when I asked them to make the walls on home theater room have a slight slope. Talked to some good architech's but none that were audiophiles. Anyway I'm sure it makes it alot easier from your end if your clients have all of their wants clearly listed. I have always looked at an architect as someone who I say this is what I want, design it. I am in the social work field, sorry if I'm wrong, I don't have the advantage of being in a trade and trying to learn as I go along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 Jonathan....I'm just jackin around with ya.....because I am an architect, lol. But I have to tell ya, most architects don't touch residential, too much detail and work and client hand holding for the amount $ people are willing to pay. And, as far as I'm concerned (I'm sort of a design purist in this regard), the site gets selected first. THEN the building gets designed, although hardly anyone does it that way anymore. But, good luck in your adventure. BTW, us insiders don't call it "architorture" for nothing! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.