Designing A Dedicated Listening Room

[navin119]

Just wanted to check from members opinion on acoustic treatment..
I assume the options available for the wall are...
Wooden panels
MDF boards
Wood/ MDF with foam
Acoustic foam
Glasswool/ rockwool

Any idea on the
1. cost per sq ft and
2. the comparative effectiveness.
3. Any other options available?

 

[sud98]

Typically, building a room within a room is acoustically very good, if you can afford the loss of space. This basically is a wall with a thin layer followed by a lot of rockwool for atleast 12 inches or more and then by the outer solid wall. Once you go above 6 inches, loose rockwool is a better option than slabs as you need to balance air dispersion and absorption. However, loose rockwool is super itchy, so you can keep them in jute/spandex/canvas cloth so that its easier to manage.

Unfortunately, this is impossible to do once your room is done. Rockwool will typically give you the best absorption per inch and very good value for money.

 

[andis]

Hi Vivek,
Congratulations for designing dedicated room for Music, my suggestion is to fix diffuser on front and rear wall and for absorber 2" thick glasswool pannel works fine.
Proper aquastic treatment makes difference in terms of stereo image and overall SQ

Regards
Andis

 

[Vivek Batra]

Hi Folks

Small update on this topic and some more help required specially from people who have their setups in basement. The drawings for my new home are going to start from tomorrowe.g. April 5th. As of now the basement is there in the plan, exclusivly for the dedicated music room and some other utility areas.

Yesterday, I visited a home of same size as mine with a basement of around 1900 Sq Feet totally empty just walls and pillars. I got bit worried about kind of echo that was there. It was not possible even to have a conversation there. Ofcourse that was a huge empty space and nothing except walls.

My apprehension is, will I have to treat my (L 28 x W 16 x H 10) feet room in the basement from day 1? Will it be any useful without any kinda treat meant except full carpet? There will be no curtains becuase no windows in the basement. May be not much furniture apart from a big inbuilt rack or a chair or two initially.

Thanks
Vivek

 

[rrunner]

Once your plan is ready Auralex can do a free personalized room analysis. Based on that you will know which areas to treat with locally available materials. Armstrong with Treated glass wool backing Grid type false ceiling is best to fix acoustics IMHO. https://auralex.com/p-raf-personalized-room-analysis/

 

[rrunner]

You may also need 7- 10 acoustic panels 2ft by 4 feet in size to line up on the walls where needed.
Ceiling tiles: You can go for black ceiling tiles option for better contrast. Maybe chocolate brown paint for side walls.

OPTIMA Concealed | Armstrong Ceiling Solutions – Commercial

OPTIMA Concealed commercial tiles from Armstrong Ceiling Solutions. Fine texture, fully concealed suspension system for monolithic look. View panels.

www.armstrongceilings.com

 

[girishtd8262]

Bunker/basement room would have been best , with 10 foot trenches all around , something the Allied army built on the outskirts of Berlin. That way you could’ve ensured insulation from all kinds of acoustic \ temperamental interference.

I have my Dedicated ht room in basement.nothing like having it in basement.insulated on three sides.no matter with high volume and subwoofer bass neibours won't complain.. easy accessibility you need to climbdowm rather than climbing up lazy persons.other house mates won't be disturbed.i am strongly against having dedicated ht in second floor which most architects prefer.most of the time we don't climb upto second floor.

 

[girishtd8262]

Just wanted to check from members opinion on acoustic treatment..
I assume the options available for the wall are...
Wooden panels
MDF boards
Wood/ MDF with foam
Acoustic foam
Glasswool/ rockwool

Any idea on the
1. cost per sq ft and
2. the comparative effectiveness.
3. Any other options available?

I know a person who did mine at 300 rs per sqfeet.anutone Bangalore based company who does major ptojects.im happy with their work simple and effective

 

[rrunner]

Based on soil types(black soil is bad) basements can be a breeding ground for mold and mildew with musty odors due to lack of sunlight. A dehumidifier may be required if walls are porous and are sucking in water from neighboring garden.
A waterproofing sheet can also be used if feasible. Dupont Tyvek is a popular brand.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Thanks @rrunner and @girishtd8262 for your valuable advice. There will be waterproofing on all the walls of basement as well as flooring. Me too want it my room in the basement rather than on second floor. As per your comments I guess I will have to treat it to some extent.

 

[Vivek Batra]

I know a person who did mine at 300 rs per sqfeet.anutone Bangalore based company who does major ptojects.im happy with their work simple and effective

You may share their contact if they are interested to do it it for me I can check with them, but that would be bit later

 

[rrunner]

Even if it is a basement proper ventilation is a must. Roof should be at least 6 inches above the ground to provide some sort of ventilation. https://breathefresh.in/is-your-home-protected-from-radon/

 

[girishtd8262]

Thanks @rrunner and @girishtd8262 for your valuable advice. There will be waterproofing on all the walls of basement as well as flooring. Me too want it my room in the basement rather than on second floor. As per your comments I guess I will have to treat it to some extent.

Basement usually they will have retaining wall or stone wall .do waterproofing over that

 

[girishtd8262]

Even if it is a basement proper ventilation is a must. Roof should be at least 6 inches above the ground to provide some sort of ventilation. https://breathefresh.in/is-your-home-protected-from-radon/

Any how ht will be air-conditioned.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Even if it is a basement proper ventilation is a must. Roof should be at least 6 inches above the ground to provide some sort of ventilation. https://breathefresh.in/is-your-home-protected-from-radon/

There will be big ventilators across the length of the room and in the rear as well.

 

[rrunner]

ok, this will be the most ideal layout for ventilation.

 

[balavignesh002]

@Vivek Batra Congratulations on the new home and a dedicated listening room. Ensure you have extended hight to damp the ceiling. One of my friend just built a listening room with out windows it's 11 feet in hight, one feet is left for damping.

 

[Vivek Batra]

ok, this will be the most ideal layout for ventilation.

Exactly like that

 

[Vivek Batra]

@Vivek Batra Congratulations on the new home and a dedicated listening room. Ensure you have extended hight to damp the ceiling. One of my friend just built a listening room with out windows it's 11 feet in hight, one feet is left for damping.

Thanks. I guess 10 feet height should be ok?

 

[sud98]

Congratulations on choosing the basement for your listening. While I like the idea of the windowless room, not sure why you need ventilators around the room. Any form of ventilation will get light as well as allow sound to seep through, so will be hard to control. Use an AC instead of the ventilation as basements can get hot.

Since its a large room, carpets, an acoustically treated ceiling, bass traps (if you listen to a lot of bass heavy tracks) and panels. How much absorption and how much diffusors, you can play around once the room is done. Make sure the seating is in the ideally position wrt the speakers, with enough room behind the MLP.

If the side walls are concrete then there will be a lot of reflections, so using acoustic foam and sticking (check my thread) would be useful.

Typically, go to amroc's website and calculate your room mode and check if its a frequency in the manageable range and plan accordingly.