Designing A Dedicated Listening Room

[Vivek Batra]

Hi FMs

I am going to start with my new home construction very soon. Currently I am in designing phase and still have to finalize an architect. I have been allowed to build a dedicated listening room finally . I need some suggestions from you that I could share with the architect before he/she starts drawings I will be building a semi basement kind of thing for the dedicated room. This room will be used 95% for music only with no immediate plans to add TV/projector but still would like to have the required infrastructure in place.

The space details are as follows

Plot size in Feet (LxW) 79 x 36
Total Basement size in Feet (LxW) 54 x 36

My queries.

1. What is the minimum size I should plan for?
2. The room should be at the front of the house or at the rear ( I have front and rear courtyards for ventilation)
3. What should be the minimum roof height.
4. Electricals/Conduits
5. Room treatment is a later step but still, what kind of celing etc?
6. Flooring, I guess carpet is best?
7. For now 3 to 4 people seating since its more of a listening room than a HT room
7. What else ?

My own sketch so far is as below. This is not a final design but just whats in my mind on how to use the basement which will be just 4 feet below the ground and rest will be up from the ground. So not a typically basement below the ground. The total depth (4+6)of the basement will not be less than 10 Feet.

Please share your thoughts.

Thanks.

Regards
Vivek

 

[Nitin K]

Congrats Vivek & all the best. For many it's a dream to have a dedicated room. Hope the room acoustic experts in the forum will reach out.

Regards,
Nitin

 

[Vivek Batra]

Congrats Vivek & all the best. For many it's a dream to have a dedicated room. Hope the room acoustic experts in the form will reach out.

Regards,
Nitin

Thanks @Nitin K . I am waiting for a home from sooooo long.

 

[Nitin K]

Thanks @Nitin K . I am waiting for a home from sooooo long.

I can totally understand that with the freedom & options you get.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

My two cents : don’t have the door at one corner off the room. Having bass traps at four corners will drastically improve the bass tightness and clarity. If you have a corner door, well that corner is compromised. Ideal would be right behind the couch covered with acoustic material. Keep windows symmetric so it’s easy to work on rest of the room acoustics.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Place speakers along the longer side of the room for a larger soundstage as they are relatively far way from walls compared to the opposite layout

 

[koushik]

Agree with @Passive_audio_enthusiast in both the suggestions - Not having a door in the corner and keeping the speakers along the longer side of the room.

You will need lot of acoustic panels to stop unwanted reflections causing reverberation inside the room. Thick acoustic foams (> 2" thick) work well for highs and mid-highs but for lower ends you will need glasswool panels.
Many of us are afraid of glasswool, so you can just put them inside plastic garbage bag and cover them properly, so that nothing comes out of it. Make few of them. They look like the side pillows.

Since thin plastic doesn't reflect lower frequencies hence it will work perfectly as basstraps. Just make sure that you don't keep them at the first reflection points.

All the best for your project. Eager to see when done.

 

[sud98]

Check if this helps. Around 8 feet height gives a good location boult area for the MLP.

amroc - THE Room Mode Calculator

HTML5 room mode calculator. Read and hear the tune of axial, tangential and oblique modes. Scientific sources included.

amcoustics.com

 

[Vivek Batra]

Small update : Today had a initial meeting with an architect, he strike down my idea of this kinda elevation. So probably the dedicated room will now rise to ground floor.

 

[rsjaurr]

I was in the same situation last month but this week some higher powers have postponed all my plans for a new home with a dedicated audio room for about a year. So the new year hasn't started well for me.

Based on what I read about this topic last year I would suggest a rectangular room, of course, and plan it in such a way that your sitting position and placement of the speakers is 1/3rd of longer walls length away from the respective walls. Leave out a minimum of 3 feet distance from speakers to sidewalls, more is better. Height should be 8-9 feet minimum.

The room should be away from the kitchen, kids' room, and where those higher powers are going to sit and enjoy their free time. They do not like to disturbed by noise pollution which these devices create.

Lastly hiring acoustics professionals would be the best advice I can give and you have to do it now.

 

[arunkvivek]

Electrical Wiring is something you have got feedback on the episode where you had an issue. Drawing as a separate line and a separate ground from the mains (if possible an additional earthing pit).

Comfy seating, lighting etc has separate options. Visiting Aural Exchange portal will give you a lot of ideas on what you can spend on in terms of acoustic treatment - bass trap - QRD diffusers - Skyline diffusers for rear wall, ceiling etc. Door isolation, floor isolation etc.. so many areas for solution.

Vivek - You had an afterthought after investing >10L in the audio gears if it was too much. Customizing Audio room too has a wide cost implication. I would suggest that you arrive at a budget and kickstart (so that you don't run through guilt of wrong priorities). I do not intend to belittle your plans but it is just that Sky is the limit when you have money to spend on a listening room.

 

[Miany]

I too am building a separate room for audio/video at my new place. The room size is 17 * 23.

I have the door exactly in one corner; could not avoid that due to the final plan. If I were to avoid that, the entire plan had to be changed. So you can keep this in mind. I also have 2 windows; again one window is on one corner; so bass trapping of that corner is also compromised.

I have completed acoustic treatment for the ceiling and the wooden flooring also got completed yesterday. Now, will be starting with the acoustic treatments for the walls.

All the best man! The luxman and fortes deserve a good room for sure!

 

[rikhav]

What treatment has been done in your room for the ceiling?
I am sorry to derail vivek's thread but maybe he can get some help from.ghe information you provide

 

[Vivek Batra]

Vivek - You had an afterthought after investing >10L in the audio gears if it was too much. Customizing Audio room too has a wide cost implication. I would suggest that you arrive at a budget and kickstart (so that you don't run through guilt of wrong priorities). I do not intend to belittle your plans but it is just that Sky is the limit when you have money to spend on a listening room.

Hi @arunkvivek

Thanks for joining here and sharing your thoughts.

Yes I had some kind of remorse at that time, but not anymore. Music is food for my soul . Well my plan is to just construct a bare room for now, having all the structrual things in place, like people said about avoiding door in the corner, dedicated phase andpower line etc. I would be spending on things that can not be done after the home is done.

Room treatment won't be done immediately when i move in thats for later. I don't have any slightest idea how much (bare minimum) a room treatment can cost.

So for now I am just scuring 4 walls and a roof for myself.

 

[Vivek Batra]

My two cents : don’t have the door at one corner off the room. Having bass traps at four corners will drastically improve the bass tightness and clarity. If you have a corner door, well that corner is compromised. Ideal would be right behind the couch covered with acoustic material. Keep windows symmetric so it’s easy to work on rest of the room acoustics.

Hi @Passive_audio_enthusiast

Since my design has been toppeled by an expert, I will see if this can be possible. Thanks for pointing this out

 

[Vivek Batra]

Place speakers along the longer side of the room for a larger soundstage as they are relatively far way from walls compared to the opposite layout

So if I plan a room of say 20*15 then you are saying to place the speakers along the 20 feet wall? I guess there would a max limit on placing the speakers apart and after that it gives adverse effects? Rule of thirds won't be possible for seating in this case in my opinion.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Agree with @Passive_audio_enthusiast in both the suggestions - Not having a door in the corner and keeping the speakers along the longer side of the room.

You will need lot of acoustic panels to stop unwanted reflections causing reverberation inside the room. Thick acoustic foams (> 2" thick) work well for highs and mid-highs but for lower ends you will need glasswool panels.
Many of us are afraid of glasswool, so you can just put them inside plastic garbage bag and cover them properly, so that nothing comes out of it. Make few of them. They look like the side pillows.

Since thin plastic doesn't reflect lower frequencies hence it will work perfectly as basstraps. Just make sure that you don't keep them at the first reflection points.

All the best for your project. Eager to see when done.

Thanks @koushik . I will keep all these things in my mind

 

[Vivek Batra]

I too am building a separate room for audio/video at my new place. The room size is 17 * 23.

I have the door exactly in one corner; could not avoid that due to the final plan. If I were to avoid that, the entire plan had to be changed. So you can keep this in mind. I also have 2 windows; again one window is on one corner; so bass trapping of that corner is also compromised.

I have completed acoustic treatment for the ceiling and the wooden flooring also got completed yesterday. Now, will be starting with the acoustic treatments for the walls.

All the best man! The luxman and fortes deserve a good room for sure!

Hey @Miany

Thats great, could you please share aprrox how much it costs, only if you are comfortable sharing that. For flooring my plan is to have a cement floor and having a full carpet for now, for the rest no idea at all. What else you have or planning to do in the room?

 

[Vivek Batra]

For the HT guys, btw whats the dimennsion of a 120" or a 150" screen just to be sure my room is wide enough to have an screen like that in case I plan to add a projector in few years may be .

 

[Vivek Batra]

I was in the same situation last month but this week some higher powers have postponed all my plans for a new home with a dedicated audio room for about a year. So the new year hasn't started well for me.

Based on what I read about this topic last year I would suggest a rectangular room, of course, and plan it in such a way that your sitting position and placement of the speakers is 1/3rd of longer walls length away from the respective walls. Leave out a minimum of 3 feet distance from speakers to sidewalls, more is better. Height should be 8-9 feet minimum.

The room should be away from the kitchen, kids' room, and where those higher powers are going to sit and enjoy their free time. They do not like to disturbed by noise pollution which these devices create.

Lastly hiring acoustics professionals would be the best advice I can give and you have to do it now.

I am trying to secure a complete floor for my self .