Designing A Dedicated Listening Room

[Vivek Batra]

Iam not too sure it's a good idea. Ventilation is of course one issue which has already been mentioned above. Second will be ease of cabling at the back of the kit, which will become difficult. And 3rd will be that we usually out grow our pre-planned amount of kit. So usually open racks are a better idea, as they can be expanded upon. And besides I like looking at kit when it is playing.

Hi Manohar

You have mentioned valid points, I was already apprehensive about the ventilation issues especially with Class A amplifier. I guess this is not a good idea then.

Thanks for contributing.
Vivek

 

[rsjaurr]

Vivek that space can be used to store the stuff not in use. I'm sure you will be having some of the stuff now and will also collect some in future like we all do.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Vivek that space can be used to store the stuff not in use. I'm sure you will be having some of the stuff now and will also collect some in future like we all do.

There would be a big store room outside the room

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Vivek that space can be used to store the stuff not in use. I'm sure you will be having some of the stuff now and will also collect some in future like we all do.

I fully agree. My closets and under bed storage are already over flowing

 

[Vivek Batra]

Hi FMs

So the day has come when I am going to start the construction of my new home with in this month. There is shift in the music room in the basement. Need your suggestions on positioning of the equipment (which wall) so that I could plan the conduits well in advance if possible at this stage.



Earlier my plan was to have the room at the rear of the house, size being 26.9x17 feet. But I see some down sides, first being the dedicated room will block all the incoming natural light from the rear court yard and I dont want that. I guess huge opening in the shape of windows is not ideal for the dedicated room, almost 20 feet x 6 feet.

So shifted to a smaller space in the front of the house, as shown in the attached image. The new space is around 18.6 x 14 Feet with a additional dead space of 8.3 x 8Feet.

My queries

1. Which wall is best suited for the speakers and equipment. I am planning to have the setup along the 14 feet wall. I guess having it on 18 feet wall will make me sit too close the the speakers.

2. I am more bothered about in wall conduits for now, I do not want the conduits to be installed in RCC wall after the wall is finished but while its being errected. So some planning required where I would have my setup. Also I have a coonduit in mind to have FM antenna some where outside the basement. Any inputs on this?

3. How can I plan the in wall conduits at this stage? I would have to get the electrician on the job with in 2 to 3 weeks.

4. I am going for VRF air conditioning, any inputs on that? Hi Wall units or Cassette unit?

4. Should I make the dead space part of the room? I was thinking to have the space for UPS/Servo etc and not part of the room? Or including it as part of the room and create some storage etc?

As always, waiting for your extremly helpful advice.

Thanks
Vivek

 

[Vivek Batra]

Bump

 

[k-pad]

Bump

Hi,
If it is a listening room, it all comes down to how low you can drop your ceiling. 8' would be ideal, but would you want to do it?
As for queries:
1. Since it is primarily a listening room, you could go either way. The long wall too has its own benefits from what I have read. Or even a diagonal placement.
Remember reading a lot about this, but hadn't bookmarked anything. Will dig up links if I can find them and PM you.

2. Try and have a dedicated power line to where you have marked 'equipment'. From there, running speaker cables becomes simpler.

3. You wouldn't need in-wall conduits for power if you do the above. As for speaker cables, you can just build a false wall and run them later.

4. A centrally placed cassette would work, but the quieter option of the two would be better.

5. Making the dead space a part of the room will bring with it a few acoustic problems. Better to have it doored and used for something else.

Wishing you the best, sir.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Hi,
If it is a listening room, it all comes down to how low you can drop your ceiling. 8' would be ideal, but would you want to do it?
As for queries:
1. Since it is primarily a listening room, you could go either way. The long wall too has its own benefits from what I have read. Or even a diagonal placement.
Remember reading a lot about this, but hadn't bookmarked anything. Will dig up links if I can find them and PM you.

2. Try and have a dedicated power line to where you have marked 'equipment'. From there, running speaker cables becomes simpler.

3. You wouldn't need in-wall conduits for power if you do the above. As for speaker cables, you can just build a false wall and run them later.

4. A centrally placed cassette would work, but the quieter option of the two would be better.

5. Making the dead space a part of the room will bring with it a few acoustic problems. Better to have it doored and used for something else.

Wishing you the best, sir.

Thanks a lot, yea its just a listening room only.

 

[Vivek Batra]

If it is a listening room, it all comes down to how low you can drop your ceiling. 8' would be ideal, but would you want to do it?

Yes it's primarily a listening room. I am planning to have 9 feet height after false ceiling. Any specific reason for 8 feet high ceiling?

Try and have a dedicated power line to where you have marked 'equipment'. From there, running speaker cables becomes simpler.

Yes that will be there, its the case currently as well.

You wouldn't need in-wall conduits for power if you do the above. As for speaker cables, you can just build a false wall and run them later.

Why I won't need the in wall conduits? I want to avoid any kind of brick/false wall over RCC wall (space and cost reasons).

Making the dead space a part of the room will bring with it a few acoustic problems. Better to have it doored and used for something else.

hmm ,ok will see what else can be done there.

Thanks for our suggestions

Regards
Vivek

 

[k-pad]

Yes it's primarily a listening room. I am planning to have 9 feet height after false ceiling. Any specific reason for 8 feet high ceiling?


Yes that will be there, its the case currently as well.


Why I won't need the in wall conduits? I want to avoid any kind of brick/false wall over RCC wall (space and cost reasons).

hmm ,ok will see what else can be done there.

Thanks for our suggestions

Regards
Vivek

No, 9 feet also is fine. Anything more than that will result in a not so good room ratio.
You could run hidden speaker cables outside the wall also. Someone who has tried laying conduit inside RCC may be able to suggest better.
Best

 

[Indranil Sen]

Hello Vivek,
I am also going to start the construction of a new house shortly and my main focus is building a dedicated 2 channel listening room in the new house. As you know the room (it’s dimensions) is the single most important factor for getting a good audio performance. Unfortunately it is also the most difficult factor to control because there is no way to predict how the room is going to behave after it is constructed. All the ratios like Cardas Golden Ratio that you would find online are based on a set of theoretical assumptions that would seldom match your exact room. So I decided to follow the below guidelines that I put together based on my own audio listening experience.
1. All three dimensions of the room are going to be different. The height of the room would be the limiting factor, the higher the better. A clear height of 12ft would be great and I would not go anything below 9ft. My current music room height is about 8ft and it is the biggest offender when it comes to the source of first reflections. Until I hung two broadband absorber panels at the 1st reflection points on the ceiling I couldn’t get the imaging correct. My new music room dimension would be 9ft(H)x17ft(W)x25ft(L).
2. In my opinion the ground floor works the best for a listening room. I wouldn’t do it in the basement unless I am ready to spend more money for treating the basement walls which are normally made of concrete. A hard concrete surface produces the worst reflection and it produces a harsh sound.
3. There would be no glass windows or doors in the music room because they produce very harsh and bright sound.
4. The two side walls need to be absolutely symmetrical with respect it’s length, construction material, etc. There should not be any cavity or any open closet on these side walls.
5. I would prefer a hardwood floor than a carpeted floor. However I would cover the floor distance between the speakers and the couch with a rug.
Once the room is constructed the next two important items to focus would be,
6. Room acoustics
7. Speaker placement
Anyways, wish you good luck building your dream listening room.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Hello Vivek,
I am also going to start the construction of a new house shortly and my main focus is building a dedicated 2 channel listening room in the new house. As you know the room (it’s dimensions) is the single most important factor for getting a good audio performance. Unfortunately it is also the most difficult factor to control because there is no way to predict how the room is going to behave after it is constructed. All the ratios like Cardas Golden Ratio that you would find online are based on a set of theoretical assumptions that would seldom match your exact room. So I decided to follow the below guidelines that I put together based on my own audio listening experience.
1. All three dimensions of the room are going to be different. The height of the room would be the limiting factor, the higher the better. A clear height of 12ft would be great and I would not go anything below 9ft. My current music room height is about 8ft and it is the biggest offender when it comes to the source of first reflections. Until I hung two broadband absorber panels at the 1st reflection points on the ceiling I couldn’t get the imaging correct. My new music room dimension would be 9ft(H)x17ft(W)x25ft(L).
2. In my opinion the ground floor works the best for a listening room. I wouldn’t do it in the basement unless I am ready to spend more money for treating the basement walls which are normally made of concrete. A hard concrete surface produces the worst reflection and it produces a harsh sound.
3. There would be no glass windows or doors in the music room because they produce very harsh and bright sound.
4. The two side walls need to be absolutely symmetrical with respect it’s length, construction material, etc. There should not be any cavity or any open closet on these side walls.
5. I would prefer a hardwood floor than a carpeted floor. However I would cover the floor distance between the speakers and the couch with a rug.
Once the room is constructed the next two important items to focus would be,
6. Room acoustics
7. Speaker placement
Anyways, wish you good luck building your dream listening room.

Thanks for the inputs, and good luck to you too

 

[Vivek Batra]

First step taken

 

[k-pad]

Hi @Vivek Batra @Indranil Sen
I hear your points, but as i said, the height is the only real thing we can control post-facto, since you both are constructing bottom up.
Even for someone who is getting into a built up space, the height is really the only thing that can be adjusted.
Kindly do take that into consideration.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Hi Guys

Need some inputs on the wiring/conduits in the dedicated room.


The architect has asked me to finalize the position of the equipment so that electrical drawings could be finalized. The image above is whats in my mind. Is it a good plan? What should be shared with the architect?

What I can think of is what I would need

1. Wall sockets (6 to 8)
2. LAN port
3. Conduit for FM antenna
4. What else?

Thanks
Vivek


Full View

 

[arunkvivek]

Hi Guys

Need some inputs on the wiring/conduits in the dedicated room.

View attachment 64712
The architect has asked me to finalize the position of the equipment so that electrical drawings could be finalized. The image above is whats in my mind. Is it a good plan? What should be shared with the architect?

What I can think of is what I would need

1. Wall sockets (6 to 8)
2. LAN port
3. Conduit for FM antenna
4. What else?

Thanks
Vivek


Full View
View attachment 64713

I would prefer to prepare for the worst and have electrical outlets on all three walls.
Also, I would suggest making the door sliding so that you don't lose out space if you choose to move the speakers to ups side of the room.
You can make a dust free enclosure above UPS if you intend to go all digital (no CDs, Vinyls or Tape!). You would run longer speaker cables but would have an room with just speakers and couch. No cable clutter apart from speaker cables!! Narayan! Narayan!

 

[Vivek Batra]

I would prefer to prepare for the worst and have electrical outlets on all three walls.p}
Also, I would suggest making the door sliding so that you don't lose out space if you choose to move the speakers to ups side of the room.
You can make a dust free enclosure above UPS if you intend to go all digital (no CDs, Vinyls or Tape!). You would run longer speaker cables but would have an room with just speakers and couch. No cable clutter apart from speaker cables!! Narayan! Narayan!

Thanks for the inputs Arun. But I would avoid having the speakers in front of the door. I think if I sit along the 18 feet wall, the distance between speakers and MLP will be too less I guess.

In the worst case, the equipment can stay where it's planned now and speakers and MLP can move? How about this?

Moreover to have the conduits in all the walls, would cost me space as well. Coz there will be a brick wall over RCC wall just to run the conduits.

 

[bloredude]

Thanks for the inputs Arun. But I would avoid having the speakers in front of the door. I think if I sit along the 18 feet wall, the distance between speakers and MLP will be too less I guess.

In the worst case, the equipment can stay where it's planned now and speakers and MLP can move? How about this?

Moreover to have the conduits in all the walls, would cost me space as well. Coz there will be a brick wall over RCC wall just to run the conduits.

Don't worry, even if you want only one set outlets, the wires will run along the periphery anyway. I have tried to scribble over your sketch. Please compare.

If I were you, instead of your desired position A, I would also go for outlets at B, C, D, and E. The cost difference shouldn't be that much.

Edit: Reading again, you talked about losing space. Again, I don't see more space being lost due to more outlets.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Don't worry, even if you want only one set outlets, the wires will run along the periphery anyway. I have tried to scribble over your sketch. Please compare.

If I were you, instead of your desired position A, I would also go for outlets at B, C, D, and E. The cost difference shouldn't be that much.

D and E for mono blocks? B for lamp or something else?

 

[bloredude]

D and E for mono blocks? B for lamp or something else?

You never have enough power outlets. You will need more in future. You can totally trust me on this one.