Hello everyone, I'm turning my 20x20 (400sq.ft.) garage into a 7.1 home theater room. And I'm just wondering if anyone has used acoustic paint, like Acousti-Coat 150? Here's a link to the website: http://hytechsales.com/prod150.html

So what's the word on this? I'm thinking of ordering some. Thanks, in advance! :)

It's hard to imagine that a few microns of paint would do anythingh for sound properties in a room. This usually requires mass, which paint certainly can't provide.
Sorry, but this is snake oil.

At the recommended coverage of 100 sq ft per gallon, it would take 8 gallons to cover walls and ceiling in a 10x20 room. That means you'll be in the $250 neighborhood before shipping. A second layer of drywall would probably cost almost half that and would be MUCH more effective in the sound transmission department.

As for absorption, I'd say it would be mostly ineffective for HT. For one thing, before I spent that much money on paint that's supposed to have acoustic properties, I'd want to see acoustic data - yet, I couldn't find any. More telling, check out this line from their FAQ:
Q: My son plays drums in our garage, will AC keep the noise from going through the walls into our house?

ANS: NO, Acousti-Coat is not designed for EXTREME sound control nor will it help with sound transfer through, Wall penetrations, Door and window openings, Stomping and banging from the floor above or a blasting powerful stereo in your neighbors unit next door.

Extreme sound problems of this nature require extensive sound control applications, all very expensive and very complicated. Acousti-Coat was developed as a relatively inexpensive, easy to apply solution for situations where echo within the room needs to be reduced and where sound in the Speech Range frequencies needs to be reduced through the coated surface.
Notice the reference to "speech range"... which is what this product might be good for. Might be interesting to test in a bedroom or something, but I'd say you can spend your money much more effectively for an HT application.

SC

The ceramic microspheres (cenospheres) used in this paint are byproducts of coal-fired power plants, so there is plenty of cheap waste product to try to find a use for. These actually have a bit of sound absorption capability when added to materials which are 1 inch or more thick. Even then, the absorption coefficient improvement of cenosphere-laden asphalt or cement is only in the 0.2-0.3 range.

Which is a long way of saying that this paint is completely useless for sound absorption. :)

- Terry

I know you are all professials it seems in the acoustic world. But isn't it possible that this paint does something? if you have a plaster ceiling or wall and you paint it with this isn't it possible that it would be less echo-y than just the exposed plaster? obviously a layer of paint isn't going to make a home theater acoustically perfect, but if you have a plaster room that you don't want to sacrifice the appearance of the plaster and you just merely want to cut out the echo, isn't it possible this paint could help?

I know you are all professials it seems in the acoustic world. But isn't it possible that this paint does something? if you have a plaster ceiling or wall and you paint it with this isn't it possible that it would be less echo-y than just the exposed plaster? obviously a layer of paint isn't going to make a home theater acoustically perfect, but if you have a plaster room that you don't want to sacrifice the appearance of the plaster and you just merely want to cut out the echo, isn't it possible this paint could help?

Sure it will, just be sure to put enough coats on the wall so the paint is at least 1 inch thick... :rolleyes:

All sarcasm aside, it very well might help with echo in a "normal" room, but the fact that they do not provide any kind of testing information or acoustic data is a great big warning flag.

This forum can get pretty "extreme" in regards to sound control, so most people around here require proven concepts that have been tested and verified before spending their money.

It's hard to imagine that a few microns of paint would do anythingh for sound properties in a room. This usually requires mass, which paint certainly can't provide.
Sorry, but this is snake oil.

I would need to agree!