in building a HT room from the ground up is it advisable to hire an acosutic person to help plan with acosutic panels? how much do they charge about?

i want to pick all the AV stuff, so is their any one else besides an acosutic person i may want to contact before starting? i have the contractors and all

i'm planning on spending 15k on all video and audio equipment so it is not a super high end sysyem so is worth the extra cash?

Yes, do it. There are some within this forum that will do your room analysis and make recommendation for room treatments including panels, bass traps, etc. A lot of people including myself have/are using Bpape (sensiblesoundsolutions.com) for his acoustic expertise. Depending on how much you need, it can cost in the $200-500 range. Considering your overall budget, that is a small price to pay to make sure you get it right. There are others besides Bpape. He is just the one I am most familiar with.

I would definitely consider some acoustic help. Specifically I would check out Terry Montlick's website as he offers DIY support. I am in the process of using his services for a completed room so hopefully it goes well. I did not want to blindly buy acoustic treatment.

I did not want to blindly buy acoustic treatment.

Yes, and this is why it's important to deal with a company that does more than just sell treatment. When you buy from a company with knowledgeable people, you'll get the acoustic consulting and other advice for free.

--Ethan

I would definitely consider some acoustic help. Specifically I would check out Terry Montlick's website as he offers DIY support. I am in the process of using his services for a completed room so hopefully it goes well. I did not want to blindly buy acoustic treatment.
One thing that distinguishes us from others: we do not sell any acoustical treatments whatsoever. We are vendor-neutral. Of course, you pay for our services, because we are not making money any other way. But you have free choice to buy anything you want, including of course your own DIY treatment materials.

- Terry

Just for clarity, yes, I do also sell treatments. However, part of my initial contact form asks what if any materials the customer has available locally or want to use specifically. I am more than happy to save my customers some money if they can find what they need locally. In fact, well over half of my customers do not buy any materials from me. Some simply buy the construction materials like Green Glue, RSIC clips, etc. Others buy all the materials - depends on the situation.

If they cannot get them, then they have the OPTION to purchase from me. Again, I ask their budget and work with the materials that will provide the best solution that falls within budget. I offer the materials as a service to my customers so that if they choose, they can do the entire project and only deal with one person who knows the project start to finish and can IMO better advise them as to what is the best fit for them.

Also, if someone only wants materials, I am more than happy to provide free advice on what I feel is a good solution - sometimes even recommending competitors products. However, when an in depth analysis and/or drawings are involved, yes, I charge for that as it does take considerable time on my part.

Lastly, the full design service I offer also comes with additional hours of consulting time for the customer to use as he sees fit over and above just recommending how many of what kind of panel.

</commercial> :D ;)

Bryan