OK - first off I am a complete noob regarding acoustic treatments. With that caveat in place I'm hoping someone can give me some guidance on a cost effective way to resolve some volume and echo problems I am having in a small dance room I have just completed for my wife.

The dance room plan is attached and as you can see is quite small and is an acoustically nasty L-shape. I have two speakers located in the left hand corners (as shown on the plan).

The floor is wooden laminate over concrete (we have two layers of underlay under the laminate (i) a fibre board and (ii) a thin foam) and the walls and ceiling are drywall.

My wife tap dances and this is causing two problems. Firstly the sound level is very high with the sound coming off the taps being VERY loud and drowning out the music . Secondly, there is an echo issue.

I am assuming that some acoustic panels will help and hope that someone can point me in the right direction to a solution.

I am assuming that some acoustic panels will help and hope that someone can point me in the right direction to a solution.

Yes, acoustic panels will help. Start with my Acoustics FAQ (http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html). Then follow up here with any questions.

--Ethan

Most dance rooms have lots of large mirrors. Are you planning to put up mirrors? The size, number, and location of the mirrors would have to be factored into the strategy for treating the room.

Most dance rooms have lots of large mirrors. Are you planning to put up mirrors? The size, number, and location of the mirrors would have to be factored into the strategy for treating the room.

Good point. We are planning on only one mirror and that would be on the same wall as the speakers.

Yes, acoustic panels will help. Start with my Acoustics FAQ (http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html). Then follow up here with any questions.

--Ethan
Thanks Ethan. I'll read over it and will come back with any questions I have.

Consider mounting absorbent ceiling tiles all across the ceiling. They're not as good as real acoustic panels (3/4" instead of 2" or 4" thickness), but still helps a lot with the audible echo. I suppose you can't consider rubber floor for softer sound, as that wouldn't be as tactile?

Then just put up enough panels to treat as much of the problem as you want. Because your problem is a dB/60 (reverberation time) problem, more than a precision sound problem, you have more latitude.

Oh, and you could get a louder sound system, too :-)

In addition to all the treatment options, I'd consider placing more speakers around the room. One doesn't really give a hoot about imaging, soundstaging and so on in this kind of setup, but you do care about coverage. More speakers will keep the volume more consistent as she moves around and will also increase the amount of direct sound, rather than reflected, which she hears. You should also be able to keep overall volume lower.

As was mentioned before, a distributed speaker system will help a lot. Think several small ceiling mounted speakers; easy to do if you have a suspended ceiling. This will greatly help with getting more direct sound to your ears. Also, since there will really be no imaging, think going mono.

Room treatments should also really help. I would bet that 100 sf of heavy curtains on the walls would cut the RT60 by more than half. You might also look into some diffussers, perhaps a few wall mounted book shelfs.

Thanks Ethan. I'll read over it and will come back with any questions I have.

I probably should have posted this yesterday. Below is a photo of a dance studio I treated. You can barely see the panels between the beams on the ceiling, and another in the far corner way in the rear. Made a huge improvement.

--Ethan

http://www.realtraps.com/cust_dance.jpg