Low volume required in massive room.

First the bad news... In room treatment for quality will have no or negligible impact on sound transmission into surrounding spaces... Sorry.

And I am assuming that you are not amenable to wireless headphones...

As far as simply trying to mitigate the sound quality in a large small acoustical space (its still "small" in an acoustical sense) once can follow the process used for a general conference, board or music room (as opposed to a critical listening room).

First and foremost, you need to maximize the suppression of the environmental noise floor in the room. In other words, it needs to be quiet. HVAC and especially noise from ductwork and air returns (treatable in part by lower air velocities), refrigerators, and other building systems typically present the single largest limiting factor as the noise floor is typically excessively high. The noise floor should not exceed a maximum NC-25 for background noise in order to maximize the S/N ratio in the room with a limited maximum signal level.

Traditionally most would opt for broadband absorption on the walls, but like with conference and boardrooms, the optimal treatment is actually Mid-HF diffusion with LF absorption on walls (RPG BAD panels are ideal). Next choice would be low placed LF absorbers with 1D QRD diffusors placed above combined with a carpeted floor. Diffuse non-localized reflections will augment the ability to hear what is said.

Additionally, a 2D diffuse (not absorptive!) ceilings are also recommended in such a space.

Not necessarily simple or cheap, but this is what works in such an environment.

Erik,

The enclosure idea above will not work. The side open to view the screen will leak practicallly full-volume sound into the loft. Also, building a truely noise isolated structure is expensive and somewhat complicated (floating floors, double walls, etc.).

This may sound simple, but what about just using good quality headphones (open or closed designs will work) or good quality noise isolating ear buds.

If need be, you can even set up a pair/multiple-set of headphone amps to power more than one set of headphones for guests, etc.

Cheers,
XEagleDriver

This is what I'm thinking as well. For a few hundred bucks, you can totally eliminate the problem. No hassle, no half-measures, no bothered neighbors. Clarity will be way better than you could achieve in that room with loudspeakers.

Find something comfortable, and be prepared to get a set of them once you find the ones you like.

Purists will probably fall out of their seats, but headphones coupled with the installation of some bass shakers (for visceral LF sensation) under the seating will provide you with a relatively good experience - all things/constraints considered.

Most receivers have a night setting that introduces compression. This will flatten out the dynamics so that you don't have to run the volume control up and down all the time.


As dragonfly mentioned, this isn't effective as a soundproofing technique per se, but it having the speakers close to the listening area would allow you to run the system at a lower volume setting. That, coupled with using the night setting, might be all you need to enjoy movies without bothering the neighbors. If all else fails, you have the headphone option.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

I agree with others. Quality headphones with bass shakers.

Audio-Technica produces a nice pair of wireless headphones that include a Dolby/DTS decoder in the base-station. I believe they're a JDM import, as I've never found them on the Audio-Technica US website. These:
http://www.audiocubes.com/product_in...oducts_id=2919

That vendor, AudioCubes, has an entire section devoted to these kinds of headphones:
http://www.audiocubes.com/index.php?cPath=23_62

I'm not intending to break any rules here by mentioning prices - this is simply one of the most organized/coherent spots I've found on the 'net that deals with this genre of equipment.

There are other options from Pioneer and Sony that cost less, although I'm less sure on the sound quality (I'm not saying they'll be "bad" I'm saying they may not be up to the same level). This would be a complete replacement of a receiver/speaker system. You can add headsets to most of these wireless (RF) systems quite easily.

The other option would be room-in-a-room construction, I have no idea if that's feasible for your environment.

Finally, if you're alright with headphones, but also alright with running some wires around, you could get wired sets of headphones and a multi-output monitor amplifier (Rane, Behringer, and so on produce such products - they generally can supply 2 to 6 pairs of headphones) - there are many more inexpensive wired headsets than the Audio-Technicas (they also won't eat batteries!). Such a distribution amplifier would probably be under $100, and you can get wired headsets for as cheap as $10 depending on what you purchase (I would look for full-size, around-the-ear models; closed/sealed designs will probably fare better in your environment than the open-backed models (including the above Audio-Technicas); I'd probably pass on any sort of ANC solution though unless you can test it out in your environment first (I believe Bose will allow you to test and return their products if they're not suitable; I have no idea about Sony, Monster, Audio-Technica, or other manufacturers of ANC headsets)).

Headphones. Wireless if you want. there are nice regular headphones out there that don't break the bank.

Also the newer 360's are quite compared to the 360 battleships I own PS3 20gb gets netflix duty in the theater because the xbox is such a tank.

Dedicated room for the theater is a great idea if you have the space (think of it is as a sound proofing a small space project, you would want more than simple 2x4 walls.) and the budget. You won't get chest bounding bass but you can have some real volume and not bother others.

Good Luck!

Bass shakers could still work for you, if you want to bring back the bass.

I might look at a new receiver with Audyssey Dynamic EQ (other mfgs have similar non-licensed algorithms). Marantz has nice ones. Now I am not an Audyssey room/speaker EQ fan generally but this is one technology they got right. One issue with your setup (amongst others) is that if you listen at low SPL all the bass loses its impact. Look up the Fletcher Munson curves for an academic explanation.

You could also get some Auralex Gramma or SubDudes. They will reduce any structurally coupled vibration from your speakers into the floor.

A lease with a no subwoofer clause? I have never heard of this. Not disturbing other tenants is commonly mentioned in a lease, but specific to subwoofers? Sorry but I don't have any recommendations for you. You signed yourself into a problem by moving into this place. It does sound like a nice place, but I would of never moved in there with terms on the lease that specific.