[lowella]

Hey all,


I'm working on designing a 2-channel room (ok, it will have 5.1 for the occasional surround album)...


Room size 14x19 with 10' ceilings. The problem is, the ceilings will have I-shaped (that is, a capital i) floor joists from the room above (this is in basement). My main concern is whether to use the ideal dimensions of 14x19x10 or to resize and put in a dropped ceiling at 9' to make the sound better. The walls will be covered with records etc already and there will be other things in the room, so it is not a minimalist room but a showcase-type room. I plan to spend most of my hours playing/recording vinyl. Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[commsysman]

I guess you are saying that the floor joists above will be exposed?


Are they linear (running away from the speakers), or crosswise (the sides of the joists facing towards the speakers)?


Crosswise should actually be good, as it will break up any ceiling reflections.


You could also put sound-absorbent material on the side of the joists facing the speakers.

 

[Ethan Winer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by lowella  /t/1521265/2-channel-audio-only-room-design-14x19x10-mancave#post_24446613


Room size 14x19 with 10' ceilings.

According to my Graphical Mode Calculator program, lowering the ceiling to 9 feet will not buy you anything. I doubt the beams matter whichever way they run, though as CS said left to right might have a small advantage. But:

Quote:
it is not a minimalist room but a showcase-type room.

If you truly want good sound and hope to impress others, you really need to address the acoustics. Large shelves with records are okay in some places, but not in others. And all rooms benefit from bass traps and other treatment. This short article is mainly about home recording, but all the same principles apply to hi-fi and home theater acoustics too:

Acoustic Basics


These articles should help further:

How To Set Up A Room
Early Reflections


--Ethan

 

[lowella]

Thank you, guys. I anticipate the exposed I-joists to be running lengthwise & the speakers will be on the short end of the room, so the sound would travel along the beams- so I may have to face the speakers the other way I guess. I have a calculator but it doesn't compensate for joists etc. But when I say showroom, I mean physical treasures not audio show, although that would be nice. I don't plan boxes of records but will line the walls with them. How do I know where to locate them? Other asstd mancave stuff like a deer mount etc. & I am open to bass traps etc. Thanks guys!

 

[lowella]

Ethan, thanks for the links, I will definitely be checking into your products when the time comes! BTW, is Trod Nossel still around?! I took a class there back in the early 90's...unfortunately it didn't include room design!

 

[Ethan Winer]

All of your questions are addressed in those short articles I linked. In particular, don't have the speakers fire the short way across the room. What little you might gain with the beams is totally swamped by the added bass problems.


Trod Nossel is still around:

http://www.trodnossel.com/


Though their chief engineer Richard Robinson moved to LA a few years ago.


--Ethan