[Rutgar]

Forgive me if this is a kind of a dumb question. But, I notice that a lot of the forum member's theaters here, utilize Soffits. Are these Soffits just aesthetic? Or do they perform an acoustical function. If acoustical, then how so?


Thanks.

 

[APorter]

I will have a soffit in my room because the hvac supply run for the first floor family room runs through my planned HT room (drywall ceiling).

 

[majormojo242]

Most of the time they are built to cover up HVAC ductwork. Often people will build "false" soffits to match those that they can't avoid to make the room symmetrical. I don't think they are usually built specifically for acoustical purposes, but a couple people here have stated that an empty soffit stuffed with insulation can be useful for bass absorption.

 

[MBK]

Many people use them to run wires to the front of the room. This helps maintain the integrity of a nice and tight acoustic "envelope". The more holes you punch in a wall (lights, outlets, etc.) the worse that wall will be a keeping sound in or out.


By putting lighting and speaker/signal wiring in a soffit you can eliminate a lot of holes in your walls/ceilings.

 

[patrickwebb]

In my HT, i have the a soffit that is hiding a sewage pipe, gas line, and a return duct. I matched the rear and other side with MDF soffits.


Also, in this picture, you can see that my projector will be completely inside of the rear soffit, with a glass window in place for the picture...
http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...0493.sized.jpg


In this picture, you can see the other wall MDF soffits that will have 2 supply vents inside of them...

http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5150.sized.jpg

 

[tkawika]

I was told by a builder that they just usually sheet rock right to the HVAC ducting. I was planning on doing that in HT room w/GG, but is that good.


Ted

 

[bpape]

No. Boy, you wanna talk about sending sound through your whole house....


Frame around the HVAC and damp the ducting somehow(assuming metal ducting), then rock to the framing and seal it up tight. Even put some insulation between the sheetrock and the ducting to help damp it. Any sound that gets into that ducting will come out every vent/cold air return it is connected to.

 

[tkawika]

ok, I will need to change that in my design. There are plenty posts/ pictures to build sofits.


thanks for the help...


Ted

 

[Fatman513]

Here's the way I'm doing it: insulate the duct work/pipes, frame around the ducts/pipes, etc. with 2x2s to form the soffit "skeleton", nail on 1/2" OSB "skin", and then screw on the drywall.

 

[Max Spivak]

My soffit will:


* run all low voltage wires: speaker, video, cat5, etc

* hold the Stewart ElectiScreen

* hold 5 Triad Silver Monitor speakers

* carry hot air exhaust from projector hushbox to outside

 

[Rutgar]

What about acoustics? What affect does a soffit have on acoustics? In other words, if I've designed a room that has optimal dimensions, how would the soffit affect the performance of such a room?

 

[R_Willis]

My soffit is to hide mechanicals. It is hiding the HVAC ducting, main sewage pipe going out to septic, along with hot water pipes, propane pipes, etc. I also use the extra space to run much of my cable (RG6 from dish, CAT5e runs, etc). Going to be installing some insulation and then drywall over my soffit.


I'm not mirror imaging my soffit in the theater (or either room) for the sole fact I don't want to lose the headroom. Yes, the room will have somewhat of an unbalanced look, but I'd rather have the height back.


My soffit runs into both my theater room and rec room. I went with a sloped box soffit to help regain some headroom as I'm a tall fellow and my ceilings aren't huge.


Here are a few pictures of my setup:


Looking from theater room to rec room
http://www.30th-ta.org/hometheater/104_0401.jpg


Looking from rec room to theater room
http://www.30th-ta.org/hometheater/104_0403.jpg

 

[Max Spivak]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rutgar What about acoustics? What affect does a soffit have on acoustics? In other words, if I've designed a room that has optimal dimensions, how would the soffit affect the performance of such a room?

All I can say is that most theaters designed by Dennis, including mine, utilize soffits.