Dedicated listening room design

Thanks so much guys, and by the way I should probably mention this is first and foremost a 2-channel audio system (our home theater is upstairs) although I may run some surround channels at some point in case I ever start experimenting with multi-channel music. I'm absorbing all of this and will get the books and contact at least a couple of the people you recommended. Duke's first sentence pretty much summed it up nicely, and what I know about construction in general (much less construction of a good listening room) could fit on the head of a nail. So all this info. is fantastically helpful, and by all means keep it coming.

So, for several reasons (cost, I might not be in this house for a long time, etc.) I've decided to do this on my own (with a contractor) without using an audio room design expert. I got all the books and have begun going through them. There's a lot there and I've got a lot more reading to do, but even at this early stage I had some major questions I was hoping some of you may have some thoughts on.

- I have to decide what materials to use in constructing the walls and ceiling. It would be particularly helpful if you could recommend specific products that have worked well (i.e. wall type/thickness/installation techniques, ceiling tiles type/installation, acoustic caulk, flooring tiles, carpeting, etc.) and where's good to purchase them.

- I'd also like to incorporate some sound isolation to the extent that I can, although I probably don't have all that much in the budget to do it. The ASC Isodamp system seems like a good one, but wondering if anyone has experience with this or if there is a lower cost and/or easier way to achieve a lot of those benefits? Also seems like it may eat up some space in my room, which is not a deal breaker but not optimal. Specifically I'm wondering if there's some kind of acoustic damping material I can just apply between the studs and walls(and between two wall boards if doubling up is recommended)/ceiling tiles to achieve at least some kind of isolation if something like the ASC stuff is out of my range.

- After I have the walls and ceiling up I'll need to incorporate some room treatments. Anyone have any opinions on ASC products versus RPG (or any others for that matter)? They seem to use different technologies that affect sound differently. Also is one significantly more expensive than the other to accomplish similar results?

- I'm getting mixed signals on the floor. Some prefer some form of wood flooring with area rugs while others prefer tiling/cement with wall-to-wall carpeting. I'd prefer the latter for practical reasons, but wondering what your experience is.

My first priority is sound quality in the room, but if I can achieve a good amount of soundproofing without adding several thousands to the cost of the project that would be a big bonus. Thanks again for all your thoughts and help.

I found the Geddes book to be very helpful. Fairly concise and mentions specific products he's used that work well, which was exactly what I needed.

Anyway, I've decided to do the resilient channels and was relieved my contractor has actually worked with them (I think mainly in commercial applications). However he's advocating using a single layer of drywall into the channels, and then a soundboard between the channels and the studs. My bias is to use two layers of drywall damped by liquid nails or green glue into the channels and the channels attached directly to the studs. Any thoughts on this? Thanks yet again for any thoughts.

For information on soundproofing, take a look at the Soundproofing Company website. They have quite a few articles on soundproofing techniques and can give you good advice regarding resilient channel and green glue. Resilient channel certainly works, as long as the drywallers know how to deal with it. If you want to go with just one layer, you might look into the mass loaded drywalls, although they are expensive. Ted at Soundproofing Company has real world experience with rooms for audio. Give him a try.

May I suggest the following.
Drywall. Use different thickness on all surfaces. Eg front wall 2 layers of 5/8, left wall 1/2 and 5/8, right wall two of 1/2 and back wall 5/8.
This way none of the wall will "vibrate or resonate" at the same frequency.
Apply first layer of drywall to studs with green glue , great product. For the next layer of drywall use a large V notch trowel applying drywall mud over the whole surface of the first layer of drywall. This will make the two sheets bond over the whole surface and will not have any air voids. Be generous with the drywall mud.
If you would like further info you can send me a message and I can go further into this subject.
Good luck and take care,