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Input Needed - Renovating Basement for A/V System

Circumstances have forced us to renovate the finished room in our basement where we have two systems - one is a hybrid stereo/home theatre system & the other is purely for stereo. As part of the renovation, since carpeting is no longer an option, the carpeted floor is being replaced with a high quality sheet vinyl flooring. The sheet vinyl flooring will be installed on top of the basement concrete floor. When the carpeting was in place, the speakers on their spikes were placed directly on the carpeting and the sonic results were excellent. Using the spikes in that manner will no longer be an option. I would appreciate suggestions on what to place under the speakers, with or without spikes, to still get good sonic results. The front speakers for the stereo/home theater system are Verity Fidelio Encores; the speakers for the stereo only system are Omega Alnico Super 8 XRS. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Best Regards, Steven
4musica44107
7 responses Add your response
soix
9,456 posts
 
So you're going to leave the floor bare? That sounds like potential sonic disaster if that's the case. I'd at least put down an indoor/outdoor area rug big enough to put the speakers on and absorb first reflections off the floor (and even larger if possible), and then you could just keep using the speakers as usual.

Just out of curiosity, was this due to a flooding issue?
4musica44107 OP
520 posts
 
Soix - "Flooding" of a sort; one of our cats is demonstrating intermittent behavioral problems accompanied by copious amounts of cat urine. We have her on Prozac and that seems to have resolved the problem for now, but we are not willing to take the chance on carpeting again. I agree that something else needs to be done to avoid "sonic disaster". My thoughts so far are the same as you stated, that several floor rugs will likely be necessary - one on each side for the front speakers, and a large central rug between the front speakers and the listening area. For the rugs placed beneath the speakers, I will experiment to see what setup gives the best sound - no spikes, spikes without floor protectors, or spikes with floor protectors. The furniture is all upholstered so that will help some. And I figure I might also need to add some room treatments. Any other suggestions? Many thanks. Best Regards, Steven
freediver
1,162 posts
 
Would Auralex SpeakerDudes or SubDudes work?
4musica44107 OP
520 posts
 
Freediver - Thank you for the suggestion. I just finished reading about Auralex products and comments from other 'goners in past forum threads. It appears to be worth investigating, although the comments I've read elsewhere so far indicate that the Auralex products are used more for subwoofers and wall/ceiling treatments than they are used beneath front speakers. But Auralex apparently will, at no charge, look at a drawing or photo of your room and the materials used in its construction, and then make recommendations for the use of their products to minimize/eliminate room problems they believe need to addressed. So I will definitely do this and see what they suggest. I will then share the results in this forum thread. Thanks again for the suggestion! Best Regards, Steven
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,274 posts
 
What about recarpeting the room and just keeping the cat out of the room? Loud music and movies isn't good for kitty ears anyways. Another option would be to buy 100 more (preferably fat and extra fluffy) cats and use them as "active" acoustic treatment for the room ;-)
pcoombs's avatar
pcoombs
84 posts
 
Far a carpeting/rug solution. www.flor.com tiles are a great option as you can just replace or clean the individual tile in the case of a cat mishap. They also come in a great variety of designs .
4musica44107 OP
520 posts
 
Pcoombs - Thank you for the tip on flor.com. Their product is now the frontrunner for those room locations where carpeting or a rug will be needed.

B_limo - Believe me, if we could isolate the room, we would. Unfortunately, the staircase to the basement leads directly into the approximate middle and just at the rear of the combined stereo/home theater room. Our general contractor showed me what it would take to isolate the room and what it would look like. The end result - esthetically, sonically, and financially, would not be a good thing.

Best Regards, Steven
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