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Type of flooring in a listening room?

Hi, I am considering new flooring in my listening room. I currently have wall to wall carpet in a 14x22 ft. room. The carpet is on a concrete slab floor. The speakers sit on the long wall about 4 ft. from the back wall and about 8 ft. apart. My listening seat is about 8 ft. from the speakers. 

I am considering a Vinyl Plank flooring called COREtec Plus. It has a thin layer of cork backing for sound deadening, but I think this is mainly for footfalls when walking across the floor. Does anyone have opinions on the effect of sound with a vinyl plank flooring vs. wall to wall carpet. I do not want to put up sound absorbing material all over the room. I know that would not go over well with my wife. 
slowhand
ghosthouse's avatar
ghosthouse
4,316 posts
 
Slowhand - Things will absolutely sound brighter and livelier (maybe too lively) going from carpet to vinyl plank flooring.  We did a refresh on our finished basement.  Removed berber w/padding over concrete slab.  Installed modular subfloor moisture barrier, Bella sound absorbing underlayment and finally, engineered hardwood flooring.  This caused a major change in sonics (though expected) as noted above.  For me, large area rugs & GIK acoustic panels were essential for happy listening.   Good luck with your changes.   

don_c55
1,025 posts
 
Wall to wall carpet, or very large throw rugs!
skoczylas's avatar
skoczylas
240 posts
 
Laminate floor is not expensive, it's easy to install and it can give a room a good look for the cost. But the sound to me is terrible - even everyday sounds like walking, dropping a pen, and watching tv. It has a strange artificial resonance which I really don't like. So for sound I give it a big thumbs down. 
georgelp's avatar
georgelp
4 posts
 
When doing engineered flooring of vinyl or wood be sure to float it on a resilient underlayment. For your application I would suggest an industrial isolation rubber sheeting much like used to isolate machinery vibrations.
terry9
2,348 posts
 
An engineered floor can be problematic on a concrete slab. For my basement music room, my builder's supply store recommended against any type of wooden floor, even hardwood. Condensation issues, flooding issues, etc. Don't know if that could be a problem for you, but it's something to consider.

I eventually went with granite tile, which of course sounds bright. I mitigated this with a textured ceiling and irregular walls. And a large persian carpet. The room sounds lively but natural with ESL's. 
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