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Sound proofing panels and other equipment - What is the best out there right now

Due to my father-in-laws reduced mobility, my in-laws are letting go of their house and have bought a condo in a seniors oriented building. My father-in-law is a big home theater buff, and does like music, so the goal is to turn one of the bedrooms, approximately 16*12*8 into a home theater, complete with reasonable sound-proofing treatment. I am reasonably versed in acoustics, and so far, the several contractors I have talked to have not inspired confidence on being up on the latest "tech".


I would be very interested in any suggestions people would have for modern sound-proofing products they have come across. I am sure I can find a contractor I can trust to do good work, I just think they may need a push to achieve the best results possible.  The contractor can handle the usual issues with sound-proofing.


While money is always an object, the are fairly comfortable and can't enjoy all the usual toys any more, so an appropriate amount can be spent, and they are both in excellent health so will enjoy it for many years and hopefully it will become a hub activity with their friends.
atdavid
erik_squires
16,900 posts
 
GIK Acoustics are my absolute favorites for having reasonable prices (compared to ASC) and very high performance.

Also have some innovative things like Art Panels.





oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa
4,867 posts
 
atdavid ...

Contact member David Pritchard via PM. His mother is in a senior building and he has a nice system set up in her room. Even though she’s in her 90’s, she still enjoys her system and all of the tweaks David has done for her. Perhaps David has dealt with the room treatments and you can follow his advice.

Frank
tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,689 posts
 
Buildings like that are notoriously noisy (thin walls,lack of insulation,etc.).
I highly doubt you can quiten it down for use as a home theater unless they listen at fairly low volume. Not to mention bitchy neighbors!!!
mike_in_nc
1,198 posts
 
Acoustic panels such as provided by GIK will not provide soundproofing; they are designed to improve presentation of sound within a room. To keep sound from leaking out is a separate topic and a more difficult task. Usually, significant sound reduction has to be built into a room by using specialized materials (resilient and with plenty of mass).

Ordinary contractors know next to nothing about this, so I urge you to do significant research and/or consult a professional in the field.
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
imagine the entire room filled with water.

then make it so the room has no leaks, at all. Not a drip. (which is a small part of the fix-it recipe, but we use it here for being a decent illustration of the problem. In the ordinary cases, the room is exceptionally leaky, and acting almost sealed --both at the same time)

Then imagine that the top of this box shaped cistern...has a steel plate on the top of it...and then you start hitting the plate with a 10 lb rubber sledge.

Hitting the plate with the rubber sledge, is likened to the bass in the room.

You have to isolate the neighbors, from that. Even though their very leaky cisterns share walls with your cistern, on all six sides.

Not only that, but make the bass sound good -inside of that cistern.

This is what you are up against, as problems go.

One half of the process is the making of a floating and isolated sealed cistern inside the leaky box.

The other half is fixing the bass in the now isolated box. Usually the entire room has to be rebuilt, in a near to actual tear-down and rebuild, done the right way. The floor, the works.
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