2. misc-audio
  3. 169606-150377

Advice on dedicated room

Hi everyone ,

I am going to start building my dedicated listening room in the basement soon and need some input. My ceiling is just under 8’ so would 2x4s be adequate for strength or would 2x6 be better? Second , I read an article where Robert Harley was building a new room and used the ISO wall system from acoustic sciences and was wondering if anyone here has used it and liked it. I will at the least use 2 layers of drywall and green glue. Lastly my space available is 15’x16 1/2’. I know that is too square and I can shorten the 15’ direction if needed but if we’re to put a 45 degree angle on two corners ( one corner is needed for access to another area) would that negate the “too square” aspect? Thanks for your input 
ronboco
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,771 posts
 
Some diffusion is good, two ceiling fans perhaps?
The air transmits your high fidelity sound. Setting it in motion with fans cannot be a good idea.
audio-union's avatar
audio-union
179 posts
 
Proper Planning Prevents, Piss Poor Performance and don't for get about KISS.
Questions:
1 Save me time or save me money?
2 What is your budget? If answer to 1 is "save me time" forget about cost.
3 What are your performance requirements? This needs to including, HVAC, Power including ground plane and noise (EMI/RFI), Lighting, Acoustically, Human factors, ....
4 Now you have the information to build a model to figure out acoustic, electrical, and thermal performance. Manufacturers post performance characteristics of products you can insert in to models and predict the result. At this point you will need to decide, DIY, Contractor, ... or Engineer.

I did this kind of work as an engineer for awhile where the answer to question 1 was "save me time" and I have seen the work of some others. There are some highly capable people out there in this field of work for every budget. I have also seen some disasters. 

Get some professional help, the result will better and take a pole. "Survey says."
sandthemall
544 posts
 
Let's slow down a bit. A lot of conflicting advice. Yes, identify what you are trying to accomplish. No need to over insulate unless you want it quiet for people outside the room.
Once you add drywall, you are adding an element/surface you will need to treat.

Raw ceiling joists are inherently good acoustic surfaces. It may look ugly...but adding drywall...again, is adding a problem you will need to address.

The room is small, yes...but making it even smaller to get 'your golden ratio' may not be the best tactic if you can make it 'feel longer acoustically' through other means.

Your room is somewhat challenging. I would spend a year learning about acoustics and sketching various scenarios out before breaking ground.
mike_in_nc
1,150 posts
 
Here is a link to a room-mode calculator:

Amroc room mode calculator

ronboco OP
840 posts
 
Thank you again for all the different views. This will help me tremendously moving forward 

except the ear buds thing. 😂😂
More to discover