Treating the ceiling and floor, who else has had great results?


Two areas of the room often neglected by audiophiles IMHO is the ceiling and floor.  We focus so much on first reflections we forget about overall energy left in a room after the speaker has stopped.

I've had excellent luck with treating the ceiling, especially for home theater applications, and this was before Atmos.  The area behind the speakers near the floor often hides noise and distortion which we didn't know we were hearing.  Throw a blanket over there and listen for yourself.

Who else has gone through the trouble of treating their ceiling?

erik_squires

This is my studio room. Double clouds, full reflections covered. Built most of the panels myself with Mike Major at gik acoustics doing a 3D mockup of my room before I built it and filling in with diffusion absorption Alpha 6A panels and scattering panels. I’m right at about +/-3 db from the listening position from 20 hz to 20 khz (besides a bass boost I added of about 6 DB as I mostly mix electronic, pop and hip hop stuff and need to feel that low end) with minimal EQ. RT60 and waterfall look amazing.

I’m considering treating my living room right now. It’s a fairly large open floor plan with 9’ ceilings. Sounds good right now but going to be doing some 6" or 7" panels for first reflections on the sides and pending WAF, a cloud or two for the ceiling.

The floor can be carpeted or hard. If the other reflection points are treated, I’ve heard it doesn’t really matter much. Over damping is a huge issue. I went with carpeted floors because that’s what I like. I do recommend doing a rug if you are missing your first reflections. It definitely helps to control excess treble ringing but pales in comparison to a fully treated room!

https://freeimage.host/i/3dXWOZB

Ceiling. Huge. Think of symphony hall. When designing, the ceiling isn’t a constraint like most people’s listening rooms. The changes need to be structural like a soffits in the right places. Or at very least large and otherwise effective hanging mass that brings the room together. Like a great rug. And yes. Rug on floor. Wool. And heavy. Think now about what the musicians have in their studios and up on stage. So many cool rugs. And maybe a pillow or two in the drum set. For walls and such I prefer heavy drapery augmented by music related art and such. Album covers are not ideal. The flat surface even at 12x12 can be a problem. Placement of such memorabilia is critical. 

I have had rough textured commercial acoustical tiles on sheetrock ceiling in my theater/listening room for 20 years. The tiles are starting to crumble to the point I’m looking at replacing them. I’m not sure what to use as a replacement since these are very deadening along with all walls being covered with “acoustical wall covering”, aka indoor/outdoor carpeting, and carpeted floor. I’m thinking something a little more reflective might be better acoustically for my 2 channel listening which is now more important to me. I did put acoustical wood panels behind the main speakers for some reflection of the rear facing subs.
Any thoughts?

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As someone who has had to design spaces specifically for acoustical concerns, carpeting/rugs can have a negligible effect on acoustics in general-use settings like homes and office spaces. Carpet can deaden foot traffic noise and high frequencies but as far as helping to tune a room for mid-range and low-end frequencies for audio enjoyment, it's not much help. Of course, the carpet/rug salesman will tell you their product will solve all your acoustical issues but caveat emptor. 

Floor treatments can add warmth and visual softness to a space if you want to make it more liveable and aesthetically pleasing. Ceiling and wall treatments are the most effective surfaces to look at.

In my future listening den, I plan to take room measurements after I have a semblance of furnishings, final finishes, and the built-in bookshelves are filled up because I don't intend to build a listening box with nothing in it but a chair. 

Depending on how tech-savvy you are, you could try free software out there to build a 3D simulation of your room and then listen to it virtually to see how it may sound with different treatments or hire professional services to do that for you.

If I were designing a custom listening space for a client and they have top-end hi-fi gear and want a truly neutral room, then I would recommend hiring an acoustician to assist in designing the right room treatments and dialing in the correct dimensions for a room.