room dimention question


Is a 7ft 3" ceiling a bad thing? I might be renovating a basement and could have a dedicated room but I think the ceiling would only be 7ft 3". Is this a problem? where can I get a quick down and dirty discussion of how to do a room? Also where do I get the info on electrical. Thanks
catfishbob
A low ceiling is never a good thing, but Nicks advice makes good sense . Although the room appearance will be compromised .
I'd go with a minimum of two 20 amp 12 gauge circuits for audio equipment , more if your setting up video equipment , never combine audio and video equipment on the same circuits .
Guys I'm learning a lot of stuff here.

Jrenman and Mesch....I'm taking your suggestions one point at a time and trying to absorb it all. The ceiling will be an interesting fix. I have a good architect so I think he can come up with something innovative if i can find some examples for him. Wiring should not be a problem.

Bombaywalla......I will be working with the architect next week. Maybe he can draw up something I can post. Right now I don't have the exact size.....maybe something like 12 x 16 ft.

Nick.....Nice cave! That's my idea though I think my room will be bigger. I've got to fit in my fly fishing gear and tying space.

Tmsorosk......great tip about the video electric. I'm guilty of that at this exact moment.
Fly tying to good music, great! I also store fly fishing gear in my audio room. In a corner closet, I have removed the door and store my sleeping bags and pads, makes a great bass trap. Enjoy.
Mesch.......what kind of fishing do you do? I mostly salt water fish, but the new room is located in the heart of Colorado trout streams. I guess I'm gonna have to figure out how to catch those little suckers!
Catfishbob,
the thing w/ every room is what kind of resonances is it going to have? And, how do these resonances interfere with the music/program material?
These resonances are known as room modes. You can have 3 types of room modes:
* axial - involves 2 parallel surfaces such as opposite walls, floor + ceiling. These modes are the strongest in amplitude hence interfere the most w/ the music,
* tangential - these modes involve 2 pairs of surfaces such as all 4 walls, 2 walls + ceiling + floor. the amplitude of these modes is 1/2 that of the axial modes,
* oblique - these modes involve 6 surfaces such as all 4 walls + ceiling + floor. These are 1/4 the amplitude of the axial room modes.

based on your approximate room dimensions of 16' X 12' X 7.25', you could have
* axial modes at 35Hz along the length of the room, 47Hz along the width of the room & 78Hz along the height of the room. The above stated freq & all their resp. harmonics. Since these are strong modes & in the deep bass, mid-bass regions they are likely to mess with your overall bass response. You are likely to hear bass overhang - bass from the prev notes stayed around too long & bass from the next note interacts with. Bass smearing/bass fuzziness.
* tangential modes at 59Hz along the length of the room, 86Hz along the width of the room & 91Hz along the height of the room. Again, these freq & all their resp. harmonics.

You also get oblique room modes but since their amplitudes are much attenuated, if you treat the axial room modes you pretty much are going to resolve 90% or more of your issues.
It would be a good idea to treat the room for deep bass & mid-bass (even tho' you are unlikely to get deep bass response in such a small room) so that you get a more even spectrum after-treatment response. Once you treat the room for bass you'lll have to listen to ensure that your music doesn't sound tipped up in freq (meaning to say you killed the bass too much & the music sounds thin). Treatments for the 300-500Hz region & also higher might be needed. All of this will be iterative once you treat the room & listen - it's a balance between too much & too little.