HT room new construction - room treatments, etc

Michael Green of roomtune fame makes a line of adjustable tuning devices called pressure zone controllers they are very effective easily installed and are available at demo prices from www.audiorevolution.com. I thought the original room tunes were good these are considerably better. Also reviewed on audio asylum and soundstage magazine.
The 4 corner controllers are the most important part of the system

Jeff,

I recently constructed a sound room/HT and built my own room tunning devices. I also isolated my sound room from my family and neighbors. The best way to keep the sound from escaping is to build a room inside a room. I did this and left a 1" gap between them. I also used a sound dampening product that is carried by Home Depot. It's the same size as sheet rock and is composed of cardboard and horsehair. If I remember, the stuff was made in Canada and was about $10 a sheet. Use 5/8" sheet rock, 2x6's with R19, ton's of sheetrock screws and don't forget to leave that 1" gap.

I believe that most all room tune devices are very simple and inexpensive to make, but do take some time. Most people can build a tube trap, but will have major difficulties designing a loudspeaker or putting together an amp. I'd spend your money on electronics and have some fun experimenting with room tuning devices. The one device that made the most difference were Room Lenses. They take up little space from a room and can be very easily moved around to suit your needs. By moving them an inch or so, makes a difference in sound. It is recommened to have at least three. Here is a link to Argent Room Lens article my Doug Blackburn of Soundstage.

http://www.soundstage.com/noisy14.htm

If you are interested in building them let me know and I'll direct you to step by step directions and pictures of my finished products if you like. I also added some wall panels that were also of the DIY nature by John Risch. Have fun during your constuction and enjoy your finished product.

Denis

I built a media room and started looking at some of the acoustic companies but was totally turned off by them. Many quoted a high fee just to tell me what they were going to sell me. When I started talking to acoustical engineers I found that most of the prepackaged material sold by these companies were no better than off the shelf products at 5 to 10 times the price. Acoustic caulk at 30 to 50 bucks a tube.
There are many techniques I used. Double drywall on ceiling and walls. Angled ceiling for sound reflection. Rubber strips on furring strips in the ceiling to separate the ceiling from the drywall. On the floor a layer of cork covered by second subfloor. Fiber commercial pad under carpet. Between studs glue in sheets of thin insulation board and use blown in insulation. Where wood meets wood use a concrete synthetic caulk. Good luck

I feel somewhat compelled to respond to Ksales. Unfortunately, what he says is likely true, and it really bothers me because this truly is the demise of acoustical engineering companies. What value are they bringing the customer, if only to charge more than what the customer could get otherwise? Our company does not sell or manufacture acoustical treatment products. We design the room--that's all. In doing this, it is our best interest to design the room with our clients best interest and budget in mind. Most of our acoustical treatment can be found at Home Depot. The raw materials for acoustical treatment are not expensive generally. The expense is in the labor and design of the products. We can provide the designs for what is needed for clients that either want to build themselves or have a contractor that will build to specifications. The acoustical products are still useful, in that frequently they provide an easy solution when a room already exists and the client does not want to build anything or have a contractor come in. In these cases, we still provide the designs, but have the client purchase the products directly from the manufacturer or local dealer. We do not take part in this transaction--thus there is no mark-up for the client.
I am glad Ksales brought this point up. I had suspected that this may have been a perception (and reality for some companies).

Rives,perhaps you can speak about these room de-couplers. My basement room is below our family room,which is two story vaulted. The entire downstairs is an open floor plan, and all upstairs bedrooms open to a bridge over the downstairs. In other words, low frequency that gets to the room above gets to the WHOLE house, and I like to listen to music and movies pretty loud. The basement is already framed with two by sixes, so I can use a good bit of insulation in the spaces around the theater room. The question is: how effective are these room de-couplers to further confine low frequencies from getting out and bothering people in the rest of the house, versus just screwing one or two sheets of 5/8 drywall to the studs with insulation in the spaces. Thanks to all of you for your responses.