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Need guru advice to finalize acoustical treatment strategy
Dear home theater gurus,
I’m in the process of planning a new house and, of course, home theater. I’ve spent many hours on the forum, and now have a vague sense of my options. I’m hoping some of you can take a few minutes to help me firm things up re acoustical treatments. (I’ve posted a separate question re noise isolation.)
Since I'm a new user the forum will not let me link to a sketch, so here is a description of the basic layout:
The room is about 18’ long, from the screen wall to the rear wall. The room will be about 13.5’ wide. The ceiling will be 8’ high. The first seating row will be about 10’ from the 92" screen. The second row will be 1.5’ from the back wall. There will be no risers.
Please also note that the screen wall will have an opening to the closet, so that I can access the DVD player, receiver, etc. The opening will be below the screen, about 18” high and about 8’ long (and would be closed with glass doors). (I’ve planned the closet equipment shelf opening so as to avoid IR repeaters, see the cable box channel display, easily load DVD’s, etc.) The closet will have a vent to an exterior room. There are also a door and window in the rear wall.
The projector will be mounted on a rear wall shelf. The speakers will all be wall- mounted KEF KHT6000s (6.2 configuration). I’m not sure where the sub should sit.
Here’s my acoustical treatment strategy:
Font wall: I know the general rule is to treat the front wall with lots of absorptive material, but I’m wondering if this would be a mistake given that the KEF 6000s are specifically designed to be wall-mounted—i.e., their design probably already compensates for rear-wall reflections.
Rear wall: Curtains backed with thick blackout shades along entire wall, for diffusion and light control. I know having the rear seats so close to the rear wall is not ideal, but I want to maximize seating. Should I add more diffusion behind the curtains (e.g. with some foam products from partsexpress.com)?
Side walls: 1” OC 703 velcroed to the walls to 48” from floor (i.e., to ear level). Note, however, that the LEF 6000s will be wall mounted. Does that mean I should adjust the OC 703 on the walls? If so, how?
The whole wall would then be covered by a light curtain (i.e., like at a modern movie theater). Hopefully I can use something inexpensive and pre-made (i.e., not GOM). I don’t want to make the room too dead, but I don’t see how the thin curtain material would be any more absorptive than the cotton batting lots of people are using on the walls.
Ceiling: No treatment.
Floor: Wood subfloor with pad and carpet.
Rear corners: Bass traps, consisting of 2 layers of OC 703 at 45 degree angle to wall. They would start about 4’ up, and extend to the ceiling. I’m not sure I can fit 2’ wide panels, but I assume any width is better than nothing. Should I stuff the traps with something to add mass?
2 final miscellaneous questions:
Projector shelf: I’m planning on a Panasonic PT-AX100U, which is supposed to be pretty quite. Nonetheless, would it do any good fine to line the inside bottom of the shelf with OC 703? I don’t think I need to bother with an entire hush box.
Subwoofer: I’d like to keep the subwoofer (or maybe 2 subwoofers) away from the front wall, so that the kids can use the area. I know I’m supposed to do the subwoofer seating position test for optimal placement, but at this point can anyone opine on whether it may be OK to place the sub(s) along the rear walls, about 4’ from the corner?
Thanks to all who take the time to help. I’m eager to for your feedback.
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