[Brad D]

Help please!?! :-)

I need to choose the ceiling for my house theater very soon and I can not decide which type/pattern to choose! I really want a drop ceiling for maintenance, etc...

I want Armstrong tiles (local dealer) and need to figure out which pattern to use! One pattern I like (single raised panel) does not have the top acoustic properties.. Does it matter much since any tile will have better absorption than dry wall? We are doing 100% carpet flooring also..

I am looking to get the thinner rails to help hide the grid - would there be a problem with this?

What panels do people typically use? I want the ceiling to look very good and it is not only a home theater. Anyone have pictures of their home theater with drop ceilings? I have searched and found a few..

Thank you!!
Brad

[Robert_J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad D

One pattern I like (single raised panel) does not have the top acoustic properties.. Does it matter much since any tile will have better absorption than dry wall?

By sound absorption, you mean that it doesn't reflect the highs as much as drywall. Because that is true. And since it is lighter than drywall, it will not contain the bass inside your theater room like drywall. I have drywall and no issues at all with reflections.

I've been browsing pictures and build logs of home theaters on the net for 10 years and have need no more than a handful of drop ceilings.

-Robert

[Brad D]

I have seen quite a few drop ceilings which look very good but I am curious about the patterns selected, etc...

[Vin_G]

Brad,

Don't do it! Drop ceiling that is. As Robert mentioned you will not be able to contain the bass in your room. When I built my first home theater I built drop ceiling so that I could have later access and drop ceiling does not allow sound to pass through as it is de-coupled from the floor joists above. However, I had the worst sounding HT ever! The bass just escaped the room. I may as well had been sitting on my driveway for the quality of bass sound.

I have spoken with many HT designers since and #1 is to make your room as strong and airtight as possible. This will allow the bass to pressurize the room as Robert mentioned. I know people say "you get more reflections" and that is true...for bass. The high frequencies reflect off of everything smooth anyways.

So the philosophy is make it strong and airtight (i.e. double drywall on walls and ceiling and outdoor entry doors), then deal with high-frequency reflections using a bit of acoustic paneling where needed.

As far as access, what I am doing on my current project is running good size conduit where video cables run as video cables are always improving.