Best finish for walls in a dedicated HT? (1 Viewer)

[Javier_Huerta]

Thinking in terms of aesthetics and acoustics, what is your favorite wall finish?

I'm thinking carpeting, although I'd suppose you'd need a very special kind of carpeting for it not to look like a party hall.

Has anyone tried leaving the bare wall? I'd assume this would be bad in acoustical terms (considering my walls will be plaster).

Any other finishes / detailing touches you are fond of?

 

[Jens Raethel]

I think its a matter of taste, I used a grey cotton fabric on my side walls.

 

[gregstaten]

Mine will have green fabric on the walls. (Two types, both from Guilford of Maine.) Guilford makes acoustically transparent fabrics and, as a result, the speakers can be completely hidden from view.
-greg

 

[Andrew Pratt]

If you go with fabirc how do you fasten it to the walls?

 

[RAF]

Bare walls are fine since you can use other items to handle the acoustics. In my case, a thick velvet drape at the front (behind the front soundstage) did the trick.

About the only negative thing I've ever heard about bare walls was the choice of paint type. I seem to recall a thread several years ago that talked about someone using a textured paint on the walls which resulted in a very harsh sound in the room. As soon as he sanded it down and painted it smooth the problem disappeared.

Just another thing to think about.

 

[tommy_t]

Guys if you go with GOM fabric check out--------www.silentsourse.com/acousticore-colorchart1.html

its GOM and its only 15.00 yard...

ts

 

[Dennis Erskine]

In the typical residential space, for multi-channel playback, your RT60 (reverberation time) will be too high and, too high by alot. Equally problematic is the reverberation time will not be flat (ie, at each 1/3 octave the RT60 will be significantly different).

This creates a myriad of problems affecting dialog, imaging, phasing, spatial reproduction, etc.

In order to solve this problem, a mix of absorptive materials (carpet, chairs, people, wall coverings) must be placed in the room to bring the RT60 into line (and a reasonable flat line at that).

It is also better to have absorption at ear level and below and reflection above. Therefore, in rooms with fabric treatments on the wall, you'll find the fabric is concealing various materials (generally something like Johns-Manville Theater-Shield, Insul-Shield Black or similar products from other manufacturers).

That is not to say hanging heavy curtains, tapestries, and the like will not be helpful...they are very helpful when contrasted to nothing at all. Paying someone to come in and install these treatments (on average) can run from $5K to $8K including materials. Having an acoustician (not a salesman from a high end retailer) determine what is needed and where will add to that number. So clearly "getting in right" is not a cost free choice.

If you are deciding if you should spend $10K on new speakers or $10K on fixing your room ... fix your room. If you budget is much less than this, like I said, anything is generally a remarkable improvement.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

It is also better to have absorption at ear level and below and reflection above

Dennis are you saying that it would be useful to have something like carpet ~ half way up the side walls then paint on the rest? I plan on having acoustic tiles on the ceiling as well as a drape along the lenght of the front wall behind the TV and speakers.

 

[Javier_Huerta]

Thank you all for your answers.

Dennis, yours was particularly interesting since I'm thinking about installing polycylinders on the upper half of the room and absorbers on the lower half. I have been thinking about calculating the RT of the room, but haven't found the time to do so (I haven't done it before, so I guess it'll take a while).

 

[Dennis Erskine]

Q. Would it be useful to have carpet on the walls?

A. Useful? Yes. Your best choice? No. You'll find carpet on my floors, not my walls. Carpet is a far, far cry better than nothing at all (meaning paint on dry wall). Carpet may be easier for a DIY'er to install and is likely less a budget hit than fabric over something like J-M Coated Insul-Shield Black.

 

[Jim Mc]

I did carpet my walls, all four. My intent during construction was to later velcro a mix of fabric covered acoustic panels absorbtive or diffusive.

I have been happy with and enjoying our theater. My wife and I think the theater sounds fine so it is hard to justify extra effort & expense without seeing a burning need.

 

[mark_th]

I put GOM on my walls and love the results. I used ceiling tiles behind it on the bottom half and Dacrom batting on the top. The material was actually pretty easy to put up and saved me from having to tape all that sheetrock. Instead of tape I caulked all the sheetrock seems. Overall I'm very happy with the results.