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HT Sound With Tile Floors (1 Viewer)

Junie

Agent
Joined
Jan 17, 2002
Messages
45
WHen I first set up my home theater I had carpet thorughout the house. Now I have tile and the sound is very different. I got the tile because of my two dogs and it is easy to keep clean with the tile and the tile makes for a very nice appearence. Befor I start fooling around with the settings, Iwould like to know what options I have. I sounds OK for now but I know it can be better. What can I do?

PEACE!!!!!!
 

Scott_G

Second Unit
Joined
Jun 18, 2000
Messages
268
Tile will give off a lot of reflections. You have a lot more sound bouncing off the tile. You could put in a couple of throw rugs and see how that sounds. You can test this by laying some blankets or towels around the floor.
 

Mike Brantley

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 1, 1998
Messages
202
Location
Mobile, Alabama, USA
Real Name
Mike Brantley
Maybe a big area rug on the floor will help, if that wouldn't be a problem with the dogs. Lots of big, overstuffed couches, loveseats, recliners, etc. could help, too, as well as acoustic treatments hung on the walls.

I also have a tile floor in my room and probably too many hard surfaces (framed movie posters) on my walls. It helped a lot when I put my two rows of theater seating and my rear speaker columns in, as well as various movie projectors and my equipment rack at the rear. It seems "breaking things up" helps the sound. I just hung velvet curtains on my screen wall, too, but I haven't had time to really listen to how that affected my acoustics.

My approach was not scientific and most assuredly is compromised. We have pets, too, and they live downstairs on the theater level. So I understand real-world considerations.

Good luck!
 

Junie

Agent
Joined
Jan 17, 2002
Messages
45
Thanks for your input. What king of wall treatments would be best and is there anything out there that would look good? I thought about getting a throw rug. Will it make a difference?

PEACE!!!!!
 

Mike Brantley

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 1, 1998
Messages
202
Location
Mobile, Alabama, USA
Real Name
Mike Brantley
Junie, maybe. Give it a try and see! As far as wall treatments, the only thing that comes to mine are drapes, but I'm sure there are other clever ideas up to and including carpeting the walls.

I see there is a another thread going on acoustic treatments, so you'll probably get some good ideas there.
 

Chad Anson

Second Unit
Joined
Feb 13, 2000
Messages
377
Acoustic treatments are very room-specific. That being said, there are some general rules of thumb. For example, you generally want to sound to be absorbed below ear level and reflected above it. You can build DIY sound panels, which are essentially sound-absorbing materials covered with acoustically transparent fabric (for aesthetics). I would avoid putting carpet on the walls ... compared to other solutions, it isn't as effective and is probably more expensive.

You can spend a lot of money here, depending how far you want to take it. If I were you, I'd first get some area rugs with a good non-slip pad underneath. That should make a pretty big difference. There really aren't any receiver settings you can tinker with that will make much of a difference.
 

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