I need help with my new home theater room. (1 Viewer)

[PaulW]

Hi all! Currently I am having a new house built and am going to have a bed room for my home theater room. I would like some advice on any sort of acoustic treatments I should use or any other feedback/suggestions.

Here are the room's dimensions: 10' 6" x 12' 8" x 9. If you goto here: http://www.ashtonwoods.com/communiti...&parentCity=35

You can see the layout of the house. My room is the one labeled "Bed Room 3". I was thinking I would put the TV and such on the wall opposite the closet in front of the window. My current speaker system is an Onkyo THX Home Theater System 1. It uses dipoles for the rears and has two 10" subwoofers.

Thanks,
Paul Widner

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

That’s how I’d do it. The dipoles are probably a good choice for such a small room. I’d put the seat with the back of it about even with the door, and the speakers to the sides of that. That will put them a few feet from the back wall, which the dipoles will need for proper dispersion. It’ll probably work best to put both subs in one of the front corners, although you may get good results by putting one in each corner.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Tom Jr]

This may be WAAAYYY out there, but have you considered the 'super bonus room'? That looks like a great place for a HT, and you'd keep your 3rd bedroom.

Otherwise, I agree with the aforementioned layout.

 

[PaulW]

Yah the only problem with the super bonus room is that it is all open to the stairs and hallway. *Yuck*

I really want an enclosed room for privacy and for all the audio reasons.

Any ideas on acoustical treatments that might be needed?


Thanks,
PaulW

 

[SethH]

Are you wanting to sound-proof the room in addition to acoustical treamtents or are you only concerned about the sound within the room? On a second floor you might consider some sound-proofing so that you don't drive the people downstairs crazy.

 

[Ryan*Pr*]

What is a good way to go about sound proofing instead of acoustical treatments to help it sound better?

 

[PaulW]

I would want to sound proof it as well as treat it internally. I am mainly worrier about the bed room behind my room

 

[PaulW]

So no insight on how you think I should sound proof as well as treat it sonically?

 

[SethH]

Here's a place that sells soundproofing material, although it's a little pricey. Some will argue that stuffing the walls with roofing material will work just as well. Also, search google and/or the forum for info on soundproofing the door. This is an extremely important part of soundproofing a room. The door should be solid and airtight. As for acoustical treatment within the room you should do a search again. You can buy stuff that looks like eggcrates that is often used in recording studios. It's not horribly expensive, but it's not cheap. It also has a low WAF. But do some searching as many people have come up with creative acoustical treatments.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Keep in mind that if you seal your room airtight, your air conditioner won’t work, You’ll need to install an air return.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[PaulW]

I'm really wondering what I might need to treat for. I've heard of bass traps but in what situations do I need to use them? With me using dipoles should the rear wall be treated or should I just treat the side walls? Based on my room and equipment what sonic problems might I have, how do I fix them?

Thanks,
PaulW

 

[SethH]

If you're going to have a sub then bass traps are probably a good idea. They usually fit into corners. The low frequencies have a tendency to build up in the corners and these will help alleviate that build-up. Hopefully someone will come through and recommend a good book for you to read. I know some have been mentioned, but I can't think of any. But there are a few that were written with a recording studio in mind, but a couple have chapters dedicated to HT.

Also, several people here advocate the laser pointer method. This involves sitting in your normal seat and getting someone to run a mirror along the wall. You shoot the laser pointer off the mirror. When the laser hits a speaker, that point on the wall where the mirror is located should be treated with some sort of sound absorbing material. This reduces the number of soundwaves that you get from the wall.

It's a pretty decent way to go about things, especially if you don't have the time/money to do it perfectly.

I'm not sure what to tell you about the dipole surrounds. Hopefully someone else will be able to help with that. You might consider, instead of deadening the back wall, putting up some bookshelves that will act as a diffuser. It will keep too much sound from returning to you, but will not absorb the soundwaves which would take away from the effect off dipoles.

You are planning to carpet the room, correct? If not, add that into the plans also. Or, a large area rug will work if necessary.