I've been muffled and I can't take it any more! (1 Viewer)

[Dave Kalloch]

OK, here goes: built a very quick HT in the basement of the rental house I just moved into. Sound board on walls and ceiling covered with low pile carpet walls floor and ceiling (got it cheap).Problem:too much sound absorbtion.
Having trouble getting good sound from center and rears. Seems I need to place some reflective surfaces in key locations. Any ideas would be appreciated
Room dims: 10wx14Lx6.5h
center below screen
rears high in corners :frowning:

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Dave,

First, welcome to the Forum!

The carpet on the floor and ceiling is a good thing.

At the risk of sounding obvious and perhaps simplistic, why not just rip the carpet off the wall and put up some sheetrock?

Good Luck,

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Chip_Slattery]

Dave,

You want your room to be reflective above ear level and absorptive below. I would take Wayne's advice and rip out the carpet above roughly 4' and throw up some sheetrock.

There are many other things you could do, but as it's a rental you probably don't want to go crazy.

Just eliminating some of the carpet should make a noticeable improvement.

 

[Dave Kalloch]

Thanks guys, thats where I was going my self, just thinking about something low cost that I could attach to the current surface, maybe a thin laminate or similar material. Just hate to rip up the carpet as it has some sound deadening qualities to keep the neighbors happy.

 

[Jim Mc]

Drywall would be the cheapest thing you could mount. Why else would builders use it?

 

[John_Robinson]

It's been my experience that, while carpet is a good reflection-killer, but doesn't really do much for stopping sound going THROUGH the walls. I'd recommend taking some of it down (particularly in the zone between you and the speakers). If you want a denser wall, you could always add some drywall to the carpetless spots. Better still, pull off all the carpet from the walls, put up drywall all around, and then reapply some of the carpet. The denser walls will stop sound better than the carpet -- and then the carpet can help you mitigate the reflections in the room.