Will these dimensions be ok?? (1 Viewer)

[Brian Schucher]

Im building a house and im going to convert the garage into a dedicated HT. The actual dimensions are 20x20x10 but im going to seal the garage door and build a wall out 3feet which the 65" TV will be recessed into. The dimensions then are 17x20x10 Will these be good for audio?? Any changes i might make to these dimensions to help??

 

[Mike Burke]

You really want to stay away from a square room in all situations. For a 20ft long room, 14 feet wide and a 8ft ceiling is a typical and acoustically a good starting point.
The room should be about1.5 times longer then wide.
A great source of info on Theater Construction is over at AVSForum.com...there is an H.T. Architect named Dennis Eskerine (I think I spelled that right)..look for some of his comments...he does AWESOME work!!!!!
Good Luck
Michael

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

There are a number of 'magic ratios' that are used to calculate acoustically ideal room dimensions. Mike's point is very important - having dimensions of the same length or multiples of each other will create numerous standing wave problems that will have the room boom and bust all over.
I'm not sure about using a ratio of 1.5 - that can generate dimensions that are multiples of each other. Say starting with 10' your next dimension would be 15' - both multiples of 5. The goal is to have unique dimensions that will not evenly divide into one another.
Another ratio I seem to recall is 1.67. So again start with the height (as that is usually the limiting factor). For 10' height the next longest dimension would be 16.7' and then the next at 27.89 - which obviously introduces a problem for your particular space. That's why there are other ratios that you can play with. I'm sure someone will be able to provide these.
There is another solution, depending on how serious you are about this. RPG Acoustics has a software program called Room Sizer. Simply enter the minimum and maximum dimensions for your area (you already know your max is 20/20/10, your minimum would be the required space necessary to seat X number of people and properly position your equipment). The program then models different room dimensions and their acoustic implications within these constraints, and ultimately identifies the ideal solution (which you define as minimizing peaks, minimizing dips, or balancing the two). It retails for US$199, and you can download a demo version from the website (no solution is provided for obvious reasons). The limitation is that it is only appropriate for rectangular rooms. IMO it's a small price to pay as there is no turning back once the room is complete. The reward is a room that will (theoretically) allow the smoothest bass response, given of course that you properly position the speaker and listening positions.
Good luck.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
"You're no messiah. You're, you're a movie of the week. You're a ... t-shirt, at best."
[Edited last by Jay Mitchosky on October 29, 2001 at 09:13 AM]