Help me in designing my new audio room

http://www.masterson...howto/2002_08_15.htm
http://www.ehonline.com/archives/EHMag1201FEASmartSpaces.html
http://www.secondbeat.com/articles/july/room.html
http://www.audiorevolution.com/equip/roomtune/
http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/Loudspeakers&RoomsPt3.pdf

and many many more...

hey arj, the first three links are duds and the remaing 2 don't seem to cover everything in enough detail.
Cheers,
Ben

Somethng wrong with my copy/paste !!

Try the ecoustics.com (Speaker area) and audioholics.com sites for tips. NOt sure if i run across any "build a room from scratch" kind of articles . hence u might have to get all info on speaker placement & room damping and put your own guide together!. in case of specific questions, put them in the audioasylum tweak section as it has a wealth of information and the best experts on these subjects..

so research and give us the results as well

the following site seems to be quirky as i get it sometimes and sometimes i dont..

http://www.goodsound.com/howto/2002_05_01.htm

and another

http://www.audiophilecandy.com/news2.asp?article=12&type=info

but in the end placement and damping will give u the best results

well you tell me what is your room size and also what are ur speakers ( model no + manufacturer ) and what are u listening tastes and as well as how much are u ready to spend for complete consultance?

I can give you complete solution.

This is the right time for you because many modifiy the rooms for good sound now you have got a wondeful chance of building a room totally dedicated to music and movies so if u make this step perfectly then you can get the best sound of your system.

well dont hesitate for this opportunity.( my frank suggestion )

hey Sandeep,
let me clear this up.
am doing this for my dad as i know i will not be staying in this house for too long.
the interest am showing to this is purely because of a drive to learn. for this am not ready to spend money on and will appreciate all the help i can get by fellow members who are willing to be a party to this.

also because am in the process of building my first diy speakers i donot have any cash left for consultancy.
my consultants are my friends who can share their knowledge with me without having any strings attached.
i can understand ur monetary interest in this and thank u, but no thanks.
i will not pay for this project other than what's necessary for the builing cost and materiasl.

Cheers,
Ben

Hi Ben ,
I am going a bit off-topic here.

I remember reading sometime back about your final year
presentation.
how was it ? And what was the response of the audiance ?

Just keen to know cos the topic that you had choosen was interesting.

-- Viv

Ben,

Let me know your personal emailid . Will send you some attachments I have on Speaker design. Nothing great. Just basics. Take a look at it. Might find it helpful.

Best regards
Deepu

If possible do make the room asymmetrical in order to minimise standing waves. Avoid right angles at the corners. Place the speakers at the longer wall to minimise smearing. Avoid metal and glass that will tend to make the sound bright. Please make sure that the walls have built-in separate conduits for speaker and electrical wires.

These are simple tips that I have come across. Hope they help!

Hey Neutral,
i know what u mean.
u mean make the walls unparallel or in other words resemble a trapezium.
well, i talked it over with my dad and he said NO.
that's that.
regarding corners.
i'm getting cornices(plaster of paris) pasted on the ceiling borders.
however,
no such luck on the floor.
am working out the costs on getting wooden flooring done(only for this room)
and the wiring(speaker) will be done below the flooring with conduits for future replacement of wires if necessary.
Regarding ,glasss.there will be a large window pane on one side of the room.
however, i plan to use heavy drapes to annul any unwanted effects.

regarding the placement of the speakers .they will be placed at the smaller wall.
can u please give me a link regarding to how this efects the sound.
Cheers,
Ben


officially the room dimensions are 16'10.5" X 10'10.5' X 10'(LXWXH).

in a couple of days we will be placing a layer of bricks to make a layout and see how everything will look befor ethe load bearing walls go up.

the new rooom is going to be small compared to my present room which has the following dimensions.
24' X 14' X 10'(L X W X H)
Ben

Benkenobi,
There are two options to handling speaker placement on the smaller wall.
1. Sit close to the speakers to avoid reflections
2. Sit far from the speakers and put a non-reflective coating on the longer wall at the place where reflection would otherwise have occurred. I guess you can just use some Indian decorative wall hanging made of rope or cloth. That would absorb sound without looking out of place. After all, it's your father's home, not a studio.

BTW, my mother is a heart patient and for all the advice that I am giving you, I have to live like a mouse myself. My surround sound computer speakers spent their time sitting in front of me, not behind or beside me!

yeah,
i will be placing some damping material.
one of my friends(college buddy) runs a acoustic room design and acoustic material manufacturing firm.
said he'll try and help me out in this regard.
Cheers,
Ben


p.s the problem with placing speakers along the longer wall is taht if placed too wide they can cause a 'hole' in the middle of the soundstage. besides, my listening position will be too close ,not to mention the 5.1 setup which will occupy a very small place of the room relegating the operating area of the setup to be very limited and the number of people who will be able to enjoy a movie too will be not more than 2-3.

I had stereo in my mind. For a 5.1 movie, you would need to cover a lot of area.

well, yeah.
u see it is after all my parents house and i too am a movie buff.
i enjoy movies.
and hence my decision to go for placement of speakers along the smaller wall.

any comments on wooden flooring????anyone....
Cheers,
Ben

Hey guys,
just measured the room dimensions after setting a layer of bricks and the room dimensions are going to be like so....
12' X 16'5" X 10'(W X L X H).

take out an inch to 1.5 inch off the width and lenght dimensions due to plastering and paint work.
any comments on the dimensions cause they will start the brick work tom or the day after.
also do i need to keep the grounding of the room seperate from the rest of the house.
Cheers,
Ben

okay guys,
here are the decisions i have made so far regarding the room.
1> the dimensions are as mentioned in the previous post(10X12X16.5,HxWxL).

2> the next is the wiring is going to be finest quality available from Finolex.

3> Flooring is going to be Vitrified tiles(mostly(2 feet X 2 feet, each).skirting will also be the same tile.

4> wall thickness is like this. the wall opposite to the front speakers is going to be 6inches(after plastering)and the other walls are going to be 9-10 inches.


The problems i am facing is to find space for a hifi rack which i will buy soon after i shift to the new room.

also what about grounding.
should i get seperate grounding done for this room ???
Cheers,
Ben

come on guys. am hardpressed for time.
the construction has already started.
they have started rasing the pillars and the load bearing walls too have started to come up.
so please, let me know ur thoughts.
Cheers,
Sachi

benks, I would prefer separate grounding myself - that way, if there are ground faults in other eqpt in other parts of the house (which is not all too uncommon), then the expensive AV eqpt would be spared. Consider running a separate ground wire right down to the earth pit.

Thanks Ravi. i will push for a seperate gounding done as it will need only a seperate wire to run from a pit dug next to the one which will be used fo rthe rest of the house.
Cheers,
Ben

hi Benks you want wooden flooring or wooden panneling contact me..my bro is into it....you can save $$$$ and buy me some beer in the savings.... ..boouuurrrppp

Hi Benks,
See if you can meet Murthy for some advice on room design and treatments, speaker placement etc... He has been into this before you and I were born.Incidently, he has the best room I have heard music in.
Contact prithvi for his contact info.He makes bass traps also.

Prithvi did mention Murthy's room. i will check it out in due time.
as for bass traps....i actually don't believe in them anymore....more so because u will need obnoxious looking contraptions in the room which i don't intend to have..but , yes i will see what other things he has in mind.


besides,
have already looked for cornices made of POP (bot the supposedley acoustic variety)..but nonetheless pop for my ceiling
. a carpet will be used for the floor and ofcourse a drape will be used for the only one window and focussing lights like in a theater will be put.
thought of making wall space available for a projector screen and also wiring done for a projector to be mounted from the ceiling for future expansions and wiring also for a Plasma TV.

ur thoughts on this will be most welcome..
Cheers,
Ben

Bass traps are an absolute nessesity if you want to fine tune your room. Normal room treatments/deadening basically eliminates ringing and echoes which is okay for the midrange and upper frequencies but the reflections in the lower frequencies still remain.When bass frequencies bounce around in a room they generate standing waves. Standing waves are pressure nodes created when a sound wave reflected from a wall collides with the direct sound emanating from the loudspeaker.I agree bass traps can look very bad..:)It seems there are some nice looking ones available thse days abroad but they are expensive.
I am not an expert in room acoustics so you better talk to someone who has seen and done it all before you part with your cash. Some of these so called acoustic treatments are not very effective and may not be very suited for your room also.Better talk to prithvi or murthy who has done it before and get/do the right stuff.

Dear Bens

A Helmholtz Resonator is the best way to go.

With a simple MLSSA test you could build one for less than Rs. 1000.

Let me know if you are interested I will help you build one.

Regards,

Junia.

Dear Benks,

You might want to check out http://www.audioholi...esonatorabsorber.php

Regards,

Junia.

Hi Benks,

You could try using a rolled up sheet of foam in the corners.

Maybe not the prettiest of sights, but quite cost effective.

Cheers

Hey guys,
let me get one thing straight. i don't want to modify the room excessively cause then i lose out on naturalism.
u see, when u click a glass with ur finger u know the kind of sound it emits. now if u do the same thing in a heavily dressed up room it is going to sound out of place and strange. so i don't want to lose out on naturalism.
and getting back to the issue at hand... yes i know big_ears and hence my hesitaion to use it in the room.
the other thing is that these are all treatments which can be done anytime i want to.
the issue which i am more concerend with are those things that i will be unable to change after things have gotten underway, like flooring,wirign, wall thickness and stuff like that.
acoustic accessories can be done anytime i want to. u get what i am telling?
any suggestions on this will be more than welcome.
Cheers,
Sachi

Ben ,
You can also have a look at the Dolby website. They too have some tips.
I also read that using drapes and carpets can be a plus on the room accoustics.

-- Viv

thick drapes that cover glass windows and other room cavities definately are a plus.

A soft comfy sofa does good as well. Most rooms have a centre table with a glass or marble top. If that can be avoided, well and good.

rugs/carpets in front of your speakers are a boon.

Just the basics and your system can sound so much better.

benks, nothing wrong with bass traps as long as you dont over do it. Just make sure you dont over-damp your room with any of the above.

manek.

using drapes and carpets is an excellent way to reducing a lot of resonance and can go a long way in making your system sound better. I made it a point to ensure that my front speakers had a carpet facing them so some sound would be absorbe...

Of course u walk into my room now and one would imagine that gravity is playing some kind of a very mean game with me... a carpet on a wall!!

What to do what to do.. im an audiophile are you?