Advice on building a dedicated listening room

[Mike-48]

After my warnings, a few more positive comments, this time on sound insulation:

If you have the space, you can use a resilient channel system. Equally effective except in the bass is sound-containing gypsum board, like QuietRock, which will save a few inches. For either to work, it must be installed according to spec and penetrations all must be sealed. For example, there is acoustic putty put around outlet boxes to reduce sound transfer.

If noise control from adjacent spaces is a high priority, it may be worthwhile to work with an acoustician who specializes in this. Also, there are many online resources about soundproofing, which you may find helpful.

If you are using batt insulation anywhere, mineral wool (Roxul) is better at sound absorption (and other things) than fiberglass. However, neither will do much at low frequencies.

If the room is effectively soundproofed, it will retain bass, and you may need (as I did) to use bass traps and DSP to shape the bass response and reduce boom. C'est la vie. In the end, I got outstanding sound in my basement room.

[Chad.Wagner]

I put multi zone heating/airconditioning in my theater room. It is nice to control the temperature separate from the rest of the home. My only problem is in winter I still want to cool when the rest of the home wants heat.
I also built four base traps into the corners of the room which where designed to match the room size.
I put in a bunch of dedicated 20 amp circuits, but I should have put in more.
I copied Ivan and made a room behind my equipment to wire the electronics.
My electronics are at the rear of the room even though I know it is better to keep the amps close to the speakers.
I also used flexible conduit for all of my wire runs which will allow upgrades in the future.
I have double stud walls with sound insulation and the drywall is hung on chanel with hangers on the walls and ceiling.
Give yourself lots of lighting control so you can adjust lighting themes.
Make sure you have multiple conduit runs for future fiber optic ethernet and cable runs.
I did rope lighting at the bottom of my riser and in the wainscoting in the ceiling.
I have fabric walls with panels behind the fabric with diffusers and sound panels with panels in the ceiling as well.
It is a lot of fun and it is worth while spending time planning it out.
Have fun!

[Jess]

Chad, any pictures of your room? Nothing like some inspiration!

[Chad.Wagner]

Originally Posted by Jess

Chad, any pictures of your room? Nothing like some inspiration!

[djwhog]

PS I added like 2x8s in side walls for refenforcment and to hand wall mounted side speakers. This gives options if you want that for surround at some point too.

I also added 2x6s you may need 2x4s in ever section to re-enforce the walls absorb vibration and add rigity and less hum etc. Most people just sheet rock and call it good, I say stud it staggered, insulate then rock... my 2/12 cents.

Lastly if you think you may add a projector etc over head now is a great time to add an outlet box and a conduit pipe to run cable from inside the ceiling to screens and or gear I ran several paths.

always fun starting off clean and fresh so many options, take your time and a lot of good offerings and ideas here for you from many others.

[audioguy3107]

Chad - fantastic theater, love the color, decor......the equipment rack(s) are very impressive!

- Buck

[Masterlu]

Chad... Super Theater! Well done

[W9TR]

Chad - awesome build!

Would the subfloor be for resonance/damping?

No, but that might be a nice benefit!

Subflooring performs two functions:
1. It is a thermal break.
2. It is a moisture barrier.

It keeps your room dry, warmer, and much more comfortable. Dimpled membranes when properly installed have pretty much ameliorated the moisture issues.

Mark - check out ARMTEC - they are a Canadian company so should be readily available.

Tom

[SCAudiophile]

Chad: STUNNING BUILD!!!!! That's one killer HT!!!

[Pampero]

I'd run some balanced connections for subwoofers from wherever I was going to put my rack to the expected places for the subs. I'd do this (to the mid or back of the room) even if I wasn't planning to install more than two subs initially. It's nice to be able to add subs or other remote equipment without worrying about routing cables across floors, and it's very easy and inexpensive to do during the construction phase. Belden or Mogami is all you need in the walls, no need to go too big on this sort of cabling. You would never build a studio without floor pockets or the ability to hook things up on a given wall. Same concept applies here.