A big room

[timm]

Hi all. I have a naked basement and I want to kerplop 20.7s into it. I can create a room as large as 30x19. I can also create another room behind the 19' wall. My thought was to create a room 30x19 with a 10' opening in the middle of the 19' wall which would lead to another room about 16x19. So I thought I could place the Maggie's on the 30' wall shooting down the opening in the 30' back wall into the other room. Seated position would be about 15' from front wall.

So the room would look like a big T. The top would be the 30x19 and the leg of the T would be the other room. Seated position would be essentially the intersection of the top of the T and the leg.

Is this clear? Basically Maggie's would be 10' from side walls and 7' from front wall. 12' in front of the maggies would be the 10' opening in the wall. So the room becomes shaped like a big T. What do you think about setting up this way? Thanks Tim

[klao]

I'd make a more simple, rectangular room out of it, rather than the T-shaped one.

Personally, I like not-so-near field listening position. So, placing the speakers on the shorter wall would be my choice of setup.

My room is not as long, but its width is almost similar to your basement's shorter wall (19.5 feet). I wish it's a bit wider by a few feet, but this is good enough, I think.

[chessman]

timm, this is a golden opportunity to "do it right." You might want to consult with an acoustic firm about room design, built-in acoustic treatment, dedicated 20 amp wiring, etc. Heck, they might tell you a "T-shaped" room eliminates some bass problems or they might say it creates nightmares. Good luck!

[timm]

Yes. My problem w the room is posts. They are 13' away from the long wall running every 10'. This kind of pushed me into this T design. So if I wanted to hide the posts in a wall as an example - the room goes from 19x30 to 13x30. So I decided to work with the posts and include them in the room but have the seated position between the posts. In this way, the posts are not visible when listening. This also allows me to expand the width to 19'. There is no wall behind the seated position as it opens into another room. But the opening is 10' wide which correlates to the width of the speakers positioning.

I appreciate the input. Should ceiling be suspended acoustic tile or drywall? My hunch says acoustic tile w insulation in the ceiling.

[Alki]

Originally Posted by timm

Yes. My problem w the room is posts. They are 13' away from the long wall running every 10'. This kind of pushed me into this T design.

If this is your dream home and a long term living situation you could consider moving some of the posts. Sometimes this is easier than you might think, other times it is not feasible. Would not cost much to get a qualified opinion.

[crwilli]

I agree with Randy. Reach out to GIK for some guidance on dimensions.

You can save yourself money down the road by choosing the best dimensions inside your perimeter AND improve the sound of your room. I dont know how much you know about this - enough to ask - but your room is a huge part of your music reproduction system. Choose the dimensions just like you choose a piece of kit.

Then plan on putting in multiple dedicated 20 AMP lines.

Craig

[chessman]

Timm,

I had the post problem. I left the room open but boxed the post. Big mistake. Sound slips around a small round post better than a big boxy post.

The worst mistake was not hiring a structural engineer to advise on moving the posts until after I built out the room. Would have been simple before the buildout; too much hassle after.

Definitely go drop ceiling. You can get absorption panels that drop in and you can run cables over-head if need be. I, of course, spent money on a drywall ceiling before I knew better.

[timm]

That's a good idea about GIK. I all ready have some of their product. Why multiple 20 amp lines?

Oh. That is interesting about drop in absorption panels. Do companies like GIK sell those or are we talking about the soubd absorptive ceiling tiles from lowes?

[timm]

Originally Posted by crwilli

I agree with Randy. Reach out to GIK for some guidance on dimensions.

You can save yourself money down the road by choosing the best dimensions inside your perimeter AND improve the sound of your room. I dont know how much you know about this - enough to ask - but your room is a huge part of your music reproduction system. Choose the dimensions just like you choose a piece of kit.

Then plan on putting in multiple dedicated 20 AMP lines.

Craig

You r right Craig. I know enough to be dangerous. I have some gik 244s I believe and the thought was to create a space behind my listening position via the 10' opening in the back wall so that I was not sitting too close to the back wall. I thought the back wall would be composed of 2 gik 244s (along first 10') , then the 10' opening (my seated position), then 2 gik 244s along the last 10' of wall. The Maggie's would be positioned about 13' from the opening leading to the next room.

[chessman]

timm, just to prove I have made every mistake possible, I did not run any 20 amp lines when I had the room built out. Simple reason - I did not know any better. Now I have a dual mono amp with two cords, three subs that each sport a 2500 watt amp, and two racks of other gear. I desperately wish I had four 20 amp dedicated circuits on the same phase, two on the front wall and one on each of the left and right walls. Would have been easy before the drywall went up. Now, it would be a hassle.