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Acoustical Treatments Because the room matters

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  #11  
Old 10-25-2014, 02:03 AM
FlashG1 FlashG1 is offline
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I complement my 50+ year oak hardwood floor with a wool Persian rug on a thin pad which provides nice damping. Before I lived in home with solid slab floor and wall to wall polyester carpeting and rubber pad. I prefer the wood and wool.
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  #12  
Old 10-25-2014, 10:27 AM
rbbert rbbert is offline
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Many acousticians feel the best floor is hardwood, left bare aound the margins of the room with very absorbent carpet/rugs (thick padding) covering the area in the middle
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  #13  
Old 10-25-2014, 04:15 PM
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Alki Alki is offline
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My experiences indicate that there is no way that a room with hardwood will be acoustically equal to a room with carpet.

Many suggest that you can lay carpet (area rugs) down on the hardwood to help. Why then would one spend the money on hardwood just to cover it up. I see this in many peoples homes, they put in hardwood then cover up a large percentage of it with area rugs.

One last negative about going to hardwood is that it will leave you with less money in your bank that could be used to buy audio equipment or music.

Last edited by Alki; 10-25-2014 at 04:20 PM.
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Old 10-26-2014, 02:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alki View Post
My experiences indicate that there is no way that a room with hardwood will be acoustically equal to a room with carpet...
Just curious; why is the floor different from walls and ceiling? If the floor needs to be carpeted, why not those too?
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  #15  
Old 10-26-2014, 05:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rbbert View Post
Just curious; why is the floor different from walls and ceiling? If the floor needs to be carpeted, why not those too?
That's why people use acoustical treatment on wall and ceilings. The most important is to cover the first reflection points, on any wall, floor or ceiling.
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  #16  
Old 10-26-2014, 06:26 PM
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Yes, but they generally don't cover the whole wall or ceiling. My point is that the floor is really no different than those other room surfaces, and you can have too much or too little absorption there as with the others.
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  #17  
Old 10-27-2014, 10:37 AM
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Glenn Kuras Glenn Kuras is offline
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The problem with carpet is that it absorbs upper frequencies but does nothing for the lows, which low end is the largest problem in a small room. As a designer I think of carpet as a painter starting off with a canvas that is not totally blank. Sure I can and do work around it, but if perfection in room sound is what you going for, then I would use hardwoods with proper acoustics to have as even of decay times, across the board, as possible.
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  #18  
Old 10-27-2014, 04:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by antipop View Post

That's why people use acoustical treatment on wall and ceilings. The most important is to cover the first reflection points, on any wall, floor or ceiling.
This would have been my response.
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  #19  
Old 10-27-2014, 04:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rbbert View Post
Just curious; why is the floor different from walls and ceiling? If the floor needs to be carpeted, why not those too?
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbbert View Post
Yes, but they generally don't cover the whole wall or ceiling. My point is that the floor is really no different than those other room surfaces, and you can have too much or too little absorption there as with the others.
Remember my original post suggested that why pay lots of money taking out carpet and replacing it with nice expensive hardwood only to cover it up to achieve better sound. It comes down to practicality and in many cases the WAF. It is not common for people to selectively treat ceilings and floors. Most audio dealers do not treat the ceiling and have carpet on the floors which it OK by me as it will represent a typical home setup.

If you were to have two identical rooms with identical equipment; the only difference being carpet on the floor in one and hardwood on the floor in the other I would be "floored" if most would select the room with hardwood. I know I would not as I have heard the difference.

Last edited by Alki; 10-27-2014 at 04:46 PM.
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  #20  
Old 10-27-2014, 05:06 PM
bigblue bigblue is offline
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I have had the privilege to visit some of the most extreme showrooms and private music rooms in Sweden and with out exception there is a hard wood floor. Some have tuned it with a smaller rug. Could be a cultural thing with regards to how we think of "the perfect sound".
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