Posted by Ferrstein (A) on January 12, 2009 at 06:43:19

Im about to move into my new home, and I have a choice of two rooms, neither of which are optimal. Please help me decide between the two. The summary of issues appears below:

Issue 1: Floor. Both are suspended floors on the second level. They both can seem a bit boomy if I stomp on them. Room 2 has a support I-beam directly below where the speakers will sit - I look at this as a win for room 2?

Issue 2: Size/shape. Room 1 is 11'x 17' x 7.5' with a window on what will be the right wall. Room 2 is 12' x 12.5' x 7.5' with hip ceilings and a window alcove behind the listener and a window along the left wall. I'm thinking the shape and window alcove mean this is a win for room 1?

Issue3: Interconnect run. Room 1 will require a 30' IC run to the amps, room 2 will require a 10' run. Win, room 2.

So, how should I weigh these issues? I can/will invest in some room treatments, but I'd like to start off with the best possible situation.

Thanks in advance, some more details are below:

Room 1:
Size/shape: Rectangular, 11' wide, 17' long, 7.5' ceilings
Setup: Speakers on the short wall, firing along the long axis. Equipment will be in an adjacent closet. Will require a long interconnect from the closet to the amplifiers at the other end of the room.
Windows: One, group of 3 small (15" by 48") windows on what will be the right wall, at the early reflection point.
Floor: Suspended wooden floor. Seems a bit springy, if I stomp a "boom" can be heard, but normal walking seems okay.

Room 2:
Size/shape: Squarish, 12' by 12.5', 7.5' ceilings, but with a bungalow hip roof. There is a square window alcove, about 3.5' by 3'
Setup: Speakers on the long(er) wall, seat at the window alcove (bad idea?) Electronics in an adjacent closet.
Windows: One window and the window alcove behind the listening chair. Small group of three windows on the left wall at the early reflection point.
Floor: Suspended wooden floor, but the speakers will be directly above an I-beam that is used to support the floor.

Speakers: full-range planar electrostatics.

• RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room - Ethan Winer 10:15:10 01/12/09 (4)
  In Reply to: RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room posted by Ferrstein on January 12, 2009 at 06:43:19

  Room 1 wins for sure, by a wide margin, because of the larger size and better shape.
  
  --Ethan
  
  

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  • RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room - Ferrstein 12:26:09 01/12/09 (3)
    In Reply to: RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room posted by Ethan Winer on January 12, 2009 at 10:15:10

    Room 1 does seem like the clear winner if it weren't for the floor boominess. I'm not even sure it'll be a problem. Hell, it might help! The boom is pretty low, guessing sub 30 Hz. Plus I use Planar speakers (Acoustats), so there is almost no moving mass... so the speakers are very unlikely to rock or dance around on the floor.
    
    I'm just hoping the floor doesn't get too excited by the sound and start resonating. Luckily the equipment closet floor is much more sturdy, so my LP12 will hopefully be okay. All four walls of the closet sit directly above partition walls down on the first floor. I can stomp on that floor and I hear nothing
    
    

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    • RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room - David Aiken 13:54:53 01/12/09 (0)
      In Reply to: RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room posted by Ferrstein on January 12, 2009 at 12:26:09

      There are platforms like the Auralex SubDude that are intended to prevent vibrations from subs causing the floor to resonate. You could use something like that for your speakers if you run into problems.
      
      
      
      
      David Aiken
      
      

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    • RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room - Ethan Winer 13:45:42 01/12/09 (1)
      In Reply to: RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room posted by Ferrstein on January 12, 2009 at 12:26:09

      If you set your speakers on isolation pads that may reduce coupling to the floor. I've used 2-inch thick pads of 705 rigid fiberglass for this type of thing.
      
      --Ethan
      
      

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      • RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room - Ferrstein 07:42:05 01/13/09 (0)
        In Reply to: RE: Pleae Help Me Choose a Room posted by Ethan Winer on January 12, 2009 at 13:45:42

        Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I will try some decoupling methods for the speakers. A friend of mine did this with some Acoustat model 3s and the resulting sound is great. He just put a slab of granite on top of carpet, and placed the speakers on that, with some squishy rubber things in-between the speakers and the granite. Really tightened things up and snapped the image into focus. His house doesn't have a boomy floor, but it still helped the sound.
        
        

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