I'm planning the build of a new house where I will dedicate a room for music. I seek ideas and experiences for setting requirements and implementing such room for best possible reproduction of music.
At this stage I seek maybe more general aspects on a room and its fundamental design rather than detailed insight which would require optimization for a certain speaker make/model etc.
Some prerequisites:
- House will be made in concrete, floor, walls and roof. Concrete slab with styrofoam isolation. Walls will be 40-50 cm thick (passive house).
- I'm up for integrating a bass system into the foundation of the house.
- Size something like 35-45 sqm and 3 meter roof height.
- Quite large window - 5x2,5 meter
I'm thinking:
- None parallel walls for reduced standing waves.
- 2-4 100 litre cavities in floor for sealed bass enclosures for 12/15 inch woofers.
- Only one window.
Crazy things:
- Faraday cage
- Concrete pillar, attach to ground, separated from structure to place CD on.
- Bass horn in the slab
- ...
You think?
//
At this stage I seek maybe more general aspects on a room and its fundamental design rather than detailed insight which would require optimization for a certain speaker make/model etc.
Some prerequisites:
- House will be made in concrete, floor, walls and roof. Concrete slab with styrofoam isolation. Walls will be 40-50 cm thick (passive house).
- I'm up for integrating a bass system into the foundation of the house.
- Size something like 35-45 sqm and 3 meter roof height.
- Quite large window - 5x2,5 meter
I'm thinking:
- None parallel walls for reduced standing waves.
- 2-4 100 litre cavities in floor for sealed bass enclosures for 12/15 inch woofers.
- Only one window.
Crazy things:
- Faraday cage
- Concrete pillar, attach to ground, separated from structure to place CD on.
- Bass horn in the slab
- ...
You think?
//
Attachments
I don't know. But I realize its a problem if one would like to integrate something into the base structure. But again, a cavity 50cmX50cmX10cm is 50 liter.
I don't own any land yet so topology and if a basement is possible is unknown. I plan for a one level house. But if terrain would slope, some room might be available.
//
I don't own any land yet so topology and if a basement is possible is unknown. I plan for a one level house. But if terrain would slope, some room might be available.
//
Some years ago I had a long conversation with Sam Toyashima, a highly regarded recording studio designer. He told me that the best flooring design consisted, from the prepared soil upward, of a fibre glass sheeting, followed by closed foam insulation board of highest possible thermal resistance to loss, the concrete slab followed by more insulation board with a fully floating floor over that. The best flooring is very thick maple.
Such a specification would cost as much as many a small house!!!.
The only advice I would give is that the room proposed is almost square and that is as far as I know about as bad as is possible for room reverberations. Please do some research on this aspect of the design.
My own room is almost as bad being 35' x 17.5'; but it just happened to have a good floating floor on 140mm foam board above and below the concrete slab. The floor surface is 22mm board laying directly on the upper insulation board and not touching any wall. But still a much lower spec than Mr Toyashima would advise!
Incidentally, he also related the story of a studio with an occasional bass problem. It transpired that the studio was built on rock and that some 13 miles away a railway line shared the same rock strata for a journey time of some 5 minutes.
Good luck with your new home.
Such a specification would cost as much as many a small house!!!.
The only advice I would give is that the room proposed is almost square and that is as far as I know about as bad as is possible for room reverberations. Please do some research on this aspect of the design.
My own room is almost as bad being 35' x 17.5'; but it just happened to have a good floating floor on 140mm foam board above and below the concrete slab. The floor surface is 22mm board laying directly on the upper insulation board and not touching any wall. But still a much lower spec than Mr Toyashima would advise!
Incidentally, he also related the story of a studio with an occasional bass problem. It transpired that the studio was built on rock and that some 13 miles away a railway line shared the same rock strata for a journey time of some 5 minutes.
Good luck with your new home.
Hi,
Its a lot more complicated than your musings and
FWIW non-parallel walls hardly make a difference.*
Good fundamental dimension ratios help a lot.
Practically, 1 to 1.6 to 2.5, Or 1 to 2.5 to 3.2.
rgds, sreten.
* A triangular room by one or two reflections
becomes a rectangular box for standing waves.
Its a lot more complicated than your musings and
FWIW non-parallel walls hardly make a difference.*
Good fundamental dimension ratios help a lot.
Practically, 1 to 1.6 to 2.5, Or 1 to 2.5 to 3.2.
rgds, sreten.
* A triangular room by one or two reflections
becomes a rectangular box for standing waves.
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Toole looked at this in detail, and while there is no magic bullet shape for a (rectangular) room, avoiding dimension ratios that are even multiples of another is important -- irrational numbers are your friend.
dave
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