Dedicated listening room design

For my tastes I don't want to listen to either reproduced or live music in an acoustically dead room. Theaters are different because you've got multiple surround speakers creating reflections and ambiance you'd normally hear naturally in a lightly or untreated room. To each his own as usual.

Thanks so much guys, and by the way I should probably mention this is first and foremost a 2-channel audio system (our home theater is upstairs) although I may run some surround channels at some point in case I ever start experimenting with multi-channel music. I'm absorbing all of this and will get the books and contact at least a couple of the people you recommended. Duke's first sentence pretty much summed it up nicely, and what I know about construction in general (much less construction of a good listening room) could fit on the head of a nail. So all this info. is fantastically helpful, and by all means keep it coming.

So, for several reasons (cost, I might not be in this house for a long time, etc.) I've decided to do this on my own (with a contractor) without using an audio room design expert. I got all the books and have begun going through them. There's a lot there and I've got a lot more reading to do, but even at this early stage I had some major questions I was hoping some of you may have some thoughts on.

- I have to decide what materials to use in constructing the walls and ceiling. It would be particularly helpful if you could recommend specific products that have worked well (i.e. wall type/thickness/installation techniques, ceiling tiles type/installation, acoustic caulk, flooring tiles, carpeting, etc.) and where's good to purchase them.

- I'd also like to incorporate some sound isolation to the extent that I can, although I probably don't have all that much in the budget to do it. The ASC Isodamp system seems like a good one, but wondering if anyone has experience with this or if there is a lower cost and/or easier way to achieve a lot of those benefits? Also seems like it may eat up some space in my room, which is not a deal breaker but not optimal. Specifically I'm wondering if there's some kind of acoustic damping material I can just apply between the studs and walls(and between two wall boards if doubling up is recommended)/ceiling tiles to achieve at least some kind of isolation if something like the ASC stuff is out of my range.

- After I have the walls and ceiling up I'll need to incorporate some room treatments. Anyone have any opinions on ASC products versus RPG (or any others for that matter)? They seem to use different technologies that affect sound differently. Also is one significantly more expensive than the other to accomplish similar results?

- I'm getting mixed signals on the floor. Some prefer some form of wood flooring with area rugs while others prefer tiling/cement with wall-to-wall carpeting. I'd prefer the latter for practical reasons, but wondering what your experience is.

My first priority is sound quality in the room, but if I can achieve a good amount of soundproofing without adding several thousands to the cost of the project that would be a big bonus. Thanks again for all your thoughts and help.

I found the Geddes book to be very helpful. Fairly concise and mentions specific products he's used that work well, which was exactly what I needed.

Anyway, I've decided to do the resilient channels and was relieved my contractor has actually worked with them (I think mainly in commercial applications). However he's advocating using a single layer of drywall into the channels, and then a soundboard between the channels and the studs. My bias is to use two layers of drywall damped by liquid nails or green glue into the channels and the channels attached directly to the studs. Any thoughts on this? Thanks yet again for any thoughts.

Thanks for all your input -- most helpful as usual. I've decided to use Dietrich RC Deluxe resilient channels on the walls and ceilings, double 5/8" drywall w/ Green Glue between the sheets on the walls and double 1/2" drywall & Green Glue on the ceiling, wall-to-wall carpeting, and LED lights (contractor says they're the quietest w/ dimmer) if budget permits. R30 insulation or maybe special insulation, again if budget permits. Not sure about absorbers/diffusors yet, but I'll fight that battle another day after the room's done.

Thanks again, and I'll follow up with results after it's done in case anybody's interested.

One man's overdamped...

Personally, I've been in several highly-damped rooms and don't like them. For me they suck the life out of the listening experience, although I agree you can focus on the individual sounds since you don't have to be bothered with all those pesky ambient cues.

Anyway, after reading the Geddes book it was most helpful to learn that some reflections can be good (taste-dependent of course) and can enhance the listening experience if, like me, you like to hear those things. That's why I'm going with bare walls and was planning on diffusers on the side walls and absorptive stuff behind the equipment -- not sure what yet.

Problem - I really want dimmers and recessed lighting. I'm running dedicated lines and my builder is recommending LED lights, so I'm hoping that will somewhat mitigate the effects of a dimmer if I can find a good one. No? Do LED lights come in 120V, and are those the ones to get? Too many options sometimes.

I'm concerned about getting the junction between the ceiling and walls right since my builder isn't well-versed in these things and it could really screw up the works (I'm also concerned about his workers short-circuiting the hell out of my resilient channels as well).

This is exciting, but it's also more than a little frightening since a lot of these decisions can't be easily (or cheaply) reversed. Ugh.

Hi Kevin. Sorry I haven't posted back, but I've had the french drains installed, and the heat pipes replaced/moved so now I'm having the permanent generator insatalled which involves running elecrical and gas lines before putting up walls.

I got Toole's (and other's) book and they all have been very helpful. By the way, I'm very much onboard with diffusion in certain applications since that "live" type sound is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm working with and getting estimates from contractors to see what they're able to do, and I'll certainly report back once the walls are up. What I do know is that I'm incorporating all of the feedback I got from this site (and the books recommended) and it was incredibly helpful in intracting with contractors as it seems most of them are not really familiar with the kinds of things we audiophiles are looking for. Anyway, Happy Holidays to all.