I would rate my room a B plus or A minus at best. The dimensions are 19.8' wide, 33' long and 12' high. It is presently treated with 4 tube traps, 6 RPG panels and has 15 dedicated electrical runs, each with their own breaker, star ground system and Hubbell hospital grade outlets. The Analog system is all on one side of the 220V three phase electrical panel and the digital is on the other, to avoid interaction. I have two acoustic engineering companies working on the construction plans for this room right now. There will be a total room treatment performed that will address reconstruction from the wall studs out. There will be acoustic damping of any bad first and second order reflections, as well as standing waves. This all began because of a low flow water leak that slowly destroyed my foundation. Since it is necessary to tear the room out completely, past the pier and beam and down to earth, this is the ideal time. The extra (acoustical) work will be accomplished at my expense, at the same time the other construction is being done. Included are plans for audio grade, non conductive conduit to be run under the floor. These will allow safe passage for all the long runs of audio and video cables. There will also be a full feradine copper screen cage for the walls and floor, to stop RF and EMI, plus a patented acoustic treatment will be sandwiched between the triple layer sheet rock walls. On top of that goes one to four inches of 6 pound recording studio grade fiberglass, same as is going in the new NFL studios ( the same engineer is doing that job), and then acoustically transparent cloth goes on top of that. Cosmetically, the walls will appear to be covered in decorative fabric, less the welting and staples. This type of treatment is very new, using a guide track system that allows a razor thin line between the widths of fabric. The special fabric is pressed into each locking rail with a thin edged roller, with no other fasteners needed. I also have plans to build my surround sound speakers into the walls at this same time, so my current speakers hanging into the room on brackets will be sold. I am still trying to figure out what surround speakers to build into the walls, and am seeking advise from friends in the audio business. When this project complete in approximately 4 or 5 months from now ( I not beginning right now! ) I have hope that my room will become as close to A plus as a home can get, short of rebuilding the entire house from scratch. The hardest part of this will be removing and replacing my stereo system and all my software. My suffering during the construction will be made even worse by the equally long period of no decent music. I can only hope that in the end it will all be worth it.
How would you rate your listening room?
I think most people visiting Audiogon are familiar with Stereophile's equipment rating system. So, more or less using that system, how does your main listening room rate as to potential music quality? I've given this some thought, and at 14'W 22'L and 7.5'H, I'd rate my room as "B", mainly because of decent dimensions. With the addition of ASC treatment(s), which I've done, I'd upgrade it to "B+", and if I were to go to good quality monitor speakers (which I won't) with bass to about 40HZ, I could maybe upgrade the room to "A-". My room could never be full class A IMHO because of low ceiling height. I'd like 9 ft. ceilings and a 2-3 more feet of width. Also, as I like good sized near full range speakers (I have Vand. 3Asigs.), I doubt I'd be willing to go to smaller speakers. Have others thought of rating their rooms? Cheers. Craig.