There are obviously many, many issues involved in constructing a good-sounding room, and room dimensions is only one. As long as you don’t design a room that’s nearly square then there are probably other factors to address that may be even more consequential to your ultimate result. The best advice I can give is to educate yourself on at least the basics and principles of constructing a good dedicated listening room. Knowing just the basics will put you in a MUCH better position to make critical decisions even if you end up working with an expert. I went through several books, etc. in trying to get a handle on this myself, and BY FAR the best thing I did was read Premium Home Theater: Design and Construction by Earl Geddes (no longer in print, but you can download it at gedlee.com). Don’t let the title fool you — this book is as relevant to building an audio-only room as it is to HT as the design principles are largely the same. More than any other source I found, this book explains both the theory and practice of designing and constructing a good-sounding room in a very approachable way so even a layman like myself can easily understand and comprehend them. And it also gives specific recommendations on the actual products to buy to complete a project, which I found most helpful. Before I read the book I didn’t even know what a resilient channel was, but now I’m confident I could instruct any contractor how to build a very good-sounding room (and I know nothing about construction). Even if I wasn’t building a listening room I’d find Earl’s book to be an interesting read. After all, I think most of us would agree that the room is one of — if not the — most influential components in our sound systems, so why not get a little smarter about it? Hope this helps, and best of luck with your project.
Listening Room Dimensions... I'm building one and need your help
Sounds simple but I'm having a hard time coming up with most 'ideal' dimensions for this dual -purpose room that I'm building this year (hopefully).
Purpose #1:
listening room for 2-ch hi-fi
I have BIG speakers- several pairs
*ideal is approx 25'x40'x12'
*want to sit 6-10 people in prime listening area
Purpose #2: (other side of the room)
band rehearsal area (loud guitars, drums, keys, PA system, lots of
*ideal is...bigger the better
- I've read really good threads about general guidelines especially from Doctor Fine- hope he jumps in...
- I know the Cardas, and other rule ratios. But this room is a combination room so I'm not sure how much that changes anything
- I know I'll probably have to use quite a bit of sound treatment
My first inclination before research was 30' x 50' x 11'.
What dimensions would you recommend and why??