No "Room Correction" Topic option. Why?


I wanted to pose a question on room mods but do not see a logical place
to insert it so I am going with "Speakers" as a good, wrong choice.
Moderators, can you attend to this deficiency? 

My question: I am redoing my listening room in several ways.
Not because it was bad-quite the contrary. But because the room 
was a dark hole so I bought three new windows and replacement door.
The existing wall allowed rain water in from the patio floor outside.

 I started dismantling a 20' section of wall. As I opened the wall i found the
existing base plate-not treated wood, to be dust. Then mold on the drywall.
then termite evidence. 

Once the old crap was gone, I poured a concrete base plate 20 feet and another 6 feet
on the return. Termite damage had trashed the double sill plate and parts of two joists.

With all the wiring exposed I discovered an abandoned 220 a/c line buried in the wall.
Voila!  I had 2 dedicated 110v outlets for another part of the room. 

Might as well add 5 can lights while I was at it.

I upgraded the Streaming ethernet line from cat 5 to cat 7. Might as well
since I had sawsalled thru the old line. 
Then I learned that fiber is a better bet so I will be changing that later.

Another find! A buried abandoned entry door offering a 30" x 80" x 10" shelving
opportunity! 

I started this task by removing the old carpeting.

Now to my question. 

Shall I go with new porcelain tile flooring and plan on area rug -or-
put carpet back for its superior sound absorbing properties?

I hope someone out there has been down this road and has
an experience to share?

Thank you!


chorus

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

Sorry, to be clear, what I meant to say was:

The entire room contributes to the decay rates so in non-direct points, if you can't have enough absorption in one location you can mitigate it somewhat by adding elsewhere.  For instance, if you have big glass doors on one side, adding more damping around the room is called for.
The whole room matters, especially in non immediate reflection points.  I'd talk to GIK who can give you great advice and products, but it depends really.  If your whole room is well damped, rug over slate will work, but if the additional glass means you will be short of necessary absorption, go with carpet.

Also, one overlooked area for absoprition is the floor between and behind the speakers.  Damping this can often lead to a smoother sounding treble.