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Help Building an Audio Room

Hi All

I have been allotted a 15x15 x 10h room in the corner of my basement by the wife.
While I’m very happy to have a dedicated audio room, I have some questions and concerns. I’m hoping you all might be able to help. 

1) Three of the walls are poured concrete.  The space has crazy slap eco already and the 4th/back wall is not even closed in yet.

I am having the walls framed in, insulated, electrical, drywall etc. I am thinking of having them frame and build one wall an additional distance off the cement wall some amount so the room is not a square

Is that a good idea?  If so, how much out of square does it need to be to benefit from not being 15x15? Is 15x14 enough? Should I go for 15x13?  I can set up the speakers about any way I would like. 
 

2) Next question.  Should I have them install a certain type of insulation behind the drywall?  Money is an object, but now is my chance to build the room the best way I can within reason and to offset the square room I’m starting with. 
 

3) Anything else I should consider before/as they begin to frame, etc? 
 

Thanks very much!
 

jo1mtb
henry53's avatar
henry53
280 posts
 

My dedicated room is a little smaller the false wall is a great solution.  I put in fully opening wardrobes along the back wall, packed them with shelves and clothes and dedicated home made base traps. Opening the doors when playing music helps with base control, in fact opening the doors at say 45 degrees also creates a non square room. 

designsfx
788 posts
 

@dlcockrum-

I’ve been watching this thread just to see the advise and approach of others as I built a small listening room 10 years ago (it’s really small). I hadn’t used the tools at Bob Gold’s or other sites at the time but I did hire an acoustic engineer. My space turned out pretty well using the calc on his site- it wasn’t a perfect curve but fairly close to optimal with no bad check marks. I didn’t go into depth with the absorption panels and such but it’s pretty cool! Thanks for the lead to that site- it’s a great resource!

millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 

Asvjerry, DBA works best with everything. 
Cheers!

ronboco
753 posts
 

@jo1mtb 

I highly recommend you contact Jeff at hdacoustics. He specializes in smaller rooms and it would be well worth your time to get a design quote. His prices are very reasonable. My room is almost the same size as yours with a shorter ceiling height. He designed my room and I built it and it sounds amazing ! I have some construction pics on my page if you would like to take a look. Good luck !

 

Ron

ronboco
753 posts
 

@jo1mtb 

One other point. I think you can get great sound out of an almost square room. It all depends on how you build it. That’s where the expertise like Jeff has becomes invaluable. My room has no drywall on the inside of the room and I utilize a corner setup. I have no reverb to deal with as all absorption is built into the walls and ceiling. If you are in Colorado you are most welcome to come by and have a listen. 

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