[Rocket_Ronny]

Hi Russell:

Thanks for sharing. I hear you on the dipole bass. Dipoles are usually my favorite speaker type. But I am most likely going to have other speakers happening with the audio biz.

Rocket_Ronny

[mikeeastman]

Yes it is quieter than straight concrete because it has a layer of foam on each side of the concrete, plus whatever you finish the wall with inside and out with. Also you get very temperature stable building which is a plus in your cold climate.

  Mike   

[cheap-Jack]

Hi.

(1) but it's a walk out basement so there will be some windows and a door.

(2) There will also be a very large bonus room above the garage that I may end up using for showing audio with the HDAudio.ca business. That is the one of most concern.

(1) Walk-out basement is half buried in the soil, far better than anywhere above grade.

(2) You may use the "bonus room" as office & the basement for audio demo.

c-J

[JLM]

I've done 2x4 staggered stud walls with fiberglass insulation (very effective).  Window selection is paramount (had good experiences with Pella and Jel-Win, can barely hear the wind).  In my audio man cave, I used insulated exterior fiberglass door (with weather seals), lined/fiberglass insulated ductwork (can't hear the furnace 20 feet away).  Recommend all surface mounted electrical (the one mistake in my mancave was installing recessed can light fixtures, even with 30 cm of fiberglass above sound easily transmits from upstairs.

Remember that the less outside noise, the lower the noise floor, so the less ultimate spls needed (so turn that damn thing down  ).

[Rocket_Ronny]

Good points Jack and JLM.

If you are going to the trouble of soundproofing it does not pay to cut holes in the drywall for electrical. So surface mounted outlets and lights are a must like you said. Good point also on the lined air ducts.

Rocket_But my wife just wants to buy a built house and not build_Ronny

[Rocket_Ronny]

Is there a product, or solution, for dramatically absorbing the back wave of ported speakers which are close to a wall? Like in my computer rig setup?



Rocket_Ronny

[JohnR]

Yes. I call them "socks."

[Rocket_Ronny]

Ha, ha. I have used sport socks and dress socks, but prefer the sport socks due to sporty, lively, feel. Dress socks just seemed too uptight for me.

I don't want to plug the ports on the Volent VL-2s as they go down low, maybe -6 db at 28 hz. So whether I use sport or dress socks they would kill the speaker. I was thinking of something that would go up against the wall and really absorb the bass.

Rocket_Ronny

[PDR]

http://www.stcratings.com/  .......

[JohnR]

I don't want to plug the ports on the Volent VL-2s as they go down low, maybe -6 db at 28 hz. So whether I use sport or dress socks they would kill the speaker. I was thinking of something that would go up against the wall and really absorb the bass.

Once bass gets out of the box, there's not really going to be a "back wave" as such. But, you could try those tuned traps that GIK has, or the active device from Spatial. (I thought those would be overkill for your desktop...)

[JLM]

Try various pieces of foam behind the speakers (pillows, couch cushions, etc.).

A friend tried dipoles in the living room and to gain WAF had to push them too close to the front wall.  He used 4ft x 4ft pieces of 2 inch thick foam rubber and curved it around the back of the speaker to tame the back wave a bit.  The foam ended up being about one woofer diameter away.

[2bigears]

    just let them call the cops !!!!  meet your next-doors that way ....

[JLM]

Build underground (popular in the first energy crisis) and turn your lot into a park to placate the neighbors regarding any "leftover" sound.  Note that superlow (true subwoofer territory) is hard to hear from outside the structure even though there's lots of energy in it and it travels well.

[2bigears]

   just don't forget to hide the dope ....  Ha   the good old days    
     Insulation doesn't stop sound,wasn't meant too.  You need dense matter,separation,a disconnect....    build out on your own land and 'crank-it' .... or turn it down....    those dam low frequencies travel through walls like nobody's business....

[SteveFord]

You could just be like me and the neighbors will put their house up for rent and move.
How do you manage that? 
I dunno, it just comes naturally.
A gift from the Gods, I suppose.

P.S.
Maybe they see all of the snake cages and wet their pants?  Who knows.
I would think some sort of a double wall arrangement for your upper story room would be the most effective.

[2bigears]

    That's it !!  put it in the Lord's hands,,  she/he is rumored to work in mysterious ways !!!!
           JUST CRANK-IT, you will be fine !!  this modern society worries too much !! it's just MUSIC

[rw@cn]

Talk to the architect and get someone like GIK, Rives or the Soundproofing company to consult. The best way to do a poor job is by ignoring the real and bonafide pros. Finding the real and bonafide pros can be difficult but worth the effort and expense. 

Good Luck.

[ctviggen]

We may be building a house in town and I don't want to bug the neighbors with my loud music. What can you suggest to help me out.

One thing I know is when you double mass you decrease sound transmission by 3 db. Double your drywall - 3db. We are going to go with triple paned windows, so that's 1.5 db reduction.

What sound dampening system would you use?

Thanks for any input.

Rocket_Silent Sam_Ronny

If you really don't want your neighbors to hear your music, put your room in the basement and do not use windows.  Build a room that is isolated from the rest of  your house, using these:

http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-products/soundproofing-clips/ib-3-clip/

Use staggered 2x4 or better yet two 2x4 walls that don't touch.  Insulate the walls. On each side of the wall (and ceiling), use at least two layers of fire-rated drywall (mass), preferably with green glue in between the layers.  Minimize penetrations into room and through the walls.  Have only one entryway. 

For instance, here are the STC ratings of different wall configurations:

http://www.stcratings.com/assemblies.html

Be prepared to spend a lot.  The room will only be as good as its weakest link, such as the door.  A good door (or set of doors) can cost thousands of dollars.  All of this stuff is expensive (save drywall, which is cheap relatively speaking).

[Rocket_Ronny]

Looks like we won't be building after all, but buying an existing house. It's a nice house only does not have the sound room I wanted. It's hard to find a house with a good 16' x 24' x 9' room, or bigger. Even large houses seem to be cut up into smaller rooms. One house had a monster sized room but it was a bi-level with the top 4' being stud walls, not concrete. So that was out.

The shack we are buying will be a landing pad and we will look next year at a build. We have to move in 30 days so a new build does not work.

Thanks for all the great input. Although I am not sure I want to slam the tunes so hard as to get the cops over, even if it's a way to meet the neighbors.

Rocket_life's a compromise_Ronny

P.S. talking about compromise, my teenage son is coming back from Nicaraqua tomorrow. I wonder if he will have learned what kind of compromise third world countries make.