[matthewpartrick]

I've been given a blessing and a curse.  My wife and I are gutting a house and this is the area I've been instructed to put the audio equipment.  There's no sense complaining about the acoustics of the room itself, I know it's suboptimal and in addition as you can see when we're done gutting it, it will be one big room.


So, questions:

1) speakers will be against the back wall, where the glass door on the floor is now.  Corner treatments and ceiling treatment recommendations?  Kim has the carpeting covered. 

2) exterior walls are concrete and we're going to Sheetrock the interior walls and put some insulation there.  Worth running dynamat or similar on the inside of the Sheetrock?

3) while the walls are open I'm totally upgrading the wiring.  Ethernet to all the rooms and upgraded power supply and outlets.  Any suggestions on brands?

4) a little off topic for acoustics, but I'm going with a synology NAS.  What combo modem/router would you recommend?  The router wifi signal is really just for the phones and not for my 2 channel audio which will have an Ethernet to microrendu. 

Any other suggestions while I have the walls down is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!
Matthew

Edit sorry about the image rotation I'm at work and won't be able to fix it until tonight....

[JLM]

Please clarify, do you have use of the whole space for audio, or just the alcove? 

Is this part of a multi-family structure and is it above/below adjoining the rest of the home?   (Wondering about need for isolation.)

And please provide room dimensions.

[matthewpartrick]

Just the alcove.  It's a freestanding single family home.  The dimensions of that alcove are about 12' x 12'.

Thanks for your help!

[Letitroll98]

I'm thinking that since the back wall is non-existent, the space would have to be considered much larger.  There are some early reflection issues so I suppose the standard advice applies for absorption at first reflection and diffusion on the front wall.  Bass traps and ceiling treatment as budget and waf allows. 

For the walls I'd go with Roxul Safe'nSound http://www.roxul.com/products/residential/products/roxul+safe'n'sound  Very easy to work with as it's just friction fit and has excellent sound damping properties.  It also works very well for diy bass traps and wall panels.

[mcgsxr]

Have to agree with S&S.  I used it in all interior walls.

I would also upgrade all doors that are in the space to solid core (I used Safe n Sound doors I found at Home Depot) and use door sweeps and foam weatherstripping.  It helps a lot with sound transmission.

I built some simple corner bass traps and wall panels earlier this year.  Simple DIY using Roxul products and some close out fabric at the local fabric store.

[matthewpartrick]

Excellent, great recommendations guys, thanks so much.  Even though it's "just the alcove" I'm definitely treating it as one big room.

[JLM]

Seems like you'll be limited in use of the space (marching orders already given by she who must be obeyed).  As a big believer in how much the room influences system performance let me pop your balloon right now.  I wouldn't get too serious about this whole endeavor.  Being a shared space you'll have limited layout/time access for your personal use.  No need for isolation and little use for treatments (as one big less than ideal room).  Set up a modest HT system for family movie and background music use.  If you want better music playback look for a separate headphone system. 

When furnishings are added, the echo you're undoubtedly hearing will reduce greatly (and become much more what you're used to).  Absorption would be most beneficial in the alcove itself.  Treating the whole room could be overkill. 

Later on maybe you can develop a dedicated room.  I had to build a whole house 13 years ago to get a man cave.

BTW wire is wire.  I did run separate circuits for the audio with a dedicated ground (for what it's worth - more of a "while you're at it" consideration).  Added flexible ductwork and use an exterior insulated fiberglass door for my room so don't hear the furnace (but again why bother in a shared space?).  We also ran coax/ethernet throughout, but ended up going wireless.  Can't help you with computer questions.

[Folsom]

JPS in wall wiring and a Furutech GTX-D socket. A Surgex subpanel would be OK too.

That's a small space but not having a back wall will make it better. I hope you get good use out of it, and don't have to have the speakers actually against the wall because not having them 18"-3' out will make them sound bad depending on what they are. Otherwise you're getting the shaft.

[rollo]

Just the alcove.  It's a freestanding single family home.  The dimensions of that alcove are about 12' x 12'.

Thanks for your help!

   Starting off with a square space is an issue. Take the Wife out to dinner and explain why you need more of a rectangular space. Wine helps. 
    Or just get headphones if no success. Kidding aside a tough act to make a square space musical. So all the double walls, etc are just moot. Sorry but someone needs to be honest here.





charles

[rollo]

  When you get the size right a dedicated circuit is a good way to go. Wiring can be Romex but have it cryo treated. VooDoo copper receptacles are $60 and IMHO well worth every penny.
   Design the space around speakers chosen. Speak with the Manf, very insightful. Have fun.


rollo

[JLM]

   Starting off with a square space is an issue. Take the Wife out to dinner and explain why you need more of a rectangular space. Wine helps. 
    Or just get headphones if no success. Kidding aside a tough act to make a square space musical. So all the double walls, etc are just moot. Sorry but someone needs to be honest here.





charles

Careful what you ask for (rectangles smaller than 12ft x 12ft are also available).   

As it is just an alcove, the square dimensions are of no consequence.

And as it is a less than ideal space, there is no point in my mind in going into cryo'd wire, or fancy receptacles.

[Mike-48]

I agree, since it's an alcove with open back, maybe don't get too fancy. Certainly no need for sound isolation if the area is open anyway. It's still possible one might want diffusion or absorption on the front wall.

As to receptacles, I think Hubbell hospital-grade receptacles are a nice choice. They are really sturdy and well made without getting crazy.

Have fun!