Xec needs listening/whisky room advice

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by Xecuter, Oct 30, 2016.

  1. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Yes, I agree. I love that studio look (especially when combined with expensive monitors :p).

    Anyway, that link... Argen. I guess they sell stuff, but they are also making the techniques and technologies freely available, with plans, so people can make their own.

    But hey, on days when you do want to beat your head against the wall, you might be glad you went for absorption!

    And there's another thing... Helmholtz resonators. I'm sure there are people here who understand them and know how to use them. I don't have any clue at all. But I'm sure one could do some great room-tuning with them.

    At this stage, I'd be calling in a professional...
     
  2. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    Just a quick update.
    We have moved in over the weekend. It was a huge PITA but hopefully the last time I have to move for awhile

    I have emailed a few professionals who do this sort of thing to assess the room and quote for treatment.
    Only one has sent me a short email suggesting harder floors than hardwood over the beams.

    I have encountered a pretty major issue early on which will place limitations on this room, and that is movement and vibration of the house. It is on pole/stilts to capture the rain-forest views but when my 55kg girlfriend walks around on one side of the house I can feel it if I am laying down on the other side.
    I have contacted some engineers who work with this sort of thing who say it's pretty normal. They said they could cross-brace the poles to lower movement but you will always get vibration in such a home.

    So if i do want to get a TT I will have to figure out a way to somehow reduce it from being affected from vibration from the rest of the house.
    The floor will also be tricky to make super dense. I might have to have some large concrete tiles laid underneath before placing the hardwood floor. That's all the first acoustic engineer suggested so far.

    The hunt for speakers continues. I have been recommended some Lowther speakers as an entry level to pair with my studio while I shop for end-game.
    This guy is nearby. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/bank...phile-floor-standing-horn-speskers/1070460540
     
  3. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    Use a solid chunk of polished stone (100-200 kg should be enough) on springs for a table under the TT rig. We use this kind of approach in our lab for precise mass measurements. The fs will be then too low to matter, I guess.
     
  4. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Before you go laying concrete down everywhere... maybe check to see how much weight those pillars can actually hold?
     
  5. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    Yup. Im going to have the house inspected by an engineer in the coming weeks to assess this and other stuff.

    This room is pretty low to the ground so it may be possible to anchor this part of the house to the ground if necessary.

    Im going to set up a temporary listening room in one of the downstairs bedrooms for the meanwhile.
     
  6. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    Update:

    The first verbal quote has come though and it is close to 100k AUD. Which is staggering. The builder said to have the room council approved access to the water/gas/electricity which all runs under this room needs to be accessible and will be very expensive to keep this access or re-route?. Also as this is currently the only down stairs access to the back yard I would need to put another door in somewhere. Not sure why I can't just can't put a sound proof glass sliding door?

    I am planning on getting a few more opinions but this first builder was adamant starting from scratch would be FAR more affordable.
    He is typing up a report which I will add to this post today or tomorrow.


    Email:
    Hi Al,

    After looking at the space there was some concern and issues that I would look at other options that would improve the resale price.

    1. With the plumbing you need access the drain pipes if there are any blockages or leaks.
    2. Council approval on the exit from laundry may be rejected.
    3. The balcony above the monitors is not closed in and would need extensive treatment that would reduce the room size
    4. To treat the flooring again has plumbing under the floor and will not have easy access for maintenance.
    5. Once I treat the walls the room size will be 2 M by 5 M.
    6. Access to site is difficult for trades.

    My recommendation would be to extend the floor joists to the garage poles and build a bigger room that would improve the sound.

    Sorry if that has shattered your vision.
    If you still want to go ahead with the proposed area I will take longer to do the job.

    If you have any questions I would be pleased to help.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2016
  7. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Uh oh, sounds like bureaucracy is starting to get in the way... :confused:
     
  8. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    I'm going to dial it back to a moderately sound proofed room with basic treatment and good acoustic insulation. I'll achieve the rest with acoustic panels, diffusion and bass traps.
    This house is just an investment property. We will go totally nuts on the dream house we build in a few years time.
     
  9. batriq

    batriq Probably has made you smarter

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    All I can think about reading the thread is that this room looks so open, inviting and beautiful, I would hesitate to touch it.
     
  10. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    We have a huge deck one floor above this that spans around both sides of the house which captures the sky, gardens and the Hinterland.

    But I do see your point. And I will have a large window at one side and on the garden side will get a glass sliding door installed, so it can be enjoyed once I'm done with my Cave :)
     
  11. batriq

    batriq Probably has made you smarter

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    cool :) I agree with dialing back the project quite a bit especially since this is a place you're planning to move out of relatively soon. You can put together an excellent system for 10K usd (especially if at least some of the components are pre-owned) and modify it as you go along -- if need be.
     
  12. FallingObjects

    FallingObjects Pay It Forward

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    Have you tested the mains for power cleanliness already? Probably easier to figure that out now and deal with it from the get go rather than pick it up through troubleshooting later.

    Also something else that's easy to overlook, get a good power bar/power system with a hefty insurance coverage.
     
  13. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    Hi Team,

    I cannot believe this has taken me an entire year to get off the ground.. I guess when I bought the house about a year ago I was a little naive about the sheer costs of home ownership. It took me 12 months to recover financially as we ran into a lot of massive early expenses and some opportunities that couldn't be missed, I was forced to push the project further and further back

    I was also totally new to speakers and decided to invest some time in increasing my exposure to speakers in my budget that would suit my needs, given how sparse these opportunities are in Australia I visited Japan and Singapore with plenty of assistance from SBAF members. I also plan to come to LAAS in 2018, mostly to spend time with members of this community who have becomes friends.


    So here we are, 2017 is basically done and I have the first itemised quote!
    I wanted to cap the room at about 45k, with a tiny bit of wiggle room, so this is in the ball park. My speaker budget is around 20kaud, however I will probably wait till after LAAS before pulling the trigger.

    All prices are in AUD,

    The waterproofing is to waterproof the deck above the room, this is a must.
    We have gone with sound bats, sound check plaster (i will inquire if double gyprock is maybe a bit cheaper), custom triple glaze windows (will be covered while the room is being used as a listening room), hard wood timber floors. The walls are disconnected from the rest of the house frame to minimise vibration. I think we will get my partners father to paint as he is an excellent painter, add another window or glass sliding door at the rear of the room. I will try and get the cupboard price down..

    I have 2 more quotes coming. I am also considering commissioning an audio consulting service to evaluate what I have proposed and see if there are any recommendations that I may have overlooked.

    Just a FYI: this room is not just a listening room, it can easily be re-purposed as a 4th bedroom should I need to sell, it increases the livable space in my home by around 250ft2 and from bank indications/valuations will increase the value of my home by about 80k Aud.

    Hoping @Marvey, @Priidik and other knowledgeable speaker buffs can help guide me through this.

    Xec


    [​IMG]
     
  14. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    I'm not sure what sort of advice you seek this time.
    Right, stop screwing around and let someone install IB woofers into your walls for ultimate bass.
    Then fridge sized horns for everything else and you have nothing left to discover in your fifties :p
     
  15. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    I took a lot of advice from previous comments, I think I'm just wondering if there is anything totally wrong with such a 'dead' room.

    Also I don't know whether to buy ampeggio due to JBL 4367. The Red spade guy has gotten in my ear and I want to hear his PSE-144
    http://www.redspade.com.au/audio/PSE-144.php
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    If it's 250ft2, it shouldn't be dead. If its too dead, pile a bunch of diffusors (not absorbers) on the wall behind the speakers. Not cheap though (or every labor intensive if you DIY). Voxactiv OB vs. JBL horns / sealed box. Difficult decision. Voxactiv will be more resolving. JBL will blow your dick off. Red Spade looks like something in between.
     
  17. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    Get someone to build you this or this. 20kAUD puts you into studio main monitor territory, so local ATC, PMC, Genelec and Quested sales might be worth looking into.
     
  18. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    Do the painting yourself, and use the money saved to do this...
     
  19. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    If i could build my own room i would definitely look into soffit mounting the speakers.
     
  20. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Or Barefoot, or Unity Audio...

    I think 20k gets you a brand new pair of active ATC SCM50...
     

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