Out building for sound. The dream ver$e$ reality


These are my developing thoughts on what to do. I would appreciate comments from those that have been there or in the know. Or know "The In Sound From Way Out!"  

I’m in the planning stages for an out budding used for a bit of photo work but mostly for listing to music.

I may have champaign tastes but my budget is more draft beer like.

I most likely will go w/ a set amp and big Klipsch’s or Tanny’s. Source will be steaming only. One the other hand the all in one darTZeel lhc-208 might be just the thing as I can’t afford big mono’s, pre et all. (I have to get the building up.)

It will have a dedicated 20AMP line run of 10 gauge solid core into audio grade plugs.

Floor will be wood.

Getting in internet via a 175 foot fiber run is my hope.

Wall studs will be staggered and walls filled w/ sprayed foam.

If need be I’ll be adding Sonitus panels or the like.

Dimensions will be 12.5’ high by 20’ wide and 29.44’ feet long.

 

128x128wsrrsw

If possible, use noise insulation panels, as well as noise reducing dry wall.

Wall studs will be staggered and walls filled w/ sprayed foam.

I would suggest that go to an acoustician, as it is possibly better to use some of that stud area for bass traps.
If it is foamed in, you are sort of stuck.

Just two things, go to sonitususa.com or auralex.com and get a free room analysis.

Get a streamer that includes some type of DSP or room correction (NAD C658 or something similar)

@noromance Stone wall... for a "Man Cave?"

@kota1  Called sonitususa.com and waiting for a call back.

Maybe the decisions of

10.50

17.50

28

will work better?

I can go up to 30'. Does anyone know best size please?

 

@wsrrsw 

I can share what Dolby Labs recommended for best size for an atmos room. Watch this video in the thread I started here. Also the guys at Sonitus will give you good detailed info as to the room size, design, setup, etc:

 

@wsrrsw I'm in a concrete basement because it sounds better. If I was building a stand-alone music room, I would use concrete floor and concrete blocks (or granite) and hanging tapestries. All that resonant, vibrating OSB and sheetrock and suspended flooring is too much to deal with!

Stone wall... for a "Man Cave?"

Hey, some thoughts on the electrical:

 

  • Consider how many circuits you’ll need.
    • Stereo
    • Lights
    • PC ?
  • What about heating and cooling?

You may be better off running a 60A circuit to a sub panel in the building and will perform better than a single 10/2 gauge cable. If you install a sub-panel, install a surge protector there too, especially in lightning/storm prone areas. Put one in your main panel as well.

Budget for room treatment.  You'll need a mix of absorption and dispersion, including the ceiling.  The more controlled dispersion your speakers are the less important this is but still.  Drywall over anything isn't great alone.

I've been deep into this for a few months now planning my own dedicated listening room from scratch. One thing I've come to appreciate is that you need to establish your goal: Is it to create a good sounding room or to keep the noise in the room from leaking out and bothering the rest of the world. This will determine what approaches are best. Most suggestions you will see on this site address the challenge of sound proofing the room rather than making it sound good, which is typically done with various forms of acoustic treatments. Nothing wrong with that except they can be expensive and ugly (IMHO). So, if your goal is to make the room sound good you will need to think carefully and do research around this objective since most of what you will find on this site and elsewhere is soundproofing recommendations--some of which are made by folks who think they are helping you improve the sound of the room. But unfortunately, much of what is recommended will do almost nothing to make your room sound good. It will only help to keep the noise from leaking out and bothering your neighbors and family.

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@erik_squires You guessed it. There will be 60Amp service. Most of it will go to a heat pump & mini split system. Surge protecter a must as PG&E is my provider and at my location trouble abounds. 

@dodgealum Sound proofing isn’t my goal but rather correct size for sound room and what surfaces/walls before treatments. The correct size is a head scratcher. It will be a rectangle as I don’t want to build a Golden Trapagon

@dodgealum et all

I think because of sound wave characteristics the recommended sizes are not scalable??