Panels on the ceiling

@dill @knighttodd

Not all ‘popcorn ceilings’ contain asbestos. Most all of it is simply a finishing compound, and there are many ways to finish it, ‘popcorn ‘ or ‘dabbed’, or other textured ceiling.

That said, I do agree with skim coating over it if a smooth texture is preferred. I’ve had that done quite a few times in my clients homes over the years. The texturing was simply preferred by many builders to hide potential ‘nail pops’ and not have to be included in any warranty work. So, textured ceilings were used a lot. I dislike them.

In terms of acoustical treatment for the OP, not sure you need to do it for that reason. You may want to purchase a box of 24x48 ‘reflected ceiling’ tiles used in ‘drop down’ ceilings, temporarily attach to the ceiling and see if there is any benefit before going that route. If so, you can get ‘acoustic’ (not in the audiophile sense) 12x12 ceiling tiles that can be interlocked and applied to the ceiling. But, my personal preference would be a smooth ceiling, and then possible true acoustical/diffusion panels attached where/if needed.

You don’t want to make the room too dead.

“Panels on the ceiling,Pink champagne on ice”……….reminds me of a song I heard once. 

And sometimes I feel like I'm a prisoner of my own device. Lock me up. I think I'm going to try the mud over the popcorn.  See what it sounds like.  I found these foam panels 12x12 with a nice design that would go up easy.

@knighttodd - you might want to try this before going the panel route, mainly because it is easy, effective and cheap.to try.

A few years back in my old house the room was 12 x 15 x 8 (high)

• I hung a piece of vinyl behind the listening position where the ceiling joins the wall
• the vinyl was 24" tall and 10 ft wide and it made a noticeable improvement
  • you can use plastic table cloths from a dollar store to proof the concept
• I later install a vinyl roller blind and found that the length of the vinyl only needed to be about 18" - 20" 
  • I did try longer but it made no furhter improvement
• The heavier the vinyl the better ( up to as point) - I would suggest not exceeding 1mm thick

I little while later I tried the same approach out at a friends condo - it was a concrete nightmare...

• 12 ft ceilings, concrete walls, hardwood floor, open plan
• but the vinyl made a significant improvement

You can now buy clear vinyl up to 1mm thick from the web, which makes for a near invisible solution

I also tried additional vinyl behind the speakers, but it did not improve things any further

I now live in a diffeent house and the system is in the basement, which has a couple of dropped ceiling sections going across the room and it provides the same benefits as the vinyl drape

Hope that helps - Steve